By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
Smith and Jones
“Secondhand Heart”
(from the forthcoming album Something Worth Learning (2019)
Deftly chronicling the lack of an in-for-a-penny, in-for-a-pound element of romance missing from a relationship, Abby Smith and Sophie Jones’ glorious and catchy new single, released in advance of their forthcoming second album, Something Worth Learning, makes the case for music being the able vehicle for examining heartbreak and allowing the heart to heal.
Anchored by an emotionally-charged drums and piano base, the uptempo, melodic “Secondhand Heart,” written by Smith, adopts a classic pop structure, as the song tackles a weighty subject atop a catchy melody. Smith and Jones trade lead vocals and take on acoustic guitar and piano duties; Matt Ferry plays lead guitar and Michael Carpenter plays bass and the intricate, thundering drum pattern. Sweet lead and harmony vocalizing abound.
A particularly inventive video (watch below) brings the story of “Secondhand Heart” to life. Part performance, part interpretive dance energetically performed by Alison Plevey, the action takes place in a spacious, bare room in what looks like an industrial structure.
Plevey’s movement suggests a woman wanting to get close to a lover who is relatively, emotionally empty; drawn to him, she pushes closer, then apart, always moving, always searching for next steps. In addition to viewers watching the song unfold before their eyes, and the song is the thing, of course, the suggestion is for viewers to think and determine how they feel about what is going on. It’s a bargain that pays dividends.
“Secondhand Heart” is a triumph, a great, thinking person’s pop piece that heightens anticipation for Smith and Jones’ second album, Something Worth Learning, which releases in March. I can’t wait.
Where to Get It: Check back for purchase links
Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the premiere website covering the melodic pop scene with in-depth reviews of new and reissued recordings, and a wide variety of features. We’ve been around since the first weekly Pure Pop Radio shows, which began broadcasting in 1995, and the 24-hour Pure Pop Radio station, which ended last August. Welcome to your number one home for coverage of the greatest melodic pop music in the universe from the ’60s to today.
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
Top of our agenda was the Supahip’s terrific new album, The Two Sided Face. Michael has crafted, with Mark Moldre, a classic collection of songs incorporating such varied influences as rock, pop, and country. Michael and Mark entered the studio each day without a written song to sing; by the end of each day, a song was written, performed and mixed. Working without a net has never sounded so good.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Airing this Wednesday night at 9 pm ET on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio, my interview with Michael tackles The Two Sided Face, the Supahip’s followup to 2007’s debut, Seize the World. A mix of rock and roll, pop and country influences fuels this fun collection from Michael and Mark Moldre, who entered the studio each day without a written song to sing; by the end of each day, a song was written, performed and mixed. Working without a net has never sounded so good.
Two all-new editions of Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show roll tomorrow and Thursday night at 8 pm ET. A catchy pure melodic pop song from ex-Jellyfisher Roger Joseph Manning Jr.’s upcoming EP Glamping and a lovely new midtempo popper from the always great Gilbert O’Sullivan shine tomorrow night during a show that also features the latest from the Connection’s Brad Marino; Simon Love; Wilson; Blake Jones and the Trike Shop; McPherson Grant; the Ice Cream Conspiracists; the Supahip; Carpenter, Smith and Jones; David Myhr; the Quick; Lane Steinberg, and Soft Hearted Scientists.
The April Family | What We Know Now (Big Radio Records, 2016)
Now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio: “Pages of Us,” “1943,” “You’re Just the Blues,” “I’m Over You,” “So Close, Not Far Enough Away,” “You’re Someone that I Never Knew,” “Patsy Cline Times Two,” “It Ain’t Me, It’s Always You,” and “Easy for You”
Michael Carpenter and Allan Caswell | “Life Like It’s a Train Wreck”
The Del Zorros | “So Much Love”
After incorporating a variety of styles into a stream of releases spanning a nearly-20-year-long career, the Nines’ Steve Eggers has delivered perhaps his most heartfelt musical statement—a love letter to the classic song structures that populated the output of artists in the pre-1962 era and the more contemporary sounds that have influenced him.
Now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio: “And Suddenly,” “Beachfront in New York,” “Can’t Go Back to Ocean Town,” “Darling I Adore You,” “Escape from a Small Town,” “Everybody Knows Me,” “I Have Found You,” “I’m an Old Soul and You’re Old Fashioned,” and “Operator (Coming Home to You)”
Chris Murphy with Michael Carpenter | “Real Love” This absolutely gorgeous ballad recasting of John Lennon’s song, released in 1996 on the Beatles Anthology 2 as the second new group track after “Free as a Bird,” is one of this year’s major triumphs in melodic pop music. For one thing, the tempo has been slowed, allowing Murphy to lovingly communicate the depth of the emotional lyric. Murphy’s vocal may well be the best vocal performance of the year. His ability to hold a melody line’s final note in such an artful way, to sustain its resonance and maximize its impact on the listener, is something to behold.
Lisa Mychols | “I’ve Run All Out of Tears (To Cry Over You)” I had the great pleasure and distinct honor of premiering this lovely retro-charmer, the first single from the forthcoming labor of love, Dana Countryman’s Girlville! New Songs in the Style of Yesterday’s Hits, on November 10. The occasion was an exclusive interview with Dana on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, during which he talked publicly for the first time about this album, which I predict will be one of the most talked-about long players of 2017.
The Flat Five | It’s a World of Love and Hope From out Chicago way comes this group of harmony-centric harmony hounds. A supergroup of sorts due to the member’s affiliation with artists such as Neko Case and the New Pornographers, the Flat Five took a long road toward making this, their first album, playing a growing number of gigs during which they performed songs written by group member Scott Ligon’s brother Chris. Intent on getting a wide audience for Chris’s songs, they set about recording them. The result is a deliciously wondrous assortment of luscious pop dressed in a variety of comfortable musical clothing that runs the gamut from the Manhattan Transfer-meets-hep cat vibe of the delightful “Buglight” to the Paul McCartney retro-sway of “I Could Fall in Love with You” and the pretty back porch balladry of Roches-like “Bottom Buck.” Records like this one don’t come along every day, which makes It’s a World of Love and Hope pretty special.
Cult of Wedge | Loch Ness Monsters and Motherships This latest musical missive from UK parish Rowley Regis’s Pete Hackett notches a best-album-yet nod for its top-notch selection of catchy songs, all performed with gusto. Hackett’s obvious love of the pop form glistens on the half-dozen songs from this album now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio. Earworms all.
Carl Funk | Black Horizon Vanilla fans will be familiar with Carl Funk from his widescreen lead vocal on “The Angel of Swain’s Lane” from the group’s 2.0 album (also appearing here), sung, as I said in my October 15, 2014 review of the song, “with deep emotion and old world style.” Carl’s committed, soulful voice drives these songs, carved with (and yes, I am coining a new word) an Amerisoulfulcana blade which fit perfectly among the various pop colors in our on-air mix. Wonderful stuff.
yrtle Park’s Fishing Club | Benches
Michael Carpenter and Allan Caswell | “Back When I Was Older”
Michael Carpenter and the Cuban Heels | Ain’t Nothing Left to Say Country? Sure, there’s that, but moreover there are a dozen room-filling explosions of sound emblazoned with Carpenter’s trademark melodic touch. Witness the boom-boom-to-snare power of the catchy “One of these Days I’m Gonna Get Myself Right,” the easy intro-to-mid-tempo-pop punch of “Big in the City,” and the pumping, big guitars, big drums punch of “Black Chevy.” There really isn’t anything this Australian musical magician can’t do. Our playlist, and melodic pop music in general, benefit always from his mastery of the pop form.
Crash and the Crapenters | Set in Stone Pumping and thumping within just about the complete opposite spectrum of the Cuban Heels’ platter, the combo of three Carpenters–Chris, Michael, and Paul–congregate to bash out 15 smashing Chris and Michael originals (plus one Paul Weller cover). The breathless pace and let-it-all-hang-out attack is somewhat outside Pure Pop Radio’s usual purview, but the four-on-the-floor pop-rocker “Pray to Your Own God” and the upbeat, early Elvis Costello nod “Everything’s Coming My Way” fit perfectly. Yet another side of Michael’s musical palette, and a fun, assured debut for brother Chris.
Cloud Eleven | Garden of Obscure Delights: A Retrospective (1996-2015) Spanning a period of 19-years, from the infant waxings of Jiffipop to last year’s sterling Record Collection, this ace release showcases the many colors and moods contained in Rick Gallego’s paintbox. An astounding selection, highlights include the lovely, mid-tempo pop ballad “Flying” from 1996’s debut from Jiffipop, Demolicious, to the dreamy, luscious, melodic wonder “Ocean,” from 2006’s Sweet Happy Life. A trio of outtakes from 2015’s Record Collection, including a winning, atmospheric cover of the 1971 Fleetwood Mac single, “Dragonfly,” close out the top-flight program. Gallego is an artist that deserves, as he always has, to fly well above the radar. He can only fly higher from here.
Solarflairs | “Stereo Alley” Literally just in minutes ago from these Memphis power popsters that, the band says, don’t sound like a power pop band, this gently aggressive and lively guitars-driven number adds to the previous songs already on our playlist. Catchy as always.
Andy Reed | An Introduction to Andy Reed Andy Reed’s importance in the grand scheme of all things melodic pop can not be overstated; the proof is here in this peerless collection of songs spotlighting his innate talent. The pure pop pleasures of “World of Make Believe,” from 2011’s An American Underdog album, Always On the Run; the beautiful, melodic “Dreaming of the West Coast,” from last year’s Relay Vol. 1 EP, and the glorious, straight-ahead cover of Jay Ferguson’s “Thunder Island” from the vinyl release of 2013’s celebration of lite rock, Drink a Toast to Innocence, dazzle, but then so do all 11 tracks. A great introduction, available on vinyl and in digital form, to the joy of listening to Andy Reed.
Flossy | “Cloudy Brain” From Perth, Australia, songstress Lauren M. O’Hara and her sister Sinead pair up to produce this bluesy rocker balancing above a pop highwire. Deep, thumping bass, thrashing drums by Chris Winterburn, raging guitars, and committed vocals rule the grooves. Impossible to ignore, and you shouldn’t.
Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the original 24-hour Internet radio station playing the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today. From the Beatles to the Monkees, the Posies, McPherson Grant, the Connection and the New Trocaderos, we play the hits and a whole lot more. Tune in by clicking on one of the listen links below.
So here’s the scoop: We’ve been adding new music to the Pure Pop Radio playlist for the last couple of months–all sorts of melodic pop from new and heritage artists; songs with sent-from-heaven hooks and harmonies that are pretty much guaranteed to put a big smile on your face.
