Warm Soda - I Don't Wanna Grow Up - Clear Blue Vinyl

Castle Face (2017)

I Don't Wanna Grow Up is being advertised as the final Warm Soda album.  It looks like Matthew Melton is moving on to his new psych band Dream Machine.  I'm glad that Warm Soda was given a last hurrah as I've listened to a handful of Dream Machine songs and I will not be following him to that band.  Dream Machine is not for me, but Warm Soda had a solid run of four pretty great albums.

I will say that I'm not as blown away by this last Warm Soda record.  Don't get me wrong, it's good, but it feels a little flat after how great 2015's Symbolic Dream was.  In a lot of ways, I Don't Wanna Grow Up reminds me a lot of the band's second album, Young Reckless Hearts.  It's good, but can't quite live up to the one that came out before it.

That's not to say that I Don't Wanna Grow Up doesn't have it's share of highlights.  Very few people can pull off the breathy AM radio power pop like Matthew Melton.  Album opener "Young In Heart" sets the stage with an upbeat, jangly guitar and octaves in all the right places.  "Don't Leave Me For Another Guy" showcases the band's ability to mix 50's pop themes with modern day power pop.  

Let's face it, there isn't a bad song on the record, but if I'm ranking Warm Soda albums, I Don't Wanna Grow Up would be on the bottom half.  Still, it's up against a couple of pretty stellar releases and it does have its share of hits.

Warm Soda - I Don't Wanna Grow Up:

https://soundcloud.com/castle-face-1/sets/warm-soda-i-dont-wanna-grow-up

The Absolute Best Records Of 2015

 

Many times throughout the year I had commented on how 2015 seemed like a year that had a lot of really good records, but seemed to be lacking in drop dead great ones.  I'll admit that when I sat down to work on this list, I ended up being presented with a lot more records that I loved this year than I was expecting.  The top 20 in particular is damn strong.  Aside from Clearance, I didn't have those records that I just played non stop over and over again this year, but looking back at it, 2015 was nothing to sneeze at.  Some pretty good records came out this year.  I don't have time to discuss them all, but I do have some extra thoughts on a few.

The record that really did it for me this year was Clearance.  I am a sucker for Pavement, so when Clearance decided to pop by and pick up that torch, I was all too pleased to follow along.  It's such a perfect record from top to bottom.  I can't think of a record that I went back to over and over again as much as Clearance.  These guys are on the right track and I really hope they keep pumping out new tunes.

The Mountain Goats and Royal Headache also both received a ton of play out of me this year.  Even though the record was about pro wrestling and I figured that would be fun for a listen or two, I was shocked at how much I genuinely enjoyed the Mountain Goats, especially as I had never been that much of a fan previously.  Royal Headache was top notch, but there were a couple of songs in the middle of the record that slowed things down a bit and may have kept it from the top spot. Third of the year is still pretty great.  Good Shade technically was released digitally in 2014, but the LP came out this year, so it's going on my list.  Wonk Unit may not totally deserve to be on the list on a technicality as it's a compilation of previously released songs, but it was their first time on vinyl, and I hadn't heard them previously, so on it goes.

Lastly at number fourteen is Unlikely Friends.  I didn't review that record this year.  It didn't come out on vinyl, so I kept putting off buying it hoping it would eventually be released.  It didn't happen so I finally ordered the CD but I waited too long.  I'll get a review of that up first thing in the new year, but it's really worth a listen.

01 - Clearance - Rapid Rewards - Tall Pat (Listen)
02 - The Mountain Goats - Beat The Champ - Merge (Listen)
03 - Royal Headache - High - What's Your Rupture (Listen)
04 - Good Shade - Good Shade - Gut Genug (Listen)
05 - Wonk Unit - Feel The Wonkness - Drunken Sailor (Listen)
06 - Swami John Reis & The Blind Shake - Modern Surf Classics - Swami (Listen)
07 - Warm Soda - Symbolic Dream - Castleface (Listen)
08 - Red Dons - The Dead Hand Of Tradition - Taken By Surprise (Listen)
09 - Outtacontroller - Television Zombie LP - Southpaw (Listen)
10 - Lost Balloons - Lost Balloons - Alien Snatch (Listen)

11 - Widows Watch - This Message Repeats - Toxic Pop
12 - Radioactivity - Silent Kill - Dirtnap
13 - Hungry Tiger - Hungry Tiger - Sex Sheet
14 - Unlikely Friends - Solid Gold Cowboys - Jigsaw
15 - Sweet John Bloom - Weird Prayer - Tiny Engines
16 - Ash - Kablammo - E.A.R.
17 - Tenement - Predatory Headlights - Don Giovanni
18 - Beach Slang - The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us - Polyvinyl
19 - The Barreracudas - Can Do Easy - Oops Baby
20 - Beach Party - Broken Machine - Sex Sheet

21 - The Ballantynes - Dark Drives, Life Signs - La-Ti-Da
22 - ИO​​/​​​/​​​/​​sé - Lower Berth - 1859/Man In Decline
23 - The Blind Shake - Fly Right - Slovenly
24 - Nervous Talk - Nervous Talk - Hosehead
25 - King Khan and BBQ Show - Bad News Boys - In The Red
26 - The Sonics - This Is The Sonics - ReVox
27 - Built To Spill - Untethered Moon
28 - Mikal Cronin - MCIII - Merge
29 - Legendary Wings - Do You See? - Dirtnap
30 - Apocalypse Meow - The End Is Nigh - Sex Sheet/Rad Girlfriend

Other Records I Picked Up This Year:
Archers Of Loaf - Curse Of The Loaf - ARRA Music
Baby Shakes - Starry Eyes - Lil Chewy
Built In Sun - Built In Sun - PIAPTK
The Butterscotch Cathedral - The Butterscotch Cathedral - Trouble In Mind
Casual - Casual - Dead Broke / Square of Opposition
Hex Dispensers - III - Alien Snatch
Hysterese - Hysterese - Dirt Cult
Hospital Job - Never Get Cold - Rad Girlfriend / It's Alive
Jaill - Brain Cream - Burger
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Freedom Tower - Mom + Pop
The Knew - Schmew - Greater Than
Mandates - In The Back Of Your Heart - Hosehead/Taken By Surprise
Maniac - Demimonde - La-Ti-Da
Mac McCaughan - Non Believers - Merge
Nervosas - Nervosas - Dirtnap
Pale Angels - Imaginary People - Recess
Phylums - Phylum Phyloid - Dirtnap
The Rubs - The Rubs Are Trash - Tall Pat
Sanhose - Pi - Snuffy Smiles
Shadow In the Cracks - Shadow In The Cracks - Goner
The Soaks - The Soaks - Riot House
Spraynard - Mable - Jade Tree
Wavves - V - Mom + Pop
World's Fair - Leisurely - Rok Lok

Previously:
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

Warm Soda - Renegade Mode 7" - Blue Vinyl (/100)

Southpaw (2015)

I think I'm going to knock out the 3 new Matthew Melton related 7"s that I recently picked up from Southpaw records.  I'll start up with the Warm Soda one.  I was relieved to have been able to pick up a copy on the limited to 100 blue vinyl.  My understanding is those sold out pretty quick.  While I'm not sure either song is as good as anything from the most recent Warm Soda full length, it's still a fun little 7".

"Renegade Mode" is upbeat with a little dash of synthy keyboard lead.  It's not the octave rock party that that their full length Symbolic Dream was, but it still keeps the music catchy and the vocals breathy.  The song was originally available on a split cassette that the band sold on a tour, so it's nice to have the tune committed to wax.

On the B-side we have a completely new song, "No Place To Fall."  I can't say I'm as big of a fan of this one.  It's built primarily on low key drums and bass, with a smattering of guitar accenting here and there in the verse.  The chorus sounds much fuller than the skeletal verse, but in general this feels very much like the kind of song that would have come out in the 80's.  It's not really my thing as I prefer when Melton & co keep things fast and loose.

Oh, in other news and if you care at all, I just posted a news update about PopKid records on the PopKid website.  So give it a look if you can.  Or don't if you can't.  Your call: http://www.popkid.com 

Warm Soda - "Renegade Mode":

https://southpawrecords.bandcamp.com/track/warm-soda-renegade-mode

Warm Soda - Symbolic Dream LP - Ketchup & Mustard Splatter Vinyl

Castle Face (2015)

When last year's Young Reckless Hearts came out, I was a bit let down by Warm Soda.  While there were certainly some good songs, I felt that there was something major missing from that record.  I think it may have been the recording as the band just sounded zapped of their energy.  I was hopeful it was an anomaly and things would be back on track with Warm Soda's third album, Symbolic Dream.

Not only has Warm Soda righted course and improved upon their last album, Symbolic Dream is arguably the best record they have made yet.  The punchy songs and smooth vocals have returned with some of the bands finest songs.  From the first few seconds of album opener "I Wanna Know Her" you can tell that the band is on point.  The album is littered with pop hits, great guitar leads and some simply wonderful choruses.  

I'm kind of over the whole splatter vinyl craze personally.  I find that most of them just end up looking kind of ugly and have very little to do with the album artwork.  You certainly cannot say that about the red and yellow ketchup and mustard split color vinyl of Symbolic Dream.  Not only is it a cool looking take on a tired concept, but it perfectly matches the album art,so the band gets points for that as well.

Everything about Symbolic Dream is an improvement from the last Warm Soda record.  Its near flawless execution has shot it right up to the top of my favorite albums of the year list and is really only battling one other record at this point.  There's a lot of 2015 left to go, but rest assured this Warm Soda record will end up being one of the very best things you'll hear this year.

Warm Soda - Symbolic Dream LP:

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/86070113%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-MnmOs&amp

Warm Soda - Reaction 7" (Clear Vinyl)

Southpaw (2012)

I came on board the Warm Soda bandwagon as their first full length had been released.  I missed out on their debut 7" on Southpaw and just kept putting off grabbing it.  Then one day they were all gone.  Well, no worries as Southpaw pressed up another batch recently so I was able to get one on clear vinyl.

What it comes down to is this, if you like other Warm Soda records, you're going to like this one as well.  The trademarks are all their.  Bouncy guitar riffs? Check. Whispered vocals? Check. Sounds like it was recorded in a room made of tin foil? Check.  These are the things that make Warm Soda instantly identifiable and I really like them.  That being said, I have some friends that just don't like Matthew Melton's vocals.  They are different enough to warrant someone having a reaction to them I guess, but I have always thought that within this band, they match perfectly to the pop tunes being created.

Even though I was a little down on the most recent Warm Soda full length (I thought the recording wasn't good and zapped all of the energy out of the songs), listening to their debut 7" again reminded me why I like this band so much.  They just write great, catchy songs.  Hopefully they have another new album this year, I'm definitely ready for one.

Warm Soda - "Reaction":

https://soundcloud.com/southpaw1/warm-soda-reaction

Matthew Melton - Outside Of Paradise LP - Green Vinyl

Southpaw (2014)

Metthew Melton is probably best known for fronting the breathy, garage pop band Warm Soda.  Even though Warm Soda did release a somewhat disappointing record this year, I jumped on this solo record the moment it went on sale.  Even though I thought the last Warm Soda record was something of a let down (it had great songs, but the recording zapped a lot of the energy out of it for some reason), I have supreme confidence in Matthew Melton's songwriting.  I figured this would be a slam dunk of a record.

Well, in some ways it is and others was it is not.  In general, these sound like Warm Soda songs that fall somewhere in between their debut Someone For You and this year's Young Reckless Hearts.  It's not quite as half baked as Young Reckless Hearst ended up being, but it's not as fully realized as Someone For You.  The songs are kind of like rough sketches of great songs.  The production is a bit more lo fi than typical Warm Soda, but the songs are absolutely there.

When Melton really is hitting on all cylinders as he is on "Painted Sign," "Are You Taking Her Home" or "Glass Diamond Green Roses" he cannot be touched when it comes to crafting a perfect pop song.  The one problem that Outside Of Paradise runs into is that it doesn't quite have the kind of album cohesion that Warm Soda records have.  It's to be expected as these songs have been piling up over years.  The hits way outnumber the misses on this album and as a whole it is just as good if not a bit better than Young Reckless Hearts was.  Definitely worth picking up.

Matthew Melton - "Painted Sign":

https://soundcloud.com/southpaw1/matthew-melton-painted-sign

Warm Soda - Young Reckless Hearts LP - Pentacolor Vinyl (/69)

Castle Face (2014)

While I wasn't ever totally on board with the records released when he was in Bare Wires (don't get me wrong, those records are good, just not great), I was a reasonably early adopter when Mathew Melton started up Warm Soda.  Their debut record was one of those albums that makes you reevaluate what you're looking for in a record.  He managed to do several things that I hate production-wise, yet somehow made me love every second of it.  When Young Reckless Hearts was announced, I was checking the Castle Face records website every hour waiting for this to go on sale.

I was lucky, I was at the right computer at the right time and I saw the email announcing this wacky, limited to 69 copies pentacolor vinyl go on sale.  It's clear with red, yellow, blue and white colored blotches.  Definitely one of the cooler looking records I have and man did it sell out fast.  As far as the music goes, it's really good, but I don't like it quite as much as their debut.

The thing that this record is lacking for me just a bit is punch.  The first album had a little more energy.  The songs were slightly faster.  The lyrics were more biting.  Young Reckless Hearts is a more laid back affair, but Melton & co. craft some of the best hooks you'll find on a record this year.  With their breathy, way-up-in-the-front-of-the-mix vocals and tight, well constructed accompaniment, Warm Soda is a truly stellar band.  If you enjoyed the last record, there's no way you won;t like this one as well.  It's a fantastic, extremely well written record; I just wish it had a tiny bit more oomph, that's all.

Warm Soda - Young Wreckless Hearts:

https://soundcloud.com/tellallyourfriendspr/sets/warm-young-reckless-hearts

Warm Soda - Tell Me In A Whisper 7"

Warm Soda - Tell Me In A Whisper 7", a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Goodbye Boozy (2013)

The Warm Soda LP that came out on Castle Face records earlier in the year is top notch, and this follow-up 7" for the band's European tour follows in those same footsteps. 2 more songs of jangle guitar, breathy vocals and simple, but insanely catchy, melodies. The 2 songs here are akin the the more mid tempo moments of that band's full length, but they are just the perfect companion piece to that album.

There were 2 versions of the 7" available, the cover I have with the band blowing bubbles in the supermarket as well as another illustrated cover. Each variant was limited to 150 copies and according to the label, both versions are already sold out. Hopefully the band still has some copies and they roll through your town as this is worth grabbing.

Warm Soda - Tell Me In A Whisper 7":
warmsoda.bandcamp.com/album/tell-me-in-a-whisper

Warm Soda - S/T LP - Translucent Blue w/ Rainbow Splatter Vinyl (/250)

Warm Soda - S/T LP - Translucent Blue w/ Rainbow Splatter Vinyl (/250), a photo by Tim PopKid on Flickr.

Castle Face (2013)

A band recommended to me by my fellow brethren in Speedo's Army, Warm Soda couldn't actually be farther from the tried and true sonic assault of a Rocket From The Crypt or Hot Snakes. Warm Soda is a band that specializes in building choruses, slick guitar and breathy vocals.

Too be completely honest, if these songs weren't as good as they are (and they are really, really good) the production on the vocals would probably drive me insane. It's an echo-y, breathy effect that really could not possibly work for anyone else, but on this album, it does actually work. Carried on the pure strength of the songwriting, Warm Soda's debut is easily one of the best records I've heard in 2013, and let's give credit where it's due, 2013 has been a beast of a year so far and we're only in mid February.

The colored vinyl option was limited to 250 copies and was only sold on the Castle Face Records website. From what I gather it has already sold out, but it's one of the prettier splatter's I've seen.

Warm Soda - Waiting For Your Call:
soundcloud.com/castle-face-1/warm-soda-waiting-for-your