Chalkhills Recommends

Aside from the mass-marketed easy-to-find pabulum, some less well known artists have product available. I'm proud to offer these recommendations.

Johnny Cake and Moonpies	Marmalade Army Marmalade Army's album Johnny Cake and Moonpies is two-thirds a loving pastiche of the psychedelic era, as you might expect by its psychedelic cover, invoking The Beatles, Doors, Beach Boys and more. Faux psych singles are interspersed with period instrumentals, including one you'd swear was "I Dream of Jeannie". But the other third of the album is pure pop, including at least one track obviously under the influence of XTC. The title track is eminently hummable (otherwise known as an earworm). If you like Two Lips or Greetings From Planet Love, chances are you'll enjoy Johnny Cake and Moonpies. And dig the anachronist guitar solos.
Interstellar Appeal	Anthony Setola Funky. Jazzy. Music to bake pies to. Anthony Setola covers “Chalkhills and Children”, as well as Sly and the Family Stone's “If You Want Me To Stay”. He also played bass on The Deuterium Kidz' cover of “Holly Up On Poppy”. Check him the funk out.
The Automatic Door	Anton Barbeau Anton Barbeau is living the pop dream. He hails from Sacramento, the capitol of California, the center of the Central Valley and, should I mention, one hot place in the summertime. Anton released a few records, hooked up with the Loud Family and The Bevis Frond and made records with both, and is now apparently living in Oxford, England, much of the time. His latest, The Automatic Door, featuring the vocal work of Su Jordan (bass player and vocalist for Oxford's Inflatable Buddha), is a lovely poppy surreal effort. Recorded in Oxford, Sacramento, and (the horror!) Cambridge, the album also features the guitar work of Kimberley Rew. Give it a spin.
Ants and Angels	Peter Murray Peter Murray was a member of The Simpletones, the XTC cover band that performed at the 1991 XTC Music and Friends Convention in Barrie, Ontario. Peter Murray recorded a reggae-flavoured cover of “Ladybird” for the Obscene Collection XTC cover cassette. Peter Murray wrote an article about Colin Moulding for Bass Player magazine in 1999. Now he's released his first solo album. This is Pop!
THX JHN	Johan I would love their debut album Pergola merely for the sound of the bass guitar in the first track: the best of John Wetton's distorted sounds on King Crimson's Red. But there's lots more to like about the album. Great vocals, varied styles, excellent songwriting. You'll think you remember Pergola from your childhood, but it's déjà vu all over again. Johan's new album THX JHN arrived on 22 May 2006. More good sounds and an excellent video to boot.
Calling Distance Stations	The Nines I liked their first CD, Wonderworld Of Colourful, the first time I heard it, and I liked it more and more each time I listened to it. It sounds like XTC's Nonsuch meets Fountains Of Wayne with a splash of Brian Wilson. Except that the production has a bit of grunge and a splash of lo-fi (so now you know they've got some street cred, too). But really, words don't cover it. Their followup, Properties Of Sound, is just as good. Now they've released Calling Distance Stations, which includes a song co-written with Andy Partridge. They're fun live, and nice guys, too!
Purple Burt	Mitch Friedman Mitch Friedman's albums Fred and The Importance of Sauce are silly and irreverent. But only on the surface. The mirror monsters Love and Disillusionment rise from the depths. Fred gives us a lot to chew on. On Mitch's new children's concept album Purple Burt, Andy Partridge co-writes a song and plays some guitar; other guest stars include R. Stevie Moore, Krys O., Dave Gregory and Anne D. Bernstein.
More Than a Day's Work	Dane Petersen More Than a Day's Work is a mini-album of original songs, stylistically somewhere between XTC, The Beach Boys and early Todd Rundgren, but with a more modern bent. Recorded with members of Chomsky, the album also includes a cover of “Ballet for a Rainy Day”, originally recorded for the King For a Day XTC MP3 tribute, but remixed for this album. These are catchy tunes!
Tape Recorder [Collected Works]	Yazbek How to describe Yazbek? I won't! Suffice it to say that his albums Tock and The Laughing Man are excellent (and both feature guest appearances by Andy Partridge). Yazbek also wrote the songs for the Broadway production of The Full Monty (and got totally robbed of a Tony for his trouble). If you're not sure where to start, try Tape Recorder [Collected Works], which contains songs from the albums above as well as from his recent album Damascus. You can't go wrong!
Will	The Sugarplastic Will is a future classic. Will belongs in every serious collection. Will will astound you with the strength of its songwriting and the depth of its aural palette. Will acknowledges hyperbole. Will delivers.
Dog	Mike Keneally Mike Keneally is my nominee for the Artist to Follow in Frank Zappa's Footsteps. His album Dancing features wildly stylistically varied, awesome musicianship, a great sense of humor, but overall, amazing music. It will have you Dancing. Mike Keneally's latest is entitled Dog.
The Wonder of it All	Louis Philippe Louis Philippe's music has been described as “filled with a rich tradition of baroque pop orchestrations, mixed with subtle vocal harmonies, in a way that owes a lot to some of the 60's influences that everyone's faking homage to these days”, except that Louis has been doing it for nearly 20 years! His recent album, The Wonder of it All, conveys “a greater sense of intimacy, but grandeur too”. Louis also produced Martin Newell's excellent The Off White Album, and Dave Gregory plays on a number of Louis's albums, including My Favourite Part of You, Jackie Girl and Azure (the latter album features Louis's heartfelt rendition of Andy Partridge's “I Can't Own Her”).
The Light Programme	Martin Newell Andy Partridge produced Martin's album The Greatest Living Englishman, Dave Gregory played on The Off White Album, but does that matter? No. Martin Newell is an excellent songwriter, poet and performer in his own right. The Light Programme is a stylistic departure for Mr. Newell. This album finds him in a quieter, jazzier, more “adult” mode. Don't worry, his lyrics are incisive as ever. (You might also be interested in The Cleaners From Venus: Live In Japan (Osaka 1994) featuring Dave Gregory on guitar.)
Conscientious Objector	R. Stevie Moore Melody Maker says, “R. Stevie Moore has been producing smart idiosyncratic and distinctly personal pop music at an alarmingly prolific rate for nearly 20 years.” Conscientious Objector certainly fulfills that description, especially in the idiosycratic department. And it features a couple of stunning tracks, especially the rockin' “Subjectivity” and “Social Studies Buddies”. Be warned, however! RSM is not for everyone.
Axioms	Impossible Recording Machine I'm not quite sure how to describe Axioms, because it veers wildly from nearly pop to nearly ambient. It is clear, however, that this album was made by a drummer. Matt Walker (Filter, Smashing Pumpkins et al), a long time fan of XTC, got together with Jim Dino to make an album that, for me, defies categorisation. It is, however, a great album to play while working, relaxing, or, dog forbid! while listening.
Superimpose	Brian Lovely I received Mr. Lovely's CD in the post and I admit I expected little. I also admit that it hasn't left my player since! Mr. Lovely can write, he can sing, and he can play the guitar. Though at times reminiscent of Black Sea-era XTC, at other times reminiscent of Queen and Justin Clayton, this is good old middle American power pop just the way I like it. I love the guitar solos, but they are wrapped in hummable pop songs with subjects from the silly to the sappy to the sublime. Get it.
The Mayfly Glimmer	Robert Wegmann and Tim Mullally Strong power pop in a mixture of styles reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, XTC and The Beatles, Robert Wegmann's latest collaboration with Tim Mullally takes it in a new direction. The Mayfly Glimmer is “an outstanding work of progressive pop, with . . . uplifting, reaffirming melodies, shimmering loopage, and fertile grooves driven by Afro-centric beats” (Focus). Cool news: Robert Wegmann's first two LP-only releases, Poisoned Paradise and Dangerous Curves, are now available in a limited CD-R edition. Order yours today!
God's Empty Chair	Becki diGregorio Becki's most recent CD, God's Empty Chair features appearances from both Dave Gregory (formerly of XTC) and Lyle Workman (Todd Rundgren, Frank Black, Beck). Andy Partridge wrote a song for the album. Becki says, “the music is a mixture of rock and heavy-pop, with a touch of psychedelia and middle-eastern influences nestled in between.” Her debut album, seven worthies . . . of the bamboo grove, also features the talents of Dave Gregory.
Meaningless	Jon Brion Longtime XTC fan and Aimee Mann collaborator released a solo album. Just one. You gotta have this rekkid and you gotta go down to the Largo in Los Angeles on a Friday night to see this guy. Believe me.
Six Songs of Good and Evil	Duncan Watt Recipe for contemporary adult pop: start with some Randy Newman, add a generous helping of Elvis Costello, flavour with a pinch of Tom Waits, dust lightly with XTC. Et voilà!

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