Further Observations From A Jangly Music Fan

A long, cool March usually means that April will be very colorful with blooming flowers and blossoming trees in the Washington, D.C. area. This year, it also means that the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin will peak in conjunction with the annual Cherry Blossom Festival - rather than two weeks too soon. There were plenty of cool new discs and jangly tunes to keep me entertained during the cold, damp days of March. Here are some of the recent additions to my music library that may interest the rest of you jangly music enthusiasts:

Topping the list is Richard Snow's brand new disc - Tuesday Music. This superb new studio effort should receive plenty of accolades from other writers, but it gets my early nod for Top Ten honors in 2005. Snow's multi-track, multi-instrument talents bear comparisons with the Beach Boys, Richard X. Heyman, baroque pop of the 60s … and Arthur Lee - particularly on the track "You're My Number 1". Snow applies electric 12-string guitar magic to the chiming tracks "Hard To Be Happy," "Silent Girlfriend," "Lonesome Cowboy" and "When You Smile." Tuesday Music will appeal to pop music fans, in general … and even more so to Byrds/jangly music enthusiasts. Long may you run, Sir Richard!

While My Guitar Only Plays - by Les Fradkin. Fradkin follows up his 2004 solo disc with this 14-track (all Beatles tunes) instrumental disc that features Nokie Edwards of the Ventures. Fradkin portrayed George Harrison in the original Broadway production of "Beatlemania," and there's lots of jangly, chiming guitars on the Harrison-penned tracks on this disc. The Fradkin/Edwards guitars work well in unison, and I hardly miss the vocals on these classic Fab Four tunes. Twelve-string Rickenbacker fans will dig these instrumental treatments.

Origin Volume I - by the Soundtrack Of Our Lives. This Swedish psych/pop band doesn't jangle very often, but they sneak some nice chiming guitars into "Wheels Of Boredom." Whether they jangle or not, I have always liked this band and I have every one of their discs. Fans of contemporary psychedelic pop (think Green Pajamas) and fans of 60s psychedelic pop (think Max Frost and the Troopers, the Strawberry Alarm Clock … and Pink Floyd) should dig this latest release from this talented Swedish outfit.

Speaking of 60s psych/pop, Newsongtoo by CJ Grogan, also fits nicely into this category. Grogan benefits from the studio assistance of percussionist/vocalist Kurt Reil of the Grip Weeds, and lo and behold "Turning The Beat" has a nice Grip Weeds vibe to it. Now we've got one more NYC/New Jersey artist worthy of a good listen … and he peppers his material with some chiming guitars - much like his contemporaries.

Scandinavian pop band Popium has released its latest full-length disc - Camp. Their mainstream approach to pop is quite catchy, and the layered guitars jangle most on "Matters Of The Heart," "Camp" and "Suits My Soul."

John Davis' self-titled disc is an excellent debut effort. The standout jangly track on this album is "Me & My Girl" - which should definitely appeal to Matthew Sweet fans who miss the perfection of "I've Been Waiting." "Me & My Girl" is a strong candidate for my "Song of the Month" honors.

Killed By The Lights - by the Knockout Drops. Whoa! This disc has a little bit of everything, and it puts the rock back into the term pop/rock! I hear elements of the Sand Rubies, Ghost Of An American Airman, the Jayhawks and Soul Asylum in these guitar-driven tracks. The band infuses some nice ringing, chiming guitars in songs like "Hell Ride," "Rage Like The Sun" and "Caught In The Headlights." While so many contemporary bands are striving to emulate the Top Twenty "alternative rock" bands on MTV, these guys are the real deal. That alone is refreshing!

Bound Away - by Last Train Home. This is the fourth full-length disc by the Eric Brace-fronted band that now maintains a presence in the Nashville area as well as their hometown of Washington, D.C. Brace's rich voice is still the long pole in the group's tent, and the band's repertoire is now incorporating elements of the blues - as well as alt-country, pop, rock and bluegrass. My favorite tracks on Bound Away are the Brace-penned ballads … and the jangle'n'twang pop-oriented tune "Matchbook Message." Studio tracks just don't do full justice to this band's on-stage energy, so I highly recommend that you catch them at their "home" club IOTA in Arlington, Virginia, in Nashville … or on the road. You'll be glad you did!

Speaking of alt-country bands, check out One Star Hotel's self-titled debut disc. Jangle'n'twang enthusiasts will certainly dig "Sun Through The Trees" and "Sunburn."

Do you miss Blackhawk? Do you enjoy the harmony vocals of country/rock bands like Restless Heart, Lone Star, Little Texas and Ricochet? Look no further than the latest disc from Dixie Road - Crazy Enuff'. This tight six-member band shines on "Everything I Love" - a track that should find its way onto mainstream country/pop playlists.

If you like your music more on the acoustic side, track down Welcome Home by Anytown. I hear a strong 70s "soft rock" sound in the trio's material, which is rich in vocal harmonies - ala America, CSN and Jim Croce. The track "Reality" even features some nice strummy, jangly guitar riffs.

The Friedman Brothers Band Cut And Dry CD also features the same type of acoustic "soft rock." "Turn Your Lights Down Low" is my favorite song on the disc.

Now - by the Flamin' Groovies. Okay, so it's a reissue. More classic and jangly pop material from the 70s/80s should suffer a similar fate. When it comes to the Groovies, their music is timeless. This disc has its share of 60s cover tunes as well as original tunes … and it features the unmistakable Groovies' Rickenbacker sound! Count Cyril Jordan among Roger McGuinn's disciples. That's enough for me!

Several recent compilations also feature some jangly tracks. You won't be disappointed by the two-CD, 46-track Planet of the Popboomerang Volume 2 (from the good folks at Australia's Popboomerang Records). The two CDs feature an outstanding cross-section of contemporary pop artists, but the standout jangly track is "Hun Kommer" by American Suitcase. When these guys want to, they really know how to sound like the Byrds! Another compilation, Any Time Any Wave, features 18 artists doing versions of songs from the New Wave era. My favorite tracks are "Oliver's Army" by the Imposibles and "Does Stephanie Know?" by the Shambles. Long may you run, Sir Bart Mendoza!

I am happy to report that Neal Casal's latest disc, Return In Kind, features ten cover songs and one of them is an excellent remake of Gene Clark's "With Tomorrow." The fortieth anniversary of the recording of Gene Clark's greatest hit, "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better," will occur in April. It's nice to know that contemporary artists still appreciate Gene's song-writing abilities - over a decade since he passed away.

Last but not least, jangly music enthusiasts will really dig "Better Than Ten" on Skyblynde's The National EP. This song compares very favorably with Kyle Vincent's mid-tempo jangly tracks. Enough said.

Until next month, jangle on!

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