Orbis Max

Tilt-A-Whirl

Self-Released

The band is from San Diego, led by singer Dw Dunphy. The songs on this album are either anthems or at least rousing, about love or standing tall. I like both, especially the anthems -- great for marching down a street, or just spurring your own thoughts.

Love songs include “Fields,” a duet with Lindsay Murray of Gretchen’s Wheel, and “Learning To Love,” featuring Jim Richey of The PoZers. The opening track, “The Light From Other Windows,” is a political song about society. “We Shall Rise Again,” about revolution and perseverance, brings a big ending. All feature Don Baake on guitar and Dw's let-it-all-hang-out vocals.

So if you like big songs that build and swell, with heartfelt and smart lyrics, you can’t wrong with this album. It’ll warm you up on cold winter nights, and when you feel like being creative it will inspire you.

Andrea Weiss

 Christmas

The Weeklings

Jem Records

The new album from this long-running New Jersey band features holiday songs -- some originals, some covers. Most include musical quotes from The Beatles, and sometimes others, like both Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and JS Bach in the song “Joy.” “Dreidel,” a Chanukah song, celebrates with bicycle bells and the sounds of toys.

It’s not the band showing off either. It is fun, playful, as in “Helter Skelter” being quoted in the single “Must Be Santa,” a song originally recorded by Mitch Miller in 1960 and a more recent klezmer version by Dylan. The Weeklings add their own modern twist.

The new, original songs the band wrote for Christmas shine too, like “Festivus,” which is. “Another Year,” with its nod to New Year's Day, takes stock of the past year.

It may be a bit early for holiday music, as it’s only Black Friday as I write this, but with an album like this, you could have Christmas in July and it would still count. You could have Christmas all year with this album, and it would sounds as festive in 90 degree weather as it would in December.

Andrea Weiss

 The Weeklings

Must Be Santa (Single)

Jem Records

While it might be a little early for Christmas for some, this song gives a preview of the holiday. It’s a nice rocking update of the old, familiar song, and I love the way it incorporates “Helter Skelter” into the music. It’s also a good preview of the band’s upcoming holiday album, Christmas. So grab this single, which is out now, and if you like it, pick up the album too.

Andrea Weiss

 Beth Peabody

Other Woman/Don’t Play (Single)

Jim Basnight Music

This debut double A-side single from Peabody is great power pop. "Other Woman" is rootsy, but I also hear a bit of very early Bangles in its garage rock sound. “Don’t Play” is jangly, a little like the Pretenders' “Talk Of The Town.” Both are wonderful. So if you’re looking for something that looks to the past, but makes it new and different, try these.

Andrea Weiss

 Librarians With Hickeys look to jangle pop and make it rock. As a fan of that genre from the 80s onward, I absolutely wanted to hear this, and was rewarded with a great album.

Ray and Mike from the band were kind enough to answer a few questions.

Andrea Weiss: Who were you listening to while making the album?

Ray Carmen: I host a show on Luxuria Music called the POP! Radio Program, so I listen to a lot of different things! Believe it or not, I’ve been listening to a lot of punk stuff, like The Pill, The Darts, Honeychain, and bands like that, but one of my current favorite bands is Alvvays, who a friend of mine turned me on to. I am now an Alvvays superfan! Another band I love is The Surfrajettes, a surf band from Toronto. They have a new album out called Easy As Pie, and it’s great--or should I say tasty! And I love the Go! Team, the British band, as well as the Go Team who were on K Records back in the 80s. Then there’s always The Beatles, The Monkees, Queen, The Residents, R. Stevie Moore, Martin Newell, XTC... The list goes on.

Mike Crooker: I wear a lot of hats when writing and recording, so it’s really difficult for me to actively listen to any outside music. I sort of live inside “studioland” 24/7, usually falling asleep with the headphones on while listening to that day’s output. That method seems to work as far as our records are concerned, but it’s not really conducive to hearing any outside music.

AW: What do you think is the difference between jangle rock and pop?

RC: What is the difference between jangle rock and pop? When I think of jangle pop I think of bubblegum music, which I love. When I think of jangle rock, I also think of bubblegum, so to me maybe there isn't much difference.

MC: Sonically, I think of jangle as the sound of a “band”--two guitars (in our case, Rickenbacker and Stratocaster), bass, and drums. Pop, these days, tends to live outside of those parameters: more attention to non-rock band sounds and vocal effects. We live closer to the jangle edge of things.

AW: “Everything Will Be All Right” is a good way to end the album. Did you mean that to be the message?

RC: Yes. Because at the end of the day, you really should shut off social media, which for most people means putting their phones down. It's weird how people still use the phone to stay connected after all these years, but in a completely different way. Most people spend as much time texting or looking at TikTok as they do actually talking to people, and I’m as guilty of that as anyone.

AW: I love the timpani on it. what do you think they add to the song?

MC: With this track I really wanted the Mellotron (strings), chimes, and percussion to shine and give it that epic flavor to play off the lyrics.

RC: The song was meant to be a message song and was written to be the album’s closer. We wanted the song to sound like an epic, and we thought adding tympani (and chimes) would do the job. It did!

AW: Most of these songs seem to be about off-kilter relationships, which I like. Did you mean to emphasize that aspect?

RC: Not really emphasized. That’s why we wanted to make it clear that this isn’t some sort of -urgh! - concept album. When we put the songs together, we realized they just happened to be about how people have tried to communicate over the years, and how nowadays everyone uses their phones, but again, in a completely different way. Mike and I almost never email each other and we never talk on the phone. We always text.

MC: It’s true! One time I accidentally hit “call,” panicked, hung up, and then texted him to apologize!

AW: Is “Hello Operator” one of the most off-kilter?

RC: Well, maybe. Back in the day, people talked to operators all the time, whether it was to get a call put through, to get a phone number, or even to get the time and temperature. Nowadays the only time you would talk to an operator would be to argue with somebody about the gas bill.

MC: The dynamic is one you don’t often get in current music, because of the era it’s set in. But, as we wrote “Hello Operator” first, it really did set the tone for the rest of the album both lyrically and musically.

AW: Are there any local Akron bands that you recommend?

RC: Dave Rich & His Enablers, who are sort of Akron’s answer to Guided By Voices--odd song titles, cool collages for album covers. And they also put out several albums a year. But Dave Rich’s songs are more in a power-pop vein, and they are absolutely top-notch. And Dave’s vocals almost sound to me like an arena-rock Outfield.

Lauren Brabson is a singer-songwriter with a charming, intimate, personal take on indie folk pop. She has some great songs, like “Leo and I Don’t Love The Way You Hate Yourself,” which are my favorites. She just released a new EP called Hey, It’s Me Lauren. She was supposed to sing on our new album, but we couldn’t get our schedules to mesh. Hopefully we will be able to in the future.

The Akronauts are a great alt-rock band with a lead singer who jumps around like he’s in a remake of Flubber. I swear he has springs on his shoes. They put on a fun show, and Joe Baker is a great frontman!

AW:Do you have any plans to tour?

MC: Maybe a series of small house shows, or libraries.

RC: If AARP will foot the bill, sure.

 Librarians With Hickeys

How To Make Friends By Telephone

Big Stir Records

Jangle rock, on the surface, is an update of jangle pop, but with a sharper edge. That’s what this album is all about. How hard can you rock the jangle? Pretty hard, as it turns out.

The album starts as strong as it finishes, with opener “Hello Operator,” about disconnections, and “Everything Will Be Alright” at the end, which could be an anthem for everyone that voted for Harris, as in persevere, be strong, resist, win in 2026 and '28, and everything will be OK. Stop believing the internet on everything.

In between are meaningful songs about life and relationships, mostly troubled love, but “Listening” is about just that. It hits a high note, about just sitting around listening to music, without a care in the world.

So if you’re a fan of jangle anything, new to the genre and want to hear everything from it, or just like something good and different, this album is for you. It's worth your while whether you’re feeling up or down, good or bad.

Andrea Weiss

 Nick Piunti’s new album Up and Out of It is wonderful, melodic rock played for power and meaning. If you re finding today's music wanting, then this album is for you.

Nick was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: Who were you listening to while making this album?

Nick Piunti: Mike Viola, Wet Leg, Spoon, Cage the Elephant, Tom Petty, Nada Surf, Sharon Van Etten, Extra Arms.

AW: When you say the songs are personal, do you mean the details or in a more general sense?

NP: Based on real life, either mine or people close to me. We all have struggles, internal and external, so I feel mine aren’t that unique and are relatable.

AW: “Bottle It” is good political commentary, and also about conformity. Is it more about conformity, or more political?

NP: I would say more it’s about standing up against conformity. Don’t be pressured to do something against your better judgment.

AW: “Rejection Letter,” which is great, is about just that, and will ring true for anyone who ever subbed something to a publisher or label, but is it mostly about the music industry?

NP: The first verse is definitely about that. We know at our age and making melodic rock music that labels wouldn’t be lining up to sign us, but there was a time that it felt like if you’re weren’t trying to be exactly like what was hot at the moment that you couldn’t get signed. The second verse was more about my daughter who was interviewing for a job and didn’t get it, even though it looked like a slam dunk.  Turns out the company was in the middle of a slight restructure and a few months later they reached out to her and she got the position!

AW: These songs have a lot of power, which I like. Is that power intended to drive the message home more?

NP: The power comes from growing up in Detroit, I think. Pretty much every band from Detroit rocks. These songs usually start out on acoustic guitar and are almost folky at times, but bring them to the band and the rock pours out of us.

AW: The melodies remind me very much of Fountains Of Wayne. Is that the way the band most influenced you?

NP: F.O.W. is obviously a big influence. They set the bar so damn high! But I never tried to sound like them. But if you write melodic pop rock with good lyrics the comparison is going to happen.

AW: What are your hopes for this album?

NP: For people that like what we do to like this album as well, and of course earn some new fans. There is so much music being released that it’s hard to get noticed, but the power pop community really supports what we do. I own my own publishing but I think it would be a good idea to find a publishing company to partner with to give the songs some more licensing opportunities and maybe get covered by some younger artists.

AW: What advice would you give someone who is just starting to write songs

NP: Don’t fall in love with everything you write, but write all the time! Don’t be overly influenced by just one band or one genre. Get some honest feedback from people whose musical taste you respect. Keep your songwriting antennae up all the time; co-writing is fun and can expand your horizons as well.