I have been neglecting the PR suggestions in favour of the vinyl, so I am listening to more fresh streams this week. So here we are, mini reviews comin’ atchya.

Jessie Kilguss    They Have A Howard Johnson’s There

The Gold Needles Mood Elevator

AudioGust Falling From Down

New Romantics No Life

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Jessie Kilguss    They Have A Howard Johnson’s There

I have listened to this album about a dozen times this week, and I am still wordless, still listening. I can heap accolades upon it because I honestly, thoroughly, and thoughtfully enjoy this recording. Jessie has a voice that is expressive and passionate, rising above the music and then returning to earth to start again.

The song “St. Teresa in Ecstasy” reminds me of Leonard Cohen. It builds, releases and builds again. I feel drawn to the ecstasy and epiphany that she emotes in her singing. Powerful. Mesmerizing. A song to get lost in and drift away. A song within an album that I keep hitting repeat after every listen.

Update! My beautiful wife, Valerie, sat and listened to the whole album with the lyrics and liked it. She doesn’t listen to much music, but she listened to this album start to finish, with one pit stop. After listening to St. Teresa in Ecstasy, we listened to Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, with him singing to a live audience. To my ears, there is certainly some connection between those songs. Is it spiritual? It could be. Is it lyrical? I think so. Is it musical? I hear the lift and lilt of the music build tension, then release it only to start again in both songs. Are they the same? No, they are two distinct songs, but something is going on that causes me to draw a connection between St. Teresa in Ecstasy and Hallelujah.

Back on solid ground, I listen to the rest of the album, which is all good music, and then hit repeat.

A shoutout to Shauna McLarnon at Shameless Promotion PR for suggesting this marvellous beauty of an album.

Album order  https://jessiekilguss.bandcamp.com/album/they-have-a-howard-johnsons-there 

Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/album/1MgqHZDZcRMy9T6gqwb9Zj

Apple Music  https://music.apple.com/us/album/they-have-a-howard-johnsons-there-ep/1836456155

‘St. Teresa In Ecstasy’ video  https://youtu.be/mpRO9ZulSLA  

Bandcamp  https://jessiekilguss.bandcamp.com/track/st-teresa-in-ecstasy

‘Howard Johnson’s’ video  https://youtu.be/fLhLHwikI6o

Bandcamp  https://jessiekilguss.bandcamp.com/track/howard-johnsons

 Shameless Promotion PR at contact@shamelesspromotionpr.com 

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The Gold Needles  Mood Elevator

How do you take your classic rock? Via a gold needle perchance? Not I! I take mine to the top on a mood elevator. Mood Elevator by The Gold Needles is straight-up classic rock and roll. Nothing fancy, but clean and well presented. Not sounding like any blast from the past through my old ears, The Gold Needles have developed something new out of something old. Classic rock with a new vibe. Well-written song lyrics complement the musicians’ infectious grooves.

So, I had a good night’s sleep, listened to this album again as I read the mail, and enjoyed my first cup of joe. I like it more today than yesterday. They took my brain for a ride through music that sounded like the best of the seventies, but with a new twist. And then they broke out of that cloud and into another with overtones of modern alt-rock. I’m just enjoying every element of this album. They may be contenders for my album of the year. Thanks to Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome for this suggestion, pure gold, my friends.

BIG STIR RECORDS

Burbank, CA / Distributed Worldwide

Copyright © 2025 Big Stir Records

All Rights Reserved.

Design © Big Stir Records

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AudioGust  Falling From Down

AudioGust are another band that fits into the all-encompassing “classic rock” genre. Falling From Down is not earth-shattering, just good old down-to-earth rock and roll played and sung by competent practitioners of that art. These folks kept me listening to find out what the next song would sound like. AudioGust are musical chameleons, changing the colours with every song. Variety is the spice of life, and Falling From Down is a spice rack of music.

Thanks to Shauna McLarnon from Shameless Promotions for this one.

‘Falling From Down’ album  https://hypeddit.com/audiogust/fallingfromdown

Bandcamp  https://audiogust.bandcamp.com/album/falling-from-down

Apple Music  https://music.apple.com/us/album/falling-from-down/1837733348 

Spotify  https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cTzxtddwnFvsnk9n7QkWK

‘I Didn’t Hear What You Said’ video  https://youtu.be/X5wE0I0Zp4M

‘Easier’ single  https://hypeddit.com/audiogust/easier 

YouTube  https://youtu.be/Ma4ZfVo_Ix4

‘Isotope’ single  https://hypeddit.com/audiogust/isotope

YouTube  https://youtu.be/Fkzr1bWv9IY

Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

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New Romantics No Life

So, I spent the time it takes to drink a medium-sized Tim Horton’s coffee reading the Wikipedia article about the New Romantic movement. Originally, strictly a fashion movement that many top-tier bands distanced themselves from. Over time, the fashion and the music of Romanticism have melded, and apart from some purists, together. ABC, Depeche Mode, the Human League, Soft Cell, Simple Minds, Talk Talk, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Gary Numan have all, at one time or another, been described as part of the New Romantic movement. A number of these bands were using synthesizers as part of their music and helped to develop synth-pop in the early 1980s, which, combined with the distinctive New Romantic visuals, helped them first to national success in the UK, and then, via MTV, play a significant part in the Second British Invasion of the US charts.

Adam Ant always denied being a New Romantic. The electronic duo Soft Cell also denied any connection to the New Romantic scene.

Wikipedia: “OMD frontman Andy McCluskey ridiculed the movement in a 2010 interview, saying, ‘Completely separate from electronic music or the future, there was all the fucking Southern New Romantic bollocks. I mean, if we were ever called New Romantics there’d be a fight… ‘Am I wearing a kilt? Am I wearing enough eyeliner? Is my shirt frilly enough?’ Oh, fuck off!” OMD have nevertheless been categorized as New Romantics; a designation that keyboardist Paul Humphreys likens to “calling a Scotsman ‘English’.”

I hear the New Romantics as influenced by the synth bands of the New Romantic era; however, they are not adorned in that era’s garb. What I hear is important to me, what I see, not so much.

What I hear is a synth/pop band that is very good at making music. Forget the genre nonsense and listen. Focus on the music. Isolate yourself from the world’s hustle and bustle. What are the lyrics telling you?

I get lost in No Life, and have to reboot after every song. I am on the track “Games” at the moment, and the bass carries me away. Both synth and drum tracking bass. Lost, reboot.

No Life is a good album that should resonate with the vintage synth-heads out in musicland, as well as the new generation of music lovers—dance, pop-synth, electronica, shoegazers and who knows what else. No Life is a no-brainer; listen to it instead of reading this drivel.

There we have it, four albums by four bands. Four unique music recipes. Four albums for you to listen to this week, I hope at least one of them tickles your ears, or even all four of them, as much as they brought pleasure to me. Good music. Good life.

Bandcamp: https://gezelligrecords.bandcamp.com/album/no-life-2

Gezellig site: https://gezelligrecords.com/products/gzr-036-new-romantics-no-life-pink-vinyl-pre-order

Happy listening, and hang on to see what next week delivers.