{"id":30965,"date":"2026-04-17T05:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T09:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=30965"},"modified":"2026-03-17T10:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:51:52","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/hundred-word-reviews-for-april-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews for April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

I receive so much great music here at Musoscribe. CDs and LPs submitted for potential review go through my patented Smash or Trash™ evaluation process, and the ones that survive go in the queue for review. But again, I get so much music that makes it past that pole. That means that it often takes awhile \u2013 longer than I\u2019d like, certainly longer than the artists would like \u2013 to get to it. That\u2019s my way of explaining why the following five titles \u2013 some of which have languished on my desk since (shudder) October of last year \u2013 are just now receiving coverage here. Please don\u2019t infer from that delay that they\u2019re less than worthy. This is some very good-to-great music.<\/p>\n

\"\"Various Artists \u2013 Chilling, Thrilling Hooks and Haunted Harmonies<\/i><\/b>
\nAs you can sort out without my help, this is a Halloween-themed collection. There\u2019s a vinyl version with a nice board game, too. Set aside the undeniably gimmicky theme \u2013 nothing wrong with that \u2013 and prepare yourself for some top-notch meldoic rock by as tasty assortment of Big Stir artists. Certainly some of the tunes are kitschy and disposable (sparkle*jets u.k., for example), but even those are fun. But lovely standouts include The Corner Laughers, Librarians With Hickeys, the Spongetones, Splitsville, Lady Darkevyl and (no kidding) Strawberry Alarm Clock. Graham Parker may win the prize here, but most of it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n

\"\"Various Artists \u2013 Make Something Happen: Tribute to the Flashcubes<\/i><\/b>
\nBig Stir\u2019s stable is large, and jam-packed with artists swimming in the hooky, tuneful end of the rock pool. So it makes sense to draw from that when assembling a tribute album. I\u2019ve long made clear my POV on tribute collections: they\u2019re always a mixed bag, and this one doesn\u2019t break the mold. But the Flashcubes were (and are) an important band from powerpop\u2019s second, third or whatever wave. Oddly enough, best among the two-dozen cuts here are three by the \u2018Cubes themselves. Beyond those, Pop Co-Op shine, as do the Armoires. Best is \u201cNo Promise\u201d from Chris Von Sneidern.<\/p>\n

\"\"Wreckless Eric \u2013 England Screaming<\/i><\/b>
\nIf all you know of Wreckless Eric is \u201cWhole Wide World,\u201d get with it. He remains a vital \u2013 if underground \u2013 artist who reliably turns out music that is wholly orignal yet recalls other greats. Listeners whose tastes include Graham Parker, Robyn Hitchcock, Martin Newell and Nick Lowe should proceed immediately to most any of Eric\u2019s recent albums; 2018\u2019s Construction Time & Demolition<\/i> is a personal favorite. But they\u2019re all top-notch, filled with razor-sharp songwriting and Eric\u2019s inimitable style. With ace cuts like \u201cLifeline\u201d and the Kinks-y \u201cHome & Away,\u201d England Screaming<\/i> sits proudly alongside other recent titles from the man.<\/p>\n

\"\"William Duke \u2013 Once Upon a Fruitful Lair<\/i><\/b>
\nDuke is revered (in this quarter, at least) for his subtle, shimmering pop that displays an affection for Brian Wilson\u2019s mid-sixties work. There\u2019s certainly more to Duke\u2019s music than that, but it remains a useful signpost for the uninitiated. His latest continues in that vein, with exceedingly well-arranged gems that place a high emphasis on melody. There\u2019s a heartrending, aching melancholy quality to many of these songs, but it\u2019s shot through with optimism. Duke brings a cinematic feel to tracks like \u201cIt\u2019s That Time.\u201d Once Upon a Fruitful Lair<\/i> takes time to reveal its depth, but it\u2019s time well spent.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lande Hekt \u2013 Lucky Now<\/i><\/b>
\nThe sweet and expressive vocals of Lande Hekt suggest what Chrissie Hynde might have sounded like if she were British and possessed of more of a strong singer-songwriter bent. Shimmering acoustic and cleanly electric guitars form the center of Hekt\u2019s arrangements, and her strong melodic sensibility provides a lovely backdrop. Hints of The La\u2019s inform some songs, and ardent lovers of the jangling qualities of what we used to call college rock will find as much to savor here as will lovers of bedsit poesy. If the Cure were less mopey, they might sound like Hekt\u2019s \u201cFavourite Pair of Shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I receive so much great music here at Musoscribe. CDs and LPs submitted for potential review go through my patented Smash or Trash™ evaluation process, and the ones that survive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30967,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,39,49,5281,62,65],"tags":[4161,5885,2582,3383],"class_list":["post-30965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-compilation","category-indie","category-new-release","category-opera","category-rawk","category-review","tag-big-stir-records","tag-lande-hekt","tag-william-duke","tag-wreckless-eric","cat-19-id","cat-39-id","cat-49-id","cat-5281-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30965"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30973,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30965\/revisions\/30973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}