Power pop might be one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated genres under rock, and the 2004 album Recess Serenade by The Argument is a perfect example. Harmonies and hooks with loud guitars, what more could you want?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Song One

15:43 - Call In Sick

23:47 - Everyone’s Selling Something

26:45 - Soaked

31:51 - My Dumb Luck

Outro - Incognito

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The 1996 debut album Spiders by Liverpool’s Space is an eclectic mix of trip-hop, Madchester, Britpop, and more, including the 60s lounge of single “Female of the Species.” But eclecticism can slip into inconsistency, and attempts at various genres results in uneven levels of quality.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Female of the Species

15:51 - Dark Clouds

20:30 - Me And You Vs The World

28:50 - Major Pager

30:43 - Money

Outro - Neighborhood

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It's been many years and many albums since our introduction to Denmark's Kashmir, and while the line-up stayed the same, the sound has evolved. This time we check out the 2005 album No Balance Palace, with a studio legend (Tony Visconti) behind the board, and two more legends (David Bowie and Lou Reed) making appearances. Kashmir didn't work for us the first time around, will maturity and a trio of big names help us connect with the band?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Jewel Drop

9:14 - Kalifornia

11:26 - The Cynic

14:14 - The Curse Of Being A Girl

26:09 - She's Made Of Chalk

21:33 - Snowman

28:21 - Black Building

Outro - No Balance Palace

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Refused famously titled their landmark 1998 post-hardcore album The Shape of Punk to Come, a nod to the trailblazing Ornette Coleman avant garde/free jazz album The Shape of Jazz to Come released in 1959. The short-lived band Swedish band Purusam released their second and final album Daybreak Chronicles in 1997 on the Refused-connected Desperate Fight Records, though it could have been titled The Shape of Metal to Come. More than just a post-hardcore outfit, the band dabbled in Iron Maiden-style twin guitar attacks and galloping rhythms before shifting into progressive-ish mode with cello drenched interludes while balancing screaming male vocals and ethereal female vocals.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Opening Theme/The Way of the Hero

15:47 - Leave and Forget

22:38 - Atma

35:23 - Starlit

Outro - Hourglass

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Good Health, the 2002 debut album by Pretty Girls Make Graves, packs punches in all the right places and in under thirty minutes. Angular guitars bounce off of a confident, inventive rhythm section in service of indie rock earworms and an anthemic opener. 

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Ghost In The Radio

13:05 - Speakers Push Air

25:08 - The Get Away

31:12 - If You Hate Your Friends, You're Not Alone

Outro - More Sweet Soul

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Never heard of Reacharound? You're not alone, which is a shame, because this band of UK expats playing punked-up rockabilly and 60s Kinks and Who influenced garage rock deserved your attention. Their only album, 1996's Who's Tommy Cooper? is a charming, straight-up rock album with enough variety to keep fans of Reverend Horton Heat, Social Distortion, or The Living End interested.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Big & Mean

22:22 - Big Chair

26:37 - Seen It Before

33:36 - Gene Autry

Outro - Shaking Like A Leaf

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2006 wasn't just any year in the 00s. It's the year Twitter launched, the year before the release of the iPhone, Nintendo debuted the Wii console, Borat burst into movie theaters, and Justin Timberlake made sure sexy was back. It was also when danceable post-punk, alternative metal, and UK post-Brit pop were making waves bubbling up to the underground, and much more. We've invited a group of our Patrons to revisit the year and discuss albums that stood the test of time (and a few that did not), overlooked and underappreciated albums, albums we were late to discover, and much more.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Supermassive Black Hole by Muse, Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John, Crazy by Gnarls Barkley

22:00 - Unleashed by Front Line Assembly

31:53 - Family Band by The Tragically Hip

43:58 - Rockstar by The Fags

56:46 - Master Exploder by Tenacious D

1:00:39 - Tear You Apart by She Wants Revenge

1:17:39 - Star Witness by Neko Case

1:22:34 - Come Clarity by In Flames

1:32:26 - Standing In The Way Of Control - Gossip

Outro - Different World by Iron Maiden

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Released during the protracted second Iraq war, Josh Ritter's fourth album The Animal Years layers a singer/songwriter album with somber lyrical depth softened by effective melodies and thoughtful instrumentation.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Wolves

17:04 - Girl In The War

18:58 - Monster Ballads

25:29 - Thin Blue Flame

32:36 - Good Man

Outro - Here at the Right Time

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Earnest without sliding into overwrought emo, Silkworm struck a balance between raw and refined on their fourth album, 1996's Firewater. Like most of their releases, the band turned to Steve Albini to engineer, capturing the live sound of the band crisp and clearly across the nearly hour running time. The band rarely overindulge, leaving those spare moments to the guitarist Andy Cohen, who channels the overdriven chaos of J. Mascis and Neil Young on tracks like "Wet Firecracker" and "Drag the River." The rhythm section, though never flashy, are tight and locked-in, with the bass taking melodic turns to support the sing-speak vocals that waver between understated and explosive. Though the band called Seattle home for the early part of the 1990s, the band eschews any grunge influence for post-punk and indie rock influences that helped separate the band from their homebase peers.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Nerves

19:28 - Quicksand

21:28 - Drag the River

29:06 - Cannibal Cannibal

31:07 - The Lure of Beauty

Outro - Don't Make Plans This Friday

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Self-produced after parting ways with their major label, 12 Rods released the genre-bending Lost Time in 2002, combining elements of power pop, indie rock, 70s art rock and more. Eclectic songwriting, dynamic shifts, and a mixture of organic and treated sounds balance an album full of catchy hooks with inventive and occasionally straight-up weird choices, like the loungy-groove of "Fake Magic 8-Ball," falling somewhere between Eels and Ben Folds Five, or the relentlessly melodic "Twenty Four Hours Ago." The lack of cohesion is offset by the versatility of the material, never overstaying its welcome, and quality of the songwriting that welcomes repeated listens.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Terrible Hands

17:12 - Fake Magic 8-Ball

21:19 - Summertime Vertigo

26:05 - Boy in the Woods

30:16 - Twenty Four Hours Ago

41:31 - The Time Is Right (To Be Wrong)

Outro - Accidents Waiting to Happen

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