I'm a big fan of symmetry, and apparently Vista Blue is as well. In 2024, Vista Blue has done something very cool: release a song on both the first and last day of the year. That's right: Vista Blue will go down in music history for bookending 2024! Has any band ever done this before? The back half of the bookend, "Next Christmas," is not exactly a Christmas release. Then again, it's not exactly not a Christmas release. The A-side is more of a post-Christmas song. There's a funny story behind its creation. Mike's family had watched the "Last Christmas" documentary the other day. Afterwards, they switched to the radio and heard "This Christmas." Mike's kids took this as a sign that he had to write a song about next Christmas, and so here we are! The song is about resolving to do all the things next Christmas that you didn't manage to do this Christmas. I can relate, especially since I've spent the past two-and-a-half weeks fighting an ear infection. I have to admit to feeling inadequate when I watch those Hallmark movies and see how those folks go all-out for Christmas. At least I've been drinking my hot cocoa daily! "Next Christmas" finds Vista Blue at its punkiest — blazing through this toe-tapping number about holiday regret and ambitious redemption in just a few ticks over a minute. Consider this song a long-term New Year's resolution. You can bet that when I cue up my Christmas 2025 playlist next Thanksgiving night, "Next Christmas" will be one of the first tracks I play. It will be my Christmastime "Eye of the Tiger" — my pump-up music for being super-festive next Christmas!
But wait! There's more! Since "Next Christmas" is a New Year's Eve release, the B-side is a New Year's song — with a twist! "(It's Not the Year) It's You" is classic VB to the core. Hilariously, it looks at a situation where you might blame all your troubles on a bad year instead of taking personal accountability for all that went wrong. Think of this as a more light-hearted and family friendly version of the Sex Pistols' "Problems." Listening to these lyrics, most of us will think of someone in particular this song applies to! Mike and Mark went down to the wire to get this single released for New Year's Eve, and I really appreciate that. The record books will show that my first and last posts of 2024 were Vista Blue reviews!
Happy New Year! It is a tradition of mine to post about my favorite music of the year on the very last day of the year. This is, in fact, my 14th annual New Year's Eve best-of writeup. When I created Faster and Louder, I could never have imagined it being around for even five years — much less 13 and a half. I figured a blog was something one did for a little while and then stopped. I never thought I'd be in my 50s and still doing this. Yet here we are. A big reason why I've never had the urge to stop doing F & L is because I've kept it fun for myself. I am super-selective about what I write about. I don't do "bad reviews." I only write about music I like (and in the majority of cases, love). I don't force myself to write X number of reviews in any given week or month (I may, in fact, be posting less frequently going forward). I can write about certain bands and artists over and over and over with zero diminishment in enthusiasm. I still get excited about discovering new bands — even if that means having to dig through massive quantities of new releases. I don't aspire to having a large audience, but I'm very appreciative of all of you who find it worth your time to stop by and check out some of the music I champion.
On that note, I'll say what I basically say every New Year's Eve: What a year this has been for new music written and recorded by humans! This yearly post has evolved from me listing my top ten albums of the year to a top thirty. And even at thirty, I find myself regretting not mentioning quite a few albums. And that brings me to another big reason why F & L is still around after all these years: this is a thriving time for power pop, punk rock, and rock 'n' roll in general. The frequency with which I post is largely dependent on how inspired I am by the music that's coming out. If this music did not exist, this blog would not exist. I acknowledge that the releases mentioned below represent only a small fraction of the great music that came out this year. If you haven't done so yet, please check out yesterday's reader top tens for 2024. And now let's get on with it. Here's my best of 2024!
Top 30 Albums of 2024
30. Wasted Pretty - self titled Ginger and Joey, the teenage twins behind the pandemic classic single "Sucks Being Underage," are all grown up now and rocking the old school punk in impressive fashion.
29. Bambies - Snotty Angels 15 tracks of uber-energetic snot-rocket punk-pop that will get any party started.
28. Pack Rat - Life's A Trap Patrick McEachnie's pandemic solo project has turned into a full-fledged band that's a must-hear for any regular reader of this blog. "Like if a Canadian Johnny Rotten fronted Vancouver's very own Buzzcocks. If the Briefs and the Hives had a love child that looked just a little like Jay Reatard."
27. Vicious Dreams -Turn off My Brain The second full-length from this Florida-based powerpop/punk trio, in the band's own words, "explores the daily struggles of dealing with ADHD and anxiety while trying to keep your head on straight in a world filled with people that often feels majorly bizarre." Truly an album for these times.
26. Night Court - $hit Machine Already the fourth album from this Canadian trio, $hit Machine is the best release yet from one of the most exciting and original bands in today's punk rock scene.
25. Amyl and the Sniffers -Cartoon Darkness I will never hold popularity against a band. Another smashing long player from the mighty Sniffers!
24. Log Flume - Splash Hit Super-charming debut album from this Philadelphia-based power pop/indie rock band.
23. Extra Arms - Radar Another great album from everyone's favorite old school alternative rock power pop band.
22. TA-80 - Turn It Up Awesome anthemic pop-punk rock 'n' roll from Arizona.
21. The Cynz -Little Miss Lost On its first album for JEM Records, this New Jersey–based rock 'n' roll powerhouse delivers a stunning release that manages to sound '80s-influenced yet fully modern. Great hooky rock with charisma for days.
20. Alvilda - C'est Deja L'heure Nina, Mel, Eva, Sandra are back with ten perfect tracks of '60s girl group influenced power pop punk.
19. The Battlebeats - Meet Your Maker A smashing, bashing, crashing monster of a garage punk record from everyone's favorite Indonesian one-man budget rock wrecking crew.
18. The Dictators - self titled Is this the same old Dictators you remember from 1975 or even 2001? Of course not. Is this band still totally great? Hell yeah!
17. Unicorn Dogs - Age Typical Junk Behavior With their new band, Jon and Lucas from Charlie Brown Gets a Valentine have gone out and set the new standard for what pop-punk for grown-ups ought to be.
16. Itchy and the Nits -Worst Of I'm kind of cheating here since the majority of these songs were already on last year's top EPs list. But I couldn't leave this one off. A spirited and infectious throwback to the 1990s heyday of lo-fi garage trash greatness. The Brentwoods meet Thee Headcoatees in modern-day Australia.
15. The Cavemen - Ca$h 4 Scrap The first new Cavemen album in four years was exactly what you expected it to be: a tour de force of blistering and ferocious garage punk rock 'n' roll with sneakily tuneful songwriting. Their best album yet!
A lot of people slept on this one, and I don't know why. Killer '77-style catchy punk rock 'n' roll from New York City.
13. Zatopeks -Loitering and Sauntering Brilliant old school poppy punk with smart & passionate lyrics that will make you want to go out stick it to the powers that be.
12. Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men -Up and Out of It The surest things in life are death, taxes, and guitar pop perfection from Nick Piunti and the Complicated Men.
11. Fastbacks - For WHAT Reason! If you had told me thirty years ago that the Fastbacks would still be around in 2024 and putting out one of their very best records, I would have been in awe of the future.
10. Split System - Vol. 2 Real deal Aussie punk rock that will set your hair on fire and kick you in the teeth for good measure.
9. Lorne Behrman - Blue Love On his second full-length album, Lorne Behrman continues to blossom into an extraordinary songwriter with a poet's soul and a punk rock heart.
8. Classic Pat - Won't Back Down My favorite pop-punk album of the decade so far.
7. The Yum Yums -Poppin' Up Again Another perfect bubblegum power pop punk album from the ageless Morten Henriksen and his merry gang of Scandinavian heartthrobs.
6. Kate Clover -The Apocalypse Dream Imagine some alternate universe where Blondie was a 1978 L.A. punk band, but it was 2024.
5. The Reflectors - Going Out of Fashion On their third album, the mighty Reflectors hit the sweet spot where classic power pop meets '70s punk-pop. You know I love it! A lot of power pop bands run out of steam by the time they get to their third album, but The Reflectors have never sounded better!
4. Teenage Frames -Everything Has Led to This The first full-length album in 25 years from these legendary power pop/glam rock 'n' roll/old school punk sensations is a veritable parade of hits!
3. The Sleeveens - self-titled The authors of my favorite single of 2023 turned out a debut album for the ages and an instant classic of '70s-inspired pub punk. Brian LaManna says, "Lazy Cowgirls fronted by Dylan Thomas," and I couldn't have said it better by myself. We should all aspire to singing like Aretha Franklin and pissing in the eyes of our racist uncles.
What can I say about ole' Rags? He's one of the best songwriters around, and he's been a mainstay of my year-end lists for a decade now. Here he is finally on the podium! The solo outing You Can Get Dark with Me is his most intimate release to date and arguably his best. Every single one of these songs is profound, relatable, and deeply moving. "Tragic Celebration" and "Worth" just might be the best two songs Rags has ever written. This is the kind of album you listen to in the dark while you're sipping a strong beverage or play on a long solitary walk as you contemplate your life. What a beautiful and soul-stirring record! Buy the CD from Barrel and Squidger Records.
1. The Cheap Cassettes - They'll Never Forgive You for Pop I must admit that determining the order of selections 3, 2, and 1 on this list was an agonizing task. The separation between these three records was minute, and no amount of meditation, reflection, re-examination, or communion with the music gods was going to make these decisions easier. Some combination of what I drank last night, which way the wind was blowing, and how the cat glared at me this morning brought me to a final decision. Energized by the addition of the legendary Scott Sutherland (Chemistry Set, The Model Rockets) as a second vocalist and songwriter, the Cheap Cassettes unleashed their magnum opus. They'll Never Forgive You for Pop is, loosely speaking, a power pop record. But it's so much more than a power pop record, and the band's defiance of genre pays off handsomely. This is a blockbuster power pop/rock 'n' roll record that also dabbles in glam rock, psychedelic pop, and old school Pacific Northwestern alternative rock. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if some country artist covers the devastating "Fade To Nothin'" and makes millions. I don't know what the heck "Down to Mexico" even is, but I know I love it. There's not a single track on this record that isn't perfect. If you know, you know.
Top 25 EPs of 2024
25. The Putz - On and Up and Out One of my favorite pop-punk bands was back at it this year after not releasing new music in quite some time. This EP and the album Too Little Too Late are both excellent.
24. Golden Shitters - Love Blows Skuzzy and splendidly ill-humored punk rock from Hamilton, Ontario.
23. Bart and the Brats - Only Fair La Rochelle, France's most formidable one-man punk rock recording project continues to smash it up, '77-style.
22. Tiikeri - Tee se itse E.P. Lo-fi, DIY, '77-style pop-punk goodness from Turku, Finland.
21. Boris the Sprinkler -Gets a Clue Maybe one band in the universe could ever pull off something as ridiculous as an EP devoted entirely to the board game Clue. Thankfully, the great Boris the Sprinkler is that band.
20. Gene Champagne - Let's Jet Champagne, of Killjoys/Teenage Head/Un-Teens fame, does the one-man-band thing to perfection on this tasty set of power pop punk tunes.
19. BÄMBÄM - self titled I slept on this German punk band's fantastic debut at first, but I have since wised up. Totally killer punk rock from a band that's gonna be massive!
18. Owen Adamcik - The Owens The talented youngster from Florida gives us the next best thing to a new Nerves record in 2024.
17. The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs - Call the Dogs The first new Cheetahs material since 2021 delivers the goods.
16. Hakan - #2 My favorite Italian garage punk-pop trio is back with its first new music in a couple years. Could a new LP be in the works?
15. Hasty - self-titled EP Michelle Shirelle's new pop-punk super-group does not disappoint!
14. Junior Varsity - Where the Groove Is Mighty Joe Vincent is back as a songwriter/bandleader, and ya gotta love it!
13. Vista Blue - Be Good I love a good covers record. My favorite pop-punk band earns its goth card with an excellent Cure cover and also has at songs by Lemon Demon, Waxahatchee, and Lightning Seeds. Mike wins dad of the year for covering his daughter's favorite band.
12. Love Collector - First Night/Last Night of Leather Love Collector's first release in a dozen years is a '77 glam punk rock 'n' roll smasher.
11. The Goodyear Wimps - Songs for Adult Children with Distortion "Hacksaw power pop" from Idaho featuring the talents of Brent V from The Brents. Super catchy and super underrated.
10. Brad Marino - Ramones and Stones One of last year's top singles became one of this year's top EPs due to the addition of some perfectly complementary tracks.
9. Friends of Cesar Romero - Last Summer A Year from Now J. Waylon's long-running one-man project continues to be guaranteed pleasure for any fan of power pop, pop-punk, and garage rock.
8. The Prize/The Unknowns - Split 7" Two of the best bands in Australia team up and do not fall short of expectations!
7. the Ape-ettes - No Matter What Three more supreme shots of high-spirited, high-energy energy garage rock from Sudbury, Ontario's finest trio.
6. Loose Lips - Self titled Nadine from The Prize, Josh from The Unknowns, and Ethan from Chubby and the Gang make up a punk rock/power pop super-group of epic proportions. While you can expect elements of both The Prize and The Unknowns from this debut record, it brings a hard-riffing boogie woogie rock 'n' roll style that is unique from all these folks' other bands. Please don't let this be the last we hear from Loose Lips!
5. shiverlane - Sketches from the Departure Lounge At eight songs in 24 minutes and change, Sketches From the Departure Lounge could call itself an LP or an EP without much of an argument from anyone. In a digital world, does it really make a difference? Whatever you call it, it's a little gem of an album that lives in the space where power pop, alternative rock, and '60s pop intersect.
4. Civil Rats - Don't Get It. Another amazing EP from this super-underrated Philly-based garage-punk outfit. Catchy tunes, awesome lyrics, and good times guaranteed.
3. Real Rejects - Not Allowed More on this one in a minute.
2. Wyatt Funderburk - Fleeting and Finite First solo release in 11 years from one of the best songwriters in the guitar pop universe is an absolute stunner.
1. Hayley and the Crushers -Unsubscribe from the Underground The Crushers, who had my favorite full-length album of 2022, returned this year with this terrific little EP. Energized by a new supporting cast, Hayley and Dr. Cain really leaned into their love of punk rock on these five tracks which perfectly blend California glitz and Midwest grit. Maturing in music doesn't always have to mean mellowing out!
24. Kurt Baker - "Inner Demons" This was Kurt Baker's year to reconnect with his pop-punk roots, and no one is complaining!
23. Tiger Bomb - "Ready To Go" Top-notch power pop from The Pine Tree State.
22. Intrusive Thoughts - "Daytime Drama" Debut single from Greg Lonesome's intercontinental punk rock super-group aims to break the stigma surrounding men's mental health. It's okay not to be okay.
20. Dany Laj & The Looks - "Meet Me on the Floor" In anticipation of their first tour since 2019, Dany Laj & The Looks released this upbeat rocker. If you just wanna dance forever, this song will be your jam.
19. Norcos Y Horchata - "Unkind Sometimes" Something very different from Detroit's finest — with a Cinecyde cover on the B-side!
18. Cola Cubes - "Bold Street Beach" This could easily pass for some obscure U.K. power pop single from 1980.
17. shiverlane - "Little English Pleasures" Just another typical song about the pleasure gardens of 18th century London.
16. The Dogmatics - "Library Girl" Aging like fine wine, The Dogmatics are in vintage form as they explore every smart fella's greatest fantasy.
15. The Family Township - "Rosie Come Back" Power pop + '70s arena rock = "sweet rock."
14. The Sleeveens - "UFOs"/"Bernadette" A-side is an appropriately spacey mid-tempo rocker; the B-side is a cover of a Four Tops classic.
12. Autogramm - "Diana" The best early '80s new wave band of the 2020s is going stronger than ever.
11. Real Rejects - Summer of Spite These songs are based on a real-life summer of spite, but no actual crimes were committed.
10. Vista Blue - "Somebody's Favorite Band" One of the best singles yet from one of my favorite bands is a love letter to all of you who put music into the world.
9. Kurt Baker - "Delusional" Kurt Baker takes it back to his roots in pop-punk and power pop on this relatable and deeply personal number.
8. Lynda Mandolyn - "I Love How You Love Me" This stunning rendition of The Paris Sisters' classic gives me chills. Originally conceived as a duet with Justine Covault, Mandolyn decided to record the song to honor her dear friend. A beautiful recording and a beautiful tribute!
7. The Lemon Drop Gang - "Leave the World Behind" My favorite garage-pop desert punk band returns with a couple of timely tunes.
6. Stiff Richards - "GFC" One track sounds like a lost classic from 1977, and the other sounds like a lost classic from 1981. Exactly the kind of punk rock single I wanted to hear in 2024!
5. CB Kiddo - "Running to You" Home-recorded punk rock greatness from everyone's favorite Phone Jerks vocalist. RIYL The Muffs and Supercharger. B-side is a cover of a Canadian punk classic.
4. The Shang Hi Los - "Op-Operator" Another perfect pop song from the Shangs. I always love a song that tells a story!
3. Lùlù - "Lùlù" Exciting debut single from what might just be Europe's next great power pop band.
2. The Dahlmanns - "Lucky" A triumphant return from one of the greatest power pop bands of modern times. Hearing this band again gave me chills.
1. Taxi Girls - "Rainy" My favorite Canadian punk rock trio is now my favorite Canadian punk rock foursome. Here we get two great tracks of rocking, catchy, and totally bad-ass punk. A legit double A-sider! If we finally get a Taxi Girls full-length next year, it may very well be my album of the year for 2025!
2024 Song of the Year The Cheap Cassettes - "Bad Xerox" So I asked myself to think about which song not by Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter I listened to the most this year, and "Bad Xerox" was it. It's a perfect power pop rocker that explores the relatable realization that your ex is dating a different version of you. In a better world, this would have been a massive radio hit.
Master Class Album of the Year Fastbacks - For WHAT Reason! I give this award every year to the best album by a band/artist that's 25 years or more into its recording career. The mighty Fastbacks, who are 44 years into their recording career, definitely qualify. If it seems like the world is totally going to shit and all hope is lost, well at least 2024 brought us a vintage effort from one of the greatest bands that has ever existed.
Best Compilation Album of 2024 The White Wires - Singles and Rarities (Almost) all the non-album tracks from one of the greatest garage/punk/powerpop bands of the 2010s. Man, does this stuff ever hold up. Be sure to check out Ian's new band the Restrospects! Honorable mentions go out to brilliant singles collections from Nasty Party and Silicone Values.
Best Debut Release of 2024
Real Rejects - Not Allowed Following years of solo home-recorded goodness with his fictional Artificial Rejects, TJ Cabot finally went out and assembled a real cast of Rejects comprised of Moncton-area punk greats. Alien Snatch Records immediately wanted in on the action, and the band's debut 10" delivers nine blistering tracks of primo budget trash by way of '70s American punk rock 'n' roll by way of '60s garage rock. This thing rips! Accept no artificial rejects!
2024 Music Blog of the Year Remember The Lightning S.W. Lauden's Substack is a must-read for anyone who loves guitar pop and really for anyone who loves music. Rather than just doing the typical record review nonsense (ha ha!), Steve goes deeper with interviews, essays, and guest pieces penned by some of the best music writers out there. If you grew up reading music magazines and miss that kind of high quality, passionate music writing, Remember the Lightning is one place you can still find it.
2024 Record Label of the Year Mom's Basement Records It may be unusual for me to give this award to a record label that specializes in one genre of music — in particular, a genre of music I have a love/hate relationship with. But if we're talking pop-punk/Ramonescore record labels, I have to say that Mom's Basement is by far the best one out there and easily one of the best there has ever been. John and Tricia put such pure love and passion into this label. Obviously that's true of almost any DIY record label owner, but I can't deny that Mom's Basement has had a year for the ages. Of course that Classic Pat album made my top ten list, but releases by The Putz, Boogadas!, The Lockdowns, and The Bacarrudas were also top tier. And the label also reissued a couple of stone cold classics from Egghead. and The Young Hasselhoffs. If you're one of the two or three living pop-punk fans who doesn't know about Mom's Basement Records, head on over to the label's webstore and be ready to spend some money!
Alright! That's another awesome year in the books. I'm excited for more great music in 2025. See you next year!
Here we are on the penultimate day of the year 2024. Tomorrow I'll do my "best of 2024" mega-post to celebrate another tremendous year in the punk/garage/power pop/etc. universe. But here's the thing: I'm just one person. I'm not going to be aware of even half of the great music that's out there. So I revived an old tradition and called upon some friends to augment F & L's end-of-the-year festivities. Below are some 2024 top ten lists from some friends of the blog. The majority of the releases mentioned below never got reviewed here. So hopefully you will check out some of these releases, and I will too! I'm really proud of these lists because they represent a diverse selection of musical tastes. Thanks to all of you who contributed. Let's make this an annual thing!
Marky & The Mopeds - self-titled 12" - NIM Records Various Artists - Can't Escape From What You Are (DOA tribute) 12" - Sudden Death Records The Weirdolls - Almost Unbreakable Toys 12" - Wanda Records The Follow Ups - Know Who Your Friends Aren't - Mom's Basement Records/Faster and Louder Records The Real Rejects -Not Allowed10" - Alien Snatch Records Smooch - A Force To Be Rockin' With 12" - Wanda Records Various Artists - Punk Canada Vol. 3 12" - En Guard Records The McBains - self titled 12" - Faster and Louder Records
I'd also like to add a 2023 vote for Pretenders' Relentless. Finally got around to diving into that album this past month and it's a punch to the gut. Great album!
Honestly, since I stopped doing my radio show here in Nashville a couple of years ago, I haven't kept up with newer music like I should. But there was still a ton of stuff I loved this year. While it's a given that I've forgotten some stuff, off the top of my head, here are my Top 10 songs for 2024.
10. 20/20 - "Laurel Canyon"
What did we do to deserve a brand new 20/20 track in 2024?? And a whole album coming in January?? That's a pretty good sign for 2025, I think.
9. Ben Folds - "Sleepwalking Through Christmas"
One of my favorite songwriters doing a full Christmas album? That will always be a Top 10 moment for me! It's hard to pick a favorite from the record this soon, and I may need to revisit this next year.
8. Beach Bunny - "Clueless" Beach Bunny is definitely in my top five "newer" bands. So many great hooks, and the lyrics actually seem to be somewhat meaningful, as opposed to most of the nonsense people write today.
7. Classic Pat - "Video to Radio" I'm super lucky to be friends and bandmates with one of my favorite musicians, someone who does as much as he can just for the fun of it. I could pick any of the dozens of songs Pat does each year, but his Kidd Video project was extra fun this year, and the video is amazing.
6. The Cure - "A Fragile Thing" Getting a new album from The Cure was one of the best things about 2024.
5. Spose - "Wrong" This is probably way out of place on this site, but Spose was my most listened to artist in my 2024 Spotify Wrapped thing, which is far from the only way I listen to music, of course. But it's still pretty interesting, and it has a lot to do with this album. All of the songs are good (particularly the three first released on the EP), but "Wrong" really spoke to me, with quotes like, "Everything you like, I'm anti," "I'd rather be dead than be like anybody," and "I like my autotune way out of tune."
4. Ben Kweller - "Optimystic"
Following the tragedy of losing his son last year, you'd understand if we didn't hear from Ben Kweller for a little while. But this song... it says it all. "Lose your heart/Back to start/Your brains go 'pow'/I'm not optimistic now." I don't think I could ever have done something like this, but Ben's talent is undeniable. The fact that it sounds something like Radish and/or his Sha Sha era is just a bonus. Can't wait for the album.
3. Wyatt Funderburk - "Anna" One of my best friends and favorite people is also one of the greatest current musicians around. We've been waiting for this EP for a long time, and Wyatt delivered, as expected. (Shout out to my brother Todd for playing the drums here.) Be sure to also check out Wyatt's other recent release, Hibiki's Parkside.
2. Nada Surf - "In Front of Me Now"
People who have written this band off as some MTV one-Buzz Bin-video novelty act have missed out on decades of dynamic songwriting by Matthew Caws. This particular track offers a great chance to reflect, especially heading into a new year. I'm captivated by lines like "Always re-writing what I was reading/But also doubting what I was conceiving." But I think the lyric that fits me best is "In the middle of summer, I was Decembering." That's me!
1. 2nd Grade - "I Wanna Be on Your Mind"
I was so excited about the new 2nd Grade album this year that I wrote a whole song to announce/celebrate its release. This song is everything you could enjoy about bands like The Apples in Stereo and The Byrds. I'm loving everything this band does.
Mike has also created a Spotify playlist of his top 20 songs of the year.
We'll close out my 2024 reviews with a piece on a new record from an old band. Seattle's The Heats are legends in the power pop universe. In my book, their 1980 debut album Have An Idea is a classic of the genre and remains largely underrated outside the community of power pop super-fans. Last year, original members Steve Pearson (guitar, vocals), Keith Lilly (bass guitar) and Ken Deans (drums) got the band back together, enlisting Jon Memolo on guitar and vocals to round out the lineup. Their goal was to make a new record, and they did just that. Simply titled The Heats, this is the band's first new studio material in 43 years. And you know what? It's really good! The band mostly sticks to a straight-forward style of power pop rooted in no-nonsense rock 'n' roll. You can tell they set out to make a record that would still sound like The Heats. Obviously after forty plus years, the band isn't going to sound exactly the same. But The Heats is sure to be a fan-pleaser with its simple approach and rock-solid execution. These guys still know how to write a punchy pop song with a killer hook. I would say this album is very comparable to the excellent Paul Collins LP from earlier this year. "I Hope You're Wrong" and "Heartbroken Past" are top-quality hooky rockers. "She Belongs To Me," "As If," and "Let's Pretend" are power pop by the book. Tracks like "For You" and "Where's Your Love Now" blur the lines between power pop and '70s/'80s AOR. If you're a longtime fan of The Heats, this very long awaited sophomore LP will not disappoint you. When you think about that whole generation of bands that defined power pop in the late '70s and early '80s, you realize that we'll never have the opportunity to hear from many of them ever again. To be able to hear The Heats sounding this good in 2024 is a gift. Hit up The Heats' website to order the album!
