Album Review- Dan Mangan- Natural Light

If you lived in rural America when I grew up, you might have got your television through satellite not cable. If you got your television from satellite then you might have spent your time watching MuchMusic, the Canadian alternative to MTV like I did. I remain amazed that there were so many good Canadian bands that never crossed over to the US. 

As cool as MTV was in the early 90s, the low budget Much was so much cooler. Yes many of those bands found at least some chart success in the US - Tragically Hip, The Pursuit of Happiness and Barenaked Ladies to name a few. Looking far and wide for albums by Canadian bands that had negligible presence in the US like Blue Rodeo and The Grapes of Wrath were big for me. 

If you can’t tell, I’m very nostalgic for that time but it ended as I entered adulthood and also as Much eventually transitioned in the late 90s/early 00s to Fuse. If you watched Fuse, it seemed like they wanted to compete with MTV, not be what they once were. As much as I wanted to hold on to that dream channel of youth, it had gone. For a brief time in the early 2000s, I had some correspondence with an interesting Canadian woman, which included trading discs. Once again, I was getting exposure to great bands that would otherwise not be on in my radar. 

Somewhere in the mid 2010s or so, I got (at least some access to the satellite radio) Sirius XM. I quickly found channels that specialized in some underappreciated genres- underground garage, outlaw county and college rock. I don’t know if someone hadn't told me- that the Verge existed- a Canadian alt rock channel hidden between the Jazz and Classical. It also led to jokes between me and my friends how “Canadian” is listed as a genre like it was Reggae or Heavy Metal. So it’s the like old days. Here’s those old Cancon (Canadian content) rules pushing artists that haven’t broken ground in the US, but come from a deep well of music to pull from. 

Among a list of songs that could be hit radio singles in an alternate universe is Dan Mangan’s 2009 single “Robots”. Catchy, quirky, sad- that alternate universe is Canadian alternative rock. It made me a fan and I have watched to see what he has done. 

His most recent work is 2020s Thief- an album of all covers of some obvious influences (REM, Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith) and some less obvious (Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley). I didn’t take to 2022s Being Somewhere - an album cowritten and produced by OneRepublic guitarist Drew Brown. 2025s Natural Light was recorded in six days- a workshop in preparation for a new album that became that album. Brown isn’t here, as Mangan is backed by his touring band consisting of Jason Haberman and Mike Brien, producers, multi instrumentalists and members of Canadian indie band Zeus and Don Kerr who has been in Rheostatics, Communism and made an album with Ron Sexsmith. It didn’t receive much attention outside of Canadian press outlets. 

User based websites have given it mixed reviews but the few press reviews are quite positive. I agree. While a critic went with the “sad bastard music” label, it’s a downer of a record in a good way (one critic used “Astral Weeks” as a touch point). Mangan is in the vein of that Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes indie folk sound. There’s no killer single a la Robots but it feels like a consistent bunch of songs that hangs together beginning to end. 

Which is a good thing. Mangan has constructed the kind of album you would hope that he could and this under-the-radar gem that would be an otherwise AOTY candidate if it was marketed differently. Plus. As others have mentioned, he’s still only 42 despite 20 years of recording music. An old soul in a young man’s body.

What I Am Listening To : Half Man Half Biscuit

At a certain age, I feel we probably get set in our ways for our tastes. This is what I expected to happen and it is mostly true. 

The albums I am usually most looking forward to are by bands that I have listened to for years. But I also surprise myself by still finding new “favorite” bands. Half Man Half Biscuit is surely one of Earth’s most unusual bands. 

I have to admit this started off as a reference from a friend to a song exploration to fill out fandom. Debuting their first album in 1985, even in the intellectual world of the Smiths and Echo & the Bunnymen, there’s few truly sardonic bands. 

There’s the Fall, of course and the Wedding Present, but not many more. The band (after a brief break up from 1986-1990) seems a better fit for the 90s- the era that gave us The Wonder Stuff, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine and Cud. Although I haven’t seen anyone make this comparison, I can’t help but think of Sparks when it comes to 2025. HMHB are not only incredibly prolific (9 albums in the last 25 years) but it’s almost guaranteed that every album has a gem. Still relevant enough that in 2010, their 2005 song “Joy Division Oven Gloves” was pushed up the British charts by a movement aligned with preventing the closure of BBC6. “JDOG” is their most streamed song. 

A band’s most popular song coming off their tenth album is the thing only generally bands like U2 and Radiohead can achieve. They are possibly as close as you can get to Monty Python for a three minute pop song band. There’s plenty of bon mots in these latter albums. 2016s “Vatican Broadside” imagines Slipknot meeting the Pope. 2005s “Upon Westminster Bridge” is a stream of consciousness that ponders “I’ve only got three bullets and there’s four of Motley Crue”. 

There’s no other band quite like them. It might not also work if lead singer Nigel Blackwell didn't have a distinct voice like David Gedge or Mark E Smith. Album # 16 All Asimov and No Fresh Air came out in June. It is led off most assuredly by a single called “Horror Clowns are Dickheads”

Album Review- The Devil Makes Three- Spirits

I am fairly certain that I heard The Devil Makes Three around the time their debut album got reissued in 2007. I wish I could explain how revolutionary they sounded *gasp* nearly twenty years ago. They seem fairly tame now when there are countless number of bands that do some sort of twist on alt country or goth country or folk punk. But DM3 really was one of the first.

There was Nick Cave and Tom Waits of course and bands like 16 Horsepower and the Pogues but there were only a handful of bands that were making music that took say something like Woody Guthrie and married it with heavy metal ethos. There’s tons of bands now - too many to mention. But there was no Old Crow Medicine Show or The Dead South. There are the more extreme artists like Amigo the Devil and Harley Poe. But when I first heard DM3, you didn’t even have hardly any bands that incorporated bluegrass into their sound. DM3 hits different when artists like Trampled by Turtles or Billy Strings aren’t even imaginable. Murder Ballads was a Nick Cave disc, hardly a genre unto itself. The Louvin Brothers were a mostly forgotten act that only fans with deep knowledge were familiar with. Not the meme they would become with tens of thousands of streams every month. Johnny Cash shirts are required apparel. 

It’s been seven years since the band released a studio album. They were the future when they recorded their debut in 2002. Fortunately, there is some recognition that has come along the way. They are headlining a local festival here with their name at the top of a fairly strong lineup. On Spirits, there’s drugs, alcohol and of course, the Devil. But even on a song like “Half as High”, there’s an amazing level of pathos that sort of betray the rowdy image of the band ("How come we got to take a bigger hit/Just to get half as high"). 

I had surely thought we had heard our last great “marijuana protest song” since there is seemingly a Cannabis dispensary on every street corner. But this is a modern update to the Lower East Side acts of the 60s and 70s and the occasional throwbacks like Dubya-era troupe Asylum Street Spankers. On that song as well on a song like “Divide and Conquer”, they actually have buried a great political protest. 'Hard Times" talks about what it says on the box. 

Understated not preachy, they have found a niche for political overture in these tunes. While this album is unlikely to gain any attention outside of the Americana crowd, it seems like it’s gotten enough buzz that it does feel like Spirits is a significant album of 2025 in that genre. Listening to their first album again now, a lot of the darkness is lyrical and mental- a strong statement while the music is hardly hardcore punk. Still, it hits hard. 

Most of the wildness here is implied. The lyrics perhaps too smart for punk. The end product turns out to be an impactful album.

 

Album Review- Cheekface- Middle Spoon

Cheekface seem to simultaneously belong to the indie rock crowd and adjacent to much of it. Every review inevitably mentions They Might Be Giants, but it’s not so much sonically as they seem to exist in a space within themselves.

Indie blogs cover them but they still feel like a cult band. Lyrically, they surely have similarities to Yard Act, Wet Leg and Dry Cleaning, but they’re quite frankly too…. American. 

If they existed in a different time and space, they surely would fit the anti folk scene of New York City circa 2000. I see similarities to the Bay Area punk scene but you know they’re not …loud. 

On Allmusic, they’re a nonentity. I am not sure of a band that has more press coverage and monthly streams that has no attention from that website. It seems there’s garage bands that sell a total of 20 albums that have Allmusic reviews but not Cheekface. Cheekface would be brethren with artists like Dead Milkmen and Atom & his Package but they don’t seem especially puerile or trying to be offensive. Though maybe the band would tell me otherwise (there’s enough sprinkling of profanity to prevent them being my kids’ favorite band) 

One artist from the past that comes to mind for me might be Ben Folds. Self aware but maybe having too much fun to be an indie fave. A little too weird for the mainstream but with enough hooks that a leftfield hit isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Maybe the Recommended If You Like for Cheekface is RIYL: Cheekface. 

They seem quite prolific. Middle Spoon is album number five, released thirteen months after Its Sorted. That makes five albums in six years, not including tons of B-sides (generally collected on EPs) and non album tracks (including covers like Ballad of Big Nothing, Ana Ng and What’s so Funny about Peace, Love and Understanding). I don’t think this album is as good as the two that immediately precede it. That said, I don’t think it’s a drop off on quality either, and if you are experiencing the band for the first time, this is as good place as any to start.

 

What I Am Listening To: Shin Joon-Hyun

There of course no way to listen to all the music. Though we certainly seem closer to that goal with Amazon and various streaming platforms and helpful “Listen to an album a day” blogs and whatever. My go to for recommendations have been the British magazines like Uncut and Mojo. 

If I can’t listen to every album, maybe I can use their staff and the recommendations. Similarly, Light in the Attic Records has become a favorite of Uncut, and me too, releasing a lot of obscure albums that deserve attention. Now, they may not be so obscure but it’s an amazing list of unique artists -the Monks, Michael Hurley, Rodriguez, Betty Davis, Jim Sullivan, Karen Dalton, the Louvin Brothers and many more. 

It is also the home of introducing Shin Joong-Hyun to a bigger audience. Shin is known as the “Godfather of Korean guitar”, the man who brought rock n roll to Korea, and a prominent figure in 1960s and 70s Psychedelia. More about his life later, but in the conversation about his skill, I have read references to Hendrix, the 13th Floor Elevators and Jefferson Airplane. 

The truth is when I hear Shin’s music that I don’t really think about such things. In the way music that sometimes transcends language, I can’t put my finger on what I am hearing but I know I like it. Of course, some of his music recalls American garage rock and psychedelia, he also has songs that to my ear not that much different than Chinese pop music, but I find if no less powerful. In 2011, Light in the Attic released Beautiful Rivers and Mountains- an all killer no filler 14 track double disc anthology of his work from 1958 to 1974. This was followed by the release of From Where to Where- 7 more songs from the 1970s. (There is also a Korean five disc nine hour career anthology that seems impossible to find to purchase but is available on streaming) 

The simplest description of Shin’s career is this: his first album was in 1959 at the age of 21. In 1964. His band And4 (the first rock band in South Korea) released their debut album. In the late sixties, he achieved popularity as a producer, songwriter and guitarist for others, and established his psychedelic soul sound. In 1974 and 1975, he was at his height fronting the band Shin Yung Jun and Yup Juns releasing Vol 1 and Vol 2. But the defining moment in Shin’s career was happening too. 

In 1972, South Korean President Park Chung Hee (who was then establishing his military dictatorship) asked Shin to write a song praising Park. Shin refused and instead wrote a ten minute song praising South Korea called “Beautiful Rivers and Mountains”. Park forced Shin to cut off his long hair (which was banned) and the police confiscated his guitars. 

Things got worse in 1975, Shin was imprisoned for giving a pot plant to a friend of Park’s son (despite Marijuana not being illegal in South Korea at the time). After prison and torture, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital and finally released but banned from performing until 1979 when Park was assassinated. Mostly retired since, his music enjoyed a comeback in the 1990s. 

In 2010, he became only the sixth guitarist to get his own Fender Custom Shop Tribute Series guitar (Beck, Clapton, Van Halen, SRV, Malmsteen). As a long time rock music fan, it’s interesting to find someone who had a career that parallels say a Clapton or Page, but also was a producer and a pioneer. I have to say its fascinating as most Americans don’t have a glimpse into

Album Review- Matt Berry- Heard Noises

There’s probably two paths to Matt Berry’s music. One is that you are a fan of the actor and heard he made music, so you checked it out. Or maybe you were like me, you heard a fantastic song and went to look to see who performed it and did a double or triple take. Surely not that Matt Berry of numerous TV comedy roles. 

But with apologies to Billy Bob Thornton, Berry is a fantastic actor and musician. While not particularly a parody or comedy artist like Flight of the Conchords, there is a certain chameleonic element about him like Ween or Zappa. My exposure to Berry began with his third album- his breakout 2009s prog rock tribute Witchazel. 2025s Heard Noises is album number eight. I have to admit that my knowledge of Berry doesn’t run much deeper than that one album. 

Still, Heard Noises has grabbed me more than most of his other stuff Yes, eighth albums in the catalogue don’t get rave reviews but critics seem to be pretty favorable to this one, and most agree it is one of his most accessible. At times, it feels like one of those 90s Britpop albums that wanted to be Scott Walker. Some times, it could be Neosoul or it could be modern day Rod McKuen. Is it Psych? Is it Folk? Is it an obscure circa 1973 album you picked up at Goodwill? It’s possible that it’s all of these. 

Songs build slowly and creep up on you. As will this album which may not surprise the initial listener but holds together amazingly well for repeat listening. Even surely when the joke goes over the top like the duet with Kitty Liv “I Gotta Limit”. The lyrics are ridiculous but it convincingly gives you enough to sell you that it’s not that much crazier than Lee and Nancy. 

 “I Entered as I Came” which features actress Natasha Lyonne seems like a misstep in the way that say the Moody Blues would have added a cringy track on their ambitious 1970s records. Wait, is the fact this feels like a throw away track mean it’s not good, or is this a 3D chess move that this album needs a song like this. Dang. I just blew my mind. In any case, if this isn’t Berry’s best album, it surely is near the top, and if you are hesitant at first, repeat listening will win you over

What I am Listening To: Sir Reg

The Pogues had a tremendous effect on rock. Take the traditional Irish sounds of the Chieftans and mix with the punk of the Ramones or the Sex Pistols. As much as America loves Irish tradition now, it is no surprise they basically created a new genre. 

Of course there are plenty of bands who were Irish rockers prior to the Pogues ascending to college rock stardom (Thin Lizzy, U2, Hothouse Flowers, to name a few) and even some brief moments in the buzz bins of the 90s (House of Pain, Black 47), but the true flagbearers of Celtic Punk seem to be the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. I am not a fan of the former but via television and sporting events, they have likely eclipsed the Pogues in popularity. I am, however, a big fan of the latter. Interesting note: they are fronted by former metal vocalist Dave King ( of 80s band Fastway featuring Fast Eddie Clarke from Motorhead) - a band that has grown a decent following now threatened by King’s unfortunate health. 

There are of course, a dozen more just bubbling under. I know some by sound but most only by name. At the top of that second tier list is Canadian band The Mahomes. But there’s also Belfast Food, Flatfoot 56, Skels, The Tossers, the Real McKenzies, the Rumjacks the Porters, the Blaggards, the Killigans and In Search of a Rose. A quick google search shows that I am barely scratching the surface. I also am leaving our bands like the Young Dubliners who aren’t really punk but might appeal to the same audience, or bands who aren’t Irish who do similarly mix punk and ethnic music like Gogol Bordello (or perhaps, I could just name the entire folk punk scene) I haven’t found any of these particular strand of punk bands that I have loved as much as the Pogues (or at least Flogging Molly) until I came across Sir Reg on one of the streaming services. 

Funny enough, they are mostly a bunch of Swedes backing an Irish singer. They’ve released six albums since they made their recording debut in 2010. That self titled debut is pretty solid - catching similarities to Flogging Molly- rowdy sing alongs- The Pogues as if they grew up on Social Distortion and 90s Epitaph Records bands. Their most recent album is 2022s Kings of Sweet Feck All. The band remains active. 

For fans of that next generation of Pogues inspired bands, check out the debut LP to start (for a great undiscovered album), then explore the discography.

Album Review- Franz Ferdinand- The Human Fear

One of my favorite bands of all time is Franz Ferdinand. Like many bands, the success of their first album has overshadowed everything they have done. Even more so as it was such a big hit. There was the band on the 2005 Grammys in one of the most eclectic openings - on stage with Black Eyed Peas, Maroon 5, Gwen Stefani & Eve and Los Lonely Boys. There surely was no where to go but down. 

I think of Franz in similar terms to the Strokes though that band came out with a debut three years earlier. Yet while the Strokes had that splashy kickoff, the online music community seems to still wildly embrace them. You will find intense cult audiences for all of their albums even their least successful ones. Even Julian Casablancas’s spinoff band, the Voidz which generally has been ignored by most of the media is treated online with the kind of blind reverence usually reserved for acts like Sonic Youth, Kendrick Lamar or Sleater- Kinney. 

 That doesn’t seem to happen to Franz Ferdinand who I don’t think has made a bad record. In many ways, I think I prefer their second record, which in retrospect is the bridge from that debut to a more electronic dance sound. The third album 2009s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is a continuation of that sound but the excitement of a new album was waning. 

That said, I quite like album 4 and 5- 2013s Right Words Right Thoughts Right Actions- a surprisingly solid album for a band that far into their career and 2018s fan dividing Always Ascending. 2025s The Human Fear suffers from being rather nondescript. It is as a beginning to end listen quite good. 

But Franz really haven’t changed the template in recent years. This was a band who had so much personality on those early albums (even doing a spinoff album as FFS teaming with Sparks). It’s the problem Always Ascending had but even more so Hooked contains the lyric that gives the album its title and it has the sexy swagger of that second album. Similar to the ironic pomp of Pulp or the Dandy Warhols, it’s great but so are the “album tracks” like Night or Day that would never see radio airplay but are solidly constructed, which are probably better than the expected (but still enjoyable) fare like “Build it Up” (I was clearly wrong or (maybe the band was wrong) as I looked at Wikipedia and the first single is “Audacious” the album opener, which has some elements of a radio single but generally hits my ears at an album track and “Build it Up” was the second single. 

To my ears there are more obvious singles. Maybe such things don’t matter these days anyway. But songs like “Cats” and “Hooked” will surely find their way to playlists)