The lasts time W&H encountered James Styring, he was fronting Lincoln quintet The Popdogs, whose smart 2013 debut ‘Cool Cats For Pop Dogs’ proudly presented 10 highly tempting power-pop tracks and clocked in at literally one second shy of 30 minutes.
Sadly, The Popdogs have since quietly been put to sleep, but hearteningly James is still kicking up a racket around town. Still based in Lincoln, he’s now fronting a whole new gang in town called The B-Leaguers. His compatriots are guitarist Ched Howard, bassist Mikey Barraclough and sometime Bram Tchaikovsky drummer Mark Barrett and together they most definitely mean business.
On their Facebook page, the band describe their oeuvre as simply “POWER POP PUNK ROCK” and in layman’s terms that’s exactly what you get from their debut mini-LP, ‘Death Of A Western Heart.’ Released through prestigious North American Power Pop (Upper Case please) label Kool Kat Musik, it’s a bracing 7-song cycle of fist-punchin’, rubber-burnin’ anthems and it liberally tosses out a wealth of hooks. It scratches itches aplenty for anyone who loves ballsy pop-punk and if that’s the case and you’re still reading, then you’ll be glad you stuck around, because you’ll find oodles to canoodle with here.
Overall, The Popdogs’ thang leant more towards spangly, Big Star-esque pop topped off with loads of blissful harmonies, though ‘Cool Cats For Pop Dogs’ also featured tracks such as the Ramones-y ‘Kissin’ Alicia’, so if you’re already familiar with James’ track record, chances are you’ll dig The B-Leaguers’ scene too.
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As you’ll have gathered by now, the record’s primary concern is gritty, 2-3-minute pop-punk missives such as ‘Numbers’, the chugging ‘Amnesia’, and the effervescent ‘Lemonade.’ However, while all these may be deluged by torrential guitars, they never drown the sunny melodies or ever sound mawkishly nostalgic. Besides, as the nagging, acoustic guitar-framed ‘Rise And Line’ and the intricate, mood-swinging titular song demonstrate, there’s a whole lot more than just monitor-mounting ramalama going down here.
In conclusion then, it’s fitting that the album’s cover artwork should feature a shot of The B-Leaguers posed on an airport runway, for where future pop greatness is concerned, ‘Death Of A Western Heart’ suggests that James Styring and co are undoubtedly cleared for take-off.
Kool Kat Music online
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