The Orbits - Make The Rules

[1980]

Power pop party time people!

Pop-rock perfection from one and done Milwaukee group The Orbits. 

A brief little burst of exuberant hook laden power pop. 

Toppermost of the power poppermost.

Diamond Girl · Seals & Crofts

[1973]

Soft rock gold keeps on coming. All the gold. All the soft rock magic. All the time. CardrossManiac delivering the soft rock golden goodness. 

Diamond Girl is most golden romantic soft rock with jazz inflections which = pop perfection: Makes you feel good, makes you feel fine.

This gets on such a euphoric in the pocket groove with that smooth driving bass, alluring guitar hooks and those swinging congas plus all the catchy vocal melodies, breezy harmonious back ups, jaunty keys, jazzy flute, enticing tempo changes... 

infectious to the core, goosebumps galore... 

Under The Jamaican Moon · Nick DeCaro

{1974}

Speaking of long lost summers, nostalgia and romance here's the ultra smooth soft rock masterpiece Under The Jamaican Moon.

Impeccable with its light latin feel, exquisite vocal melodies, breezy harmonies, sublime smooth jazz guitar and immaculate baroque touches from the master arranger Nick DeCaro himself. 

Get out your summer drinks with umbrellas in, pop on your best Hawaiian shirt and luxuriate in this splendorous tropical atmosphere... .

...it's time to get free and easy... 

Its all about the sand between your toes, the tide rippling at your ankles, the sea breeze in your hair, seduction on your lips and everything going just right in the moment...

Underrated... 

Outstanding.

Fennesz - Shisheido

[2001]

Absolutely gorgeous tune.

Nobody was expecting this at the time. His previous two cds had been non melodic, cold, pretty noisy affairs, so Endless Summer was quite a surprise. 

A place where the sonic aesthetics of glitch, shoegaze noise and Boards Of Canada's brand of idyllic electronica meet was unusual and unexpected too. 

Shisheido is the most blissfully pastoral tune on the cd evoking all sorts of nostalgia for romance and long lost summers at the beach. 

Lovely.

Endless Summer [2001]

It's hard to go past the hazy and aquatic electroacoustic mesmerizing magic of Endless Summer. 

All glitchy and haunted with psychedelic/folk/baroque pop elements. 

Dream-a-delic! 

Gas - The fifteen minute track from Königsforst

C aka Untitled #5 aka Königsforst 5 aka the 15 minute track from Königsforst [1998]

Now for a walk in the Black Forest.

Because some people have not heard this, here it is.

Worth checking out even if you were never that enamoured with techno. Fans of classical, ambient, minimalism and rock's outer reaches or anyone should be able to get into this splendid track as it's transcendent... undeniably great.

Where the ancient meets modern, putting the ye olde into the futuristic 90s.

Bringing the bucolic to the urban.

The swirling changing sameness will have you hypnotised.

Silicon Chip - Basil Kirchin

[1979]

Speaking of strange electronic novelty pop. What about this futuristic slice of state of the art disco pop made by Avant-guard composer Basil Kirchin. A somewhat positive ode to the silicon chip, I think... maybe. I guess old Basil wasn't to know the silicon chip would be instrumental in psy-ops, mind control and ultimately community division. Progress...

*This wasn't released in 1979. It languished in some vault for over 35 years until Jonny Trunk got his oven mitts on it and issued it on seven inch in 2016. Silicon Chip really coulda been in the same gang as the game changing futuristic chartbusting number one singles of 1979 like Are 'Friends' Electric?, Pop Musik, Video Killed The Radio Star, Cars etc.

Lothar And The Hand People - Machines

[1968]

Futuristic psych that pre-empts all the arty post-punk, shambling Beefheartian new wave, 80s Tom Waits etc.

Back then I guess this woulda just been an electronic novelty...

...albeit a prescient anomaly of the psychedelic era. 

Pretty weird kinda normal, know what I mean.

THE PURPLE CANTEEN - Brains In My Feet

[1969]

A fuzz monster.

Fuzzed up drone-y garage psychedelia. 

Lysergical fun for all the family..

Insane haunting intensity.

Heavy man.

Hey Monstruo - Los Monstruos

[1966]

A Mexican garage classico. 

We all know because La Flama Blanca: Kenny Fucking Powers!

Psycho swagger, mesmerising bass, mucho twangery and a groovy beat baby.

Rewind.

The Feelies - Moscow Nights

[1980]

The supreme jittery janglers from New Jersey doin their trembling thin and dry repetitive thing with frenetic intricacy. Their maniacal insistent instrumental build-ups, from silence to ominously slow burning evolving into frantically explosive, are legendary. These guys were tight.

Those that know, know that every tune's a winner on their toppermost debut LP Crazy Rhythms. The outstanding Moscow Nights has all the tense jangles and suspenseful strums along with a sharp focused intense and twitchy percussive track. All done with The Feelies signature youthful nervous urgency. 

The best!