Episode 93

Welcome to Songs That Don’t Suck, with your host, Mark Bradbourne.

What’s up, friends? Welcome to the latest episode of Songs That Don’t Suck. My name is Mark, and every week I am here listening to hundreds and hundreds of newly released songs, most of which suck. But I do find the few handful of gems each week. It’s funny. I was talking to someone about the podcast this week, and I referred to it as my accountability partner. It forces me each week to go out and find new music so that my playlists don’t get stale. And they haven’t. And I hope yours haven’t either. I hope that’s why you’re here to find new music, and whether this is the first time you’re checking me out or you’re a longtime listener. Thank you so much for doing that. Now, before we get into this week’s music, I’ve got just a couple of quick things that I want to mention.

First off, I think I would be remiss if I did not mention the passing of Paul Di’Anno. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with that name, he is the original vocalist of Iron Maiden. He contributed vocals to their debut album, as well as the follow-up to that, which was Killers. Now, after Maiden, he had other bands. He had solo work. He had trouble with the law. He had trouble with substances. And to be quite honest, he kind of rode the coattails of Maiden, which is understandable, because you were one of the founding members of one of the most influential metal bands, especially when it comes to the new wave of British metal. But he never really thought of it as metal. He was more of a punk vocalist, really. And I suppose when you are that and you have two choices, you either lean into it or shun it completely. And while he did talk his fair shit about Maiden over the years, I think at one point, he referred to Steve Harris as Hitler. But it seems like in later years, the hatchets had been buried. And there was photos of him and Bruce Dickinson recently, as well as Steve Harris. And I think overall, the feelings of him being fired have kind of settled. But sadly, he had a ton of health issues. And it finally caught up with him. He was 66 when he passed. Rest in power, Paul Diano.

Second thing this week, I did some guest speaking at Bowling Green State University. And during my talk, in an effort to keep things kind of interactive, I asked, where are my music people? Where are my concert goers? And I must have looked appalled as I looked around the room. And maybe 10% of the rooms in both classes that I spoke to went up as, yes, we go to concerts. I was heartbroken. I mean, I know the world of music has changed, but what the actual crap? How is the number that low when it comes to attending live shows? Like even local shows or regional– you’ve got to go see music, right? In the second class, I asked the kid directly, I’m like, what do you do then? And he looked at me and he goes, I rot. I’m like, internally, I was like, good Lord, that is not a hobby. That is your final outcome, brother. That is not the pursuit of your teens in early 20s. And it just hammered home the fact that we actually need a strong resurgence of rock so bad in this world. It really needs to happen soon because looking at that room full of youth, just like, yes, I just want to rot in my dorm room. I don’t want to go out and be turned on by music. It made me really sad. And hey, if any of y’all in that class happened to be listening this week, thanks for putting up with my dumb ass. I was glad to be there. It was a lot of fun.

And lastly, I’m going to try something new this episode because there’s a part of me in producing this podcast that feels a little bad when I repeat artists on the podcast. But I do want to shine light when I can. So this week, we’re going to do some honorable mentions of songs that don’t suck alumni who have released more good music as of late. So there’s two this week that I’m going to mention. The first is High Fade. I’ve talked about them several times on the show. They dropped another single from their forthcoming album. The latest is called Pick Me Up. Definitely go check that one out. And Johnny Swim, who again, I’ve talked about 100 times. It feels like reviewed live shows from them. They have released another song called Monte Carlo. And that is also the run up to their new album that’s coming out in early 2025. So go check out both of those if you have enjoyed them in the past.

All right, let’s get into the new music, shall we?

The first song this week is In the Garden from The Band Feel. Now, I have mentioned The Band Feel before on the podcast. If you’re a longtime listener, you may recognize them. They were recommended to me by Jordy, who is the lead singer of the Bites. Recommended them to me when I interviewed them. Gosh, that felt like 10 episodes ago, maybe. Anyway, The Band Feel actually released new music this week. And if you are a fan of gritty classic feeling rock, this is all that you would ever want. If I break down the DNA of it, we’ve got Zeppelin-esque guitar licks with some really tasty solo slide guitar work. Throw on top of that some big, soaring, anthemic arena rock vocals and big, big drums. You throw all that together and it comes together beautifully. Now, The Band Feel come out of St. Louis, and they’ve recently been on tour with Dirty Honey. And I mention that because when you think about bands that continue to carry the flag for guitar-based rock, Dirty Honey is definitely one. And The Band Feel is going to be added to that list for those that are doing it right. So here is a little taste of In the Garden from The Band Feel.

The second song this week is only just from Pseudopomp. Second time on the podcast for Pseudopomp, but this one is very different than the last to me. Katarina’s a vocal on this track. It takes on this sultry quality that kind of reminds me of early Gwen Stefani. People had made comparisons to No Doubt for Them, at least vocally. And I didn’t hear it on the last track. This track, I absolutely hear it, but it works really well. Only just as more aggressive as far as kind of the tone and the melodic choices. Challenge the listener a little bit. And they don’t feel kind of quote unquote standard when it kind of compared to the rest of the music coming out nowadays in this genre. I really love the chorus on this one. The guitars and drums just get a touch heavier, and then it falls back into kind of this really haunting guitar melody. I don’t know. It’s really kind of cool. That floats throughout the track. And it’s just a nice little texture that happens. So here, check out a little bit of Only Just from Pseudopomp.

The third song this week is If I Fade from Zeny Bux. And I hope I’m pronouncing that right. Zeny is only 19. But there are some really familiar elements inside this track. There’s parts of bands that I love like Travis and Oasis. But this one actually has a little bit more true rock influence, if that’s a thing. A little bit quicker tempo than those bands would tend to write in, and it works really well. I don’t know what it is about Manchester in the UK. But it seems like over the years, there’s just been a ton of talented folks kind of coming out of there and populating the music scene. I don’t know if it’s the fact that Oasis kind of shined a light on that area. And just people have continued to propagate the DNA, if you will, of Manchester rock and roll. But I’m here for it. I’m digging it. This track, honestly, is just a really good listen. It took me a couple of times to get into it, I will admit. But here is a bit of Zeny Bux, If I Fade.

The fourth song this week is Abigail from Soccer Mommy. Now, if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a long time, you know that I generally will shy away from bedroom indie pop. It’s not something that I feature on the podcast a lot, because it’s not something that I will listen to a lot, to be honest. But there was something about this track that really appealed to me, and I don’t know what it was. I really enjoyed the layering of the vocals here. It was really well done. And there’s this kind of magical point in the verses, where she reaches up into her higher range. And it’s just a very catchy melody line. And speaking of layers, there’s some additional things that are happening with the synth and the keyboard that are kind of textured throughout the song, which it’s really enjoyable to listen to. And there isn’t anything extra here, musically. I don’t feel like it’s overproduced, like some of the other music in this genre. And that’s probably why it appeals to me, is because it’s kind of in its purest form, if you will. But I’m going to let you be the judge. Here is a little bit of Abigail from Soccer Mommy

The 5th and final song this week is “No Children” from Jack Kays. This is one of those tracks that is a joy to find. Folk, punk, yeah. Acoustic guitar, upright bass, mandolin, and lyrics that are full of piss and vinegar. And it fits in a two minute package. And it honestly tells you everything you need to know in those two minutes. There’s no fluff. There’s no bullshit. It’s just great. This is the kind of stuff that I love to kind of sit in a dark room and drink bourbon to. Now, I will say that I checked out the rest of the album. It’s in like preview mode on Spotify right now. And this song is probably what I will call the anomaly. The rest of the album, definitely more rock themed. Maybe a little bit of pop punk sprinkled in. But this folky feel does appear now and then. It’s kind of sprinkled throughout, which is good. The more I listened to it, listened to it, listened to it, it felt like Dropkick Murphy’s. But just not as Irish. Do I know what I’m talking about? Who’s to say? But check out Jack Kays and No Children.

That’s it. That is it for this week. So as always, feel free to hit me up on social media. I’m on all the platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, X. If you go to the website, SongsThatDon’tSuck.net, you will find links to all of these songs on all the major streaming platforms, trying to make it as easy for you as possible to find this music. Through the website, you can also send me feedback and recommendations. There’s a little link, say, in contact. You can also just email me directly if you want. There’s a few people that have done that recently, which is fine. Mark@SongsThatDontSuck.net. All emails do get answered. As long as it’s not a mailing list. If you’ve added me to a mailing list, you’re a dick. But also, I’ve decided that I’m going to start a little newsletter, trying to give some, I don’t know, like extra stuff on the background. It’s all free. But I think the one thing that I’ll probably send out is the more and more shows I go to, I’m going to continue to bootleg them if I can. And I might just send you a link so you can listen to some live music recorded on the download. So if you go to the website, there’s a link there that you can put your email address in. Again, it’s free. I’m not going to spam you, I promise. And yeah, so do that. As always, again, thanks so much for listening. I do appreciate the support. And as always, please go out and support these artists. Thanks for listening. And until next week, keep searching for and listening to songs that don’t suck. . .