Song of the day – 130: The Social Icons

Do yourself a favour.

Scroll down the left hand side of this page I’ve just linked you to, and have yourself a listen to the most excellent pop of ‘Eastwing’. It’s a little bit Teenage Fanclub, a little bit Mod, a little bit Urge Overkill circa that moment when they crystallised easy into the perfect distillation of cocktail-drinking, lounge-lounging, swaggering Neil Diamond fans – only even more so… so perhaps we’re talking the debut Plush single before they went all Pitchfork on us, or The Webb Brothers’ debut album… a smidgen David Bowie, and a whole lot awesome and catchy the way Ed Ball ought to be, but probably spent just that little bit too long inside the record industry and kinda threw it all away. I mean, we’re talking The Beatles and the TVPs here, obviously – just not in an obvious manner. So I guess we’re really talking The Knack or that wonderful moment in 1978 when powerpop ruled the lower reaches of the UK charts, or…

I think I’ve been away from my bed way too long. The Teenage Fanclub comparison is way off-the-mark. I mean, the singer has a raw-ass whiskey edge to his voice, or something. There’s no way this is 60s. It’s 70s through and through. Bangs wept, it’s actually more Runaways than Teenage Fanclub, or Hair or something. Taut, like Joe Jackson all wound up and fuming on his debut album.

Anyway, there’s a Big Prize for the first person to send me a mix-tape featuring all the above music, or representations of same.

Wah!, as Tashi would say.

The record sleeve looks great. They’re from Canada. And there’s an album to go check out.

by Everett True

My name is Everett True. I am a music critic. This is what I do. I criticise music. The clue is in my job description – music critic. I do not consider myself a journalist, as I do not research or report hard news. I do not consider myself a commentator as I believe that everyone should be a participant. I criticise people and in return I am not surprised if other people criticise me. It is part of the whole deal of being in the public arena. I am Everett True. Believe in me and I have power like a God. Quit believing in me and I no longer exist.