DRIFTING SAND Summer Splash Piña Colada Records
To fill that sonic gap in a year which saw exactly zero new Beach Boys or even Laurie Biagini albums, Rick Escobar and all his fellow Surfer Spuds from the far left coast produce thirty-four-minutes-thirty-four of sounds, sights and even aromas which conjure those Modern Lovers of yore hijacked by Keith "Beachcomber" Moon. Bravely mixing a clutch of entirely too-cool-for-words instrumentals - Dan Burdick's lonely trumpet being particularly effective - with Muscle Beach Party-pedigree songs to evoke your fave rave Surfaris B-side, Drifting Sand can, will, and do rhyme "splash" with "such a gas," "July and August" with "Robert August" (!) and, on "Beach Tour USA" alone toss an M.Love-ly sax solo over carnival barking unheard since our last visit to "Amusement Parks USA." Top with an ultra-vibra-spaghetti-slappin' cover of Hazlewood/Sinatra's "Sand" and the end result may well be the sophomore Fantastic Baggys LP we never thought would ever reach shore.
P.S.: and guys? When you’re ready to do your next album, lemme know. Coz have I got a song for You!!

THE FLESHTONES Wheel Of Talent Yep Roc Records
Technically speaking, this 2014 beaut didn't arrive in the sty, courtesy of our pals over at Rock Beat International, til just a few months ago. But no problem! 'Cause any year's an ideal time for those Fabulous F-tones. And as ever and always, these veteran garage czars' unfailing, unflinching embrace of all things rock and naturally roll are intact from the very get-go herein: "Available" blasts direct into the backyard on wings of brazen brash 'n' trash …yet with some incongruously appropriate cellos and violas to boot. Likewise, a good half of this talented Wheel - notably "The Right Girl," "Tear For Tear" and "For A Smile," the latter featuring the Southern Culture Skid-vocals of Miss Mary Huff - somehow bring a Shadowy Meek sheen of pure pre-Beatle UK pin-up pop to the proceedings (attention! John Waters) without sacrificing one iota of the oomph. Elsewhere, "Roofarama" speeds Jimi's "Crosstown Traffic" all the way downtown, "Hipster Heaven" sounds tailor-made for the nearest USB latte turntable, and "It Is As It Was" manages to spin the entire Fleshtone fable in a Schoolhouse Rock! as opposed to School of Rock manner; Ghetto Recorder Jim Diamond professorially sees to THAT. And, for anyone left out there who all these years later still doesn't get the message? Right there on Track 4, "Remember the Ramones." Got it!

GARFIELDS BIRTHDAY You are Here Pink Hedgehog Records
Another holdover from '014, "recorded mostly at home with files winging their way from Dorest to Yorkshire via Bristol then back again" in the words of the handy enclosed press sheet. In other words? The fourth, and positively most welcome to date collection of smart, stylish poppin' rock from the British brothers Felton, Simon and Shane, this time with none other than Lucky Bishops/Schnauser man Alan Strawbridge on drums. And that's an important factor indeed, lest the Feltons' files end a tad too GarageBanded as they travel the virtual UK. To wit, as soon as their "Magic Bike" gets rolling we are finely assaulted with a great big meaty and beaty bounty - yes, this being Century 21 the Magic Bus has been downscaled somewhat, but the drive is every bit as present and potent. "Carpet Ride" similarly soars Armenia City's skies with, and I quote, "one eye on the future and one foot in the past." Witness as well how "It's Your Lucky Day" somehow Cyrkles clear 'round those Basement Tapes while "Lunar Eclipse" happily weds K. Cobain verses to killer-kilter XTC choruses. Shane Felton's fearlessly inspired lead guitars are a vital part of the equation throughout, but particular notice must also be paid to the other Felton, Simon's, magnificent vocals …on "Oxford" (most importantly); a masterful performance, and song, whose files deserve to be shared this very instant with Art Garfunkel for starters. Which reminds me: visit the Pink Hedgehog for a copy of Simon Felton's recent Emotional Feedback as well. You will be doubly glad you did.

THE GRIP WEEDS How I Won The War Jem Recordings
With their latest release, the Grip Weeds have gone and done, by my count, two outstanding things: (1) claimed full lineage at long last to their Richard Lester-ized namesake, and even more importantly (2) made the best album of their career. Here's how: As no less an authority as Phil Spector once explained, some artists sing ideas, and that the Grip Weeds always have. And it helps immensely, to say the least, that they most fortunately number within their ranks a member who is equally talented on the other side of the microphones too. That would be Kurt Reil, who once again has twiddled knobs brilliantly inside the band's own House Of Vibes studio to create textures that are lush but not cluttered; bright but never brittle. Overall, the sounds this time out contain much more bite and snarl - in Kurt's vocals, pointedly - which suits to a "t" the confusion, conflict and, yes, warfare which always seems to boil below the surface. Several short, mainly instrumental segue pieces play a key role as well in making this disc an end-to-end singular experience. Ah! The long-lost art of the Album as a totality. What a concept! But then about two-thirds in, beginning with the completely Zombie-able "Heaven and Earth," comes a trio of more nuanced numbers which relax things to a whole loftier level. In fact one of these, "Over and Over," not only serves as a much-needed truce during this great War, but thanks in big part to the lead vocal of Kristin Pinell - always the Grip Weeds' not-so-secret-anymore weapon - may honestly be the highlight of it all. Which reminds me, Kurt and brother Rick: Where's HER album already?!!

RICK HARPER Pop Spaceman HiVariety Recordings
Hey, have you noticed everyone and their roommate lately is not only a singer/songwriter/player, but a bonafide home recordist in addition it seems? Well, listen: Rick Harper, in case you hadn't noticed - and you certainly should have by now - has been toiling at all that and so much more since 'way back in the primordial pre-laptop daze, I kid you not. Which is why he's so damn good at it, dammit, as Pop Spaceman, the latest in his Demo Teasers series, surely demonstrates. Along with Erich Overhultz's occasional keyboard, Rick sing/write/plays up a one-man storm of not only undeniable Songs for our far-gone Times ("Pax: Kiss of Peace," "Wind Idiot," and "Ca$h Poor," you bet) but offers as well an unusually good selection of classic Rickenharper-clever chord and monumental chorus compositions ("Not About Us" and my favorite "Pretty Fool"). Each note is not only expertly played, but oh-so-properly placed as well: a supreme proficiency at the fine art of orchestration which is even more apparent during the 14-minute "Music From the Film, Cue 1," a score of truly cinematic proportions which, for best results, requires secure headphones, a recline position, and lights right off. Interesting how this Pop Spaceman appeared on the ol' Pig Player right alongside Eddie Cochran just the other night …and fit in just fine.

THE LEMON CLOCKS Time To Fly Jam Records
Rather than attempt myself to adequately describe the tight 'n' tart dayglo delights of this disc, let us turn instead to the wise words of the three Clocks themselves, Stefan Johansson, Todd Borsch, and Jeremy Morris:
In the land of ELECTRIC TOMATOES we can always find the TIME TO FLY. When the FUTURE IS THE PAST we can bend the clock and make time last. We hear the RAINBOW ECHO all around. Our ring is a promise that is growing underground. We will WALK UPON THE WATER because you just CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN. It all happened JUST IN TYME during an UNDERWATER DREAM. AND I FOLLOW in TIME until we've FINALLY FOUND OUR HOME. Our lemon clock life is like a GROOVY MOVIE with a very happy ending. It's full of peace and love coming down from above. So LET THE SUNSHINE IN and let it in your heart. You'll be really glad you did! It's THE BEGINNING OF THE END and it's also THE END OF THE BEGINNING…

MIRIAM Down Today Norton Records
As if co-launching Brooklyn’s greatest-ever funzine (Kicks) then coolest go-to music stop (Norton), as well as providing big beats behind the Cramps, Zantees and A-Bones wasn't more than enough already the one, the only Miriam Linna again steps from behind her Pearl's to deliver what must be 2015's sweetest Ear Candy. Alongside producer/multi-musician Sam Elwitt, a dozen sweet Sixties slices of strictly 7-inch caliber are fully reheated and served anew… but with nostalgia thankfully taking a distant back seat to respect and utmost finesse in both arrangement (Gregor Kitzis' occasional strings, for example, always augment; never swamp) and performance (Miriam has added a definite Bazooka Joe as opposed to Bubblicious snap to her Lisa-Jenio-meets-Mary-Weiss pipes). To wit, the Dave Clark Five's "Don't Be Taken In" now sounds more like one of December's Children, while "One More Rainy Day" - the flip of my favorite Deep Purple (!) 45, by the way - quickly turns, somehow, into a full-on Joey Ramone-opus. But after reveling in a half hour of such Evie Sands, Terry Reid, Neil Diamond et al chestnuts, it's actually one of Mr. Elwitt's two own compositions, the wholly '67 Gibb-worthy title track, that just might steal the show. Yes, in yet another year when words like "power" and "pop" continue to be thrown around far too liberally, Miriam shows not only how it's done, but precisely how it should be SUNG. Hear, here, for yourself.

ANDY REED Relay Vol. 1 Futureman Records
This little seventeen-minute EP demonstrates the absolute best case imaginable for the wealth of miracles found lurking, quite regrettably, in the nether regions of that musical so-called subculture. Relay 1 happens to be Bay City, Michigan one-man audio factory Andy's first solo release since 2008 (in the meantime, he is also a member of the Legal Matters who I raved of as one of 2014's Missed); it, and Vol. 2 are apparently due together soon on an up-coming Futureman vinyl release. Til then, this digital trailer recalls, on say "Dreaming Of The West Coast," Bruce Johnston by way of Eric Carmen… BUT, luckily, with only the most attractive vocal characteristics of both. "I Love A Long Goodbye" features an octave-leaping melody of Jimmy Webb proportions - and that's one comparison I rarely get to make anymore! - while "Darlin, You Don't Know" is a drop-down wonder; an around-the-wide-world trip of sound in three and a half minutes flat. In all, Andy's work is smart and detailed, sometimes stark, sometimes dense. Someone get this man a gig scoring indie films, quick! Meanwhile, as we await that Relay vinyl, you should seek and love his Oddities And Entities collection as well, which holds over thirteen years' more rare and precious gems.

THE WIND Re-Wind Cheft Records
Though it seems more like 300, it’s actually “only” been around thirty years since the original Queens-by-way-of-Miami, Lane Steinberg/Steve Katz/Stephen Burdick-model Wind last made us an album. And it HAS been worth the wait, for the trio's deftly under-troubled skinny white approach serves as even more urgently-needed fresh air against our current century's assaults upon ear canals. F'rinstance? "Fight Like A Girl" needs less than three whole minutes to perfectly encapsulate, then broaden wildly upon its Buddy 'n' Beatles For Sale history of every little AM radio thing. Spin the dial further and "Think On Your Feet" crouches in some recessed corner of an Emitt Rhodes session, "Which Part Of Goodbye?" really could be The Great Lost Wings B-side we're still queuing for, "Baby, I Can Take A Punch" finds Todd Rundgren pillow-fighting Squeeze while "There's A Clamoring" and even more so "Let Me Show You How It's Done" point Badfingers in thoroughly the right direction. Still, Messrs. Katz and Steinberg roll their tan sleeves all the way up to mix "ambivalence" and "after-dinner mints" with some lo-gummed "Sugar Sugar" keyboard for "Yes And No" …and isn't "Weak Spot" the theme from Craig Ferguson's late late, extremely great talk show?! Whatever the cases may be, David Grahame's co-production keeps all sounds - vocals first! - ice-clean, clear, and to-the-heart at all times; it does take a brave man, not to mention fabulous material, to mix this way. But that's always been, and apparently continues to be, The Wind. Hopefully it won't be another thirty years before another album blows our way.

FRANK ZAPPA Roxy: The Movie Eagle Rock Entertainment
Delayed even longer than the mighty Wind is this nifty, sometimes tough, and often quite bitchin audio/video record of Frank and his Mothers’ three-night stint at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood during December of ’73. Why it’s taken sooo long to reach us is - Surprise! - NOT the usual legal morass 'n' molasses which coats most things Zappa. No, this time it was a simple [sic!] case of technology sufficient to sync the Roxy audio with the Roxy video not being at hand until just a couple'a years ago. Meaning we can all finally not only hear, but see FZ sucking down endless Winstons, seated on-stage in chair having make-up touched up as George Duke pulls a "Big Swifty," watching Ralph Humphrey drum duel Chester Thompson with a lot of "Cheepnis," then even manning an extra set of traps himself to help beat off the "Uncle Meat" variations. Later Bruce Fowler and Napoleon Murphy Brock go trombo-a-saxo too all over their "Be-Bop Tango" before Carl and Rick and Jane (then Lana, Brenda et al) are coerced on stage to, um, dance to it …a sight even more unsettling than I'd imagined all those years ago under headphones spinning Side 4 of Roxy & Elsewhere when I should have been doing my homework. Caveat Emptor however: as Gail Zappa (RIP) of the esteemed Zappa Family Trust says (admits?) in the accompanying liner notes, Frank indeed "shows up here at his geekiest," as many of the fiercely wrought arrangements, not to mention between-song "announcements" attest. Of course, a mere five years pre-Roxy such a disclaimer would NEVER have been necessary regarding the original Mothers of Invention and those things they did, but…