What am I going to do

Pop Art Toasters - Pop Art Toasters (1994) ****

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Go Ahead

Kev introduced this as a bit of Flying Nun fun. Ha ha I thought. Dunedin and Flying Nun are usually associated with chilly (pun intended), lo-fi, darkish days - not a lot of sunshine and rainbows or funster associations generally.

But then - along comes Pop Art Toasters with a fun cover and name.  The music comes to the party as well. The nod to sixties Beatles/Hollies pop during the start of the opening track on this EP sent me dancing around the music room at Maple Grove in a paroxysm of joy. Really.

Kev also teased that we'd know the lead singer and sure enough - this is clearly Martin Phillipps leading the line for these merry pranksters. His vocals are very distinct. The other band members I'd have to guess at - maybe a Verlaine, another Chiller perhaps and a Cleaner?

Having just 'searched them up' (as my students would say) I see David Kilgour was also on board so I was kind of right (no Verlaines, but Clean and Chills input fersure).

This is expert pop music. Great having a short rush of songs via the EP. Pop is always about singles and EPs (now downloads): the immediacy of two minute singles, the catchy hooks, and the facile lyrics are all part of the deal.

As there are only five songs here are my play by plays.

1 - What Am I Going To Do: An instant hook and some nice harmonising - woulda coulda shoulda been a hit but the retro fit works against it in that regard.

2 - Everyone's Gonna Wonder: the closest Chills' style amid this bunch (now the official collective noun for EP tracks). It's light, catchy, pop froth - almost a pastiche. Again - very sixties British pop.

3 - It Won't Hurt You: Slower, moodier. A tad out of place in this bunch.

4 - Go Ahead: back to the pop froth of the first two songs. Why wasn't this a massive hit?

5 - Circles: A heavier sound but again, mid sixties British pop. Not the strongest song as they go for a more Yardbirds style Psycho Daisies type of vibe but don't quite sound convincing enough.

So, yeah - 4 out of the five could easily have been pop hits but maybe the retro nature of these songs didn't fit the mid nineties zeitgeist.

Cool to listen to Kevy. Maybe they should be re-released - they'd now fit the breezy pop times, I'd think.