JANGLE ON! – May 2022

by Eric Sorensen

The steady stream of chiming, jangly pop tunes this year became a surfeit of jangly music in April.  In addition to all of the English language pop music that will appeal to fellow jangleholics, some terrific Spanish language tracks have been added to my music library.  Notable albums and songs from the past month include:

Play On – Scott McCarl (ex-Raspberries).  This disc is chock-full of 70s-inspired pop, and two tracks – “Fallin’ In Love” and “I’ll Be On My Way” – feature some excellent chiming guitar riffs.  The former track cleverly begins with the chord progression from “Hearts In Her Eyes”/”Listen To Her Heart” and then incorporates harmony vocals that evoke memories of Fleetwood Mac’s “Say You Love Me” … ending with an “Eight Days A Week” guitar fadeout.  Nicely done, Scott!

            Live at Pete’s Candy Store – Love, Burns.   Some very catchy melodies and hooks – as evidenced by “To Say Goodbye.”

            Green – Stephen’s Shore.  The latest four-song CD-EP by a band that favors jangly guitar arrangements.  Look no further than “Turn Things Around.”

            Feeling Things – Terje Torkellsen.  I discovered this four-song CD-EP by Norwegian pop musician Torkellsen on the Bandcamp website.  12-string guitar riffs abound on “Tears In Your Eyes,” “Any Other” and “Got Me Down.”  Welcome to the jangle pop community, Terje!

            Favorite new singles from the past month include:  “One Thing One Time” and “Can’t Seem To Help Myself” by the Australian jangle pop band the Rinehearts; “A Holiday For You,”  “There’s A Place” and “The World Keeps Turning” by Terry Carolan; “Got Lucky” by the Unswept (their new disc, full of pseudo-60s tunes, was just released); “Pretender” by Even; “Wrong Wrong Wrong” by M Ross Perkins; “Tin Can Belief” by Bottlecap Mountain; “Nicely Nicely Jane” by JP McGrath; and “Tom Petty” by the Hanging Stars.

            Earlier, I mentioned some noteworthy Spanish language jangly tracks.  These include: “Azul Electrico” by Cecilia Ann; “Nadia Te Quiero Ya” by Bart Mendoza; “Erase Una Vez” and “Lo Que Yo Queiro” by Coke Belda; “Hablando Solo” and “Un Rayo De Sol” by Hank Idory; “Todo Lo Que Quiero,” “Cuando El Tiempo Se Escape” and “El Momento” by Los Andes; “Todo Se Lo Lleve El Viento” by Octubre; “Suenos” and “Mirame” by Star Trip; “On Time” by Jose Estragos … and last but not least “Corredor” by the Nap (a jangly earworm tune from several years ago).

            Until next time, jangle on!  ERIC