Librarians With Hickeys: "Ship To Shore" video

Power poppers Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for Ship To Shore, a track from their new full-length How To Make Friends By Telephone: "Latching on the perennial themes like falling in love, heartbreak and road trips, the duo have managed to add a fresh layer of paint to melodies that sound familiar. It is a trip to memory lane, but there a plenty of sights along the way to keep listeners entertained and in awe of their guides".

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HCTF review of How To Make Friends By Telephone.

Box Of Records: The Best Of Big Stir Records 2024

As per usual the folks at power pop label Big Stir Records have put together a sampler with highlights from their roster. Among others Box Of Records features songs from The Armoires, Blake Jones & The Trike Shop, Graham Parker & The Goldtops, Librarians With Hickeys, and The Speed Of Sound. It is available as a pay-what-you-want download in a wealth of digital formats from their website.

Librarians With Hickeys: "Mirror" video

Power poppers Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for Mirror, a track from their new full-length How To Make Friends By Telephone: "Latching on the perennial themes like falling in love, heartbreak and road trips, the duo have managed to add a fresh layer of paint to melodies that sound familiar. It is a trip to memory lane, but there a plenty of sights along the way to keep listeners entertained and in awe of their guides".

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of How To Make Friends By Telephone.

Librarians With Hickeys: "Spying By The Numbers" video

Power poppers Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for Spying By The Numbers, a track from their new full-length How To Make Friends By Telephone: "Latching on the perennial themes like falling in love, heartbreak and road trips, the duo have managed to add a fresh layer of paint to melodies that sound familiar. It is a trip to memory lane, but there a plenty of sights along the way to keep listeners entertained and in awe of their guides".

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of How To Make Friends By Telephone.

Librarians With Hickeys: "Listening" video

Power poppers Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for Listening, a track from their new full-length How To Make Friends By Telephone: "Latching on the perennial themes like falling in love, heartbreak and road trips, the duo have managed to add a fresh layer of paint to melodies that sound familiar. It is a trip to memory lane, but there a plenty of sights along the way to keep listeners entertained and in awe of their guides".

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of How To Make Friends By Telephone.

Librarians With Hickeys: How To Make Friends By Telephone

Librarians With Hickeys are down to a duo, leaving it to Ray Carmen and Mike Crooker keeping power pop alive in Akron, Ohio. They are both multi-instrumentalists, so it wasn't a problem to make their new album How To Make Friends By Telephone sound like a band firing on all cylinders. Jangling guitars are king, closely followed by the vocal harmonies. They are proud to be retro, confident that quality songwrting and musicianship will give them a prominent place in the niche labelled "jangling pop".

Latching on the perennial themes like falling in love, heartbreak and road trips, the duo have managed to add a fresh layer of paint to melodies that sound familiar. It is a trip to memory lane, but there a plenty of sights along the way to keep listeners entertained and in awe of their guides.

Librarians With Hickeys: Hello Operator

Power pop artists Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for their new single Hello Operator, reminiscing about the days you needed a woman to put you through when you made a telephone call. They are down do a duo, so Ray Carmen (vocals, guitar) and Mike Crooker (guitar, vocals) had to step out of their comfort zone to record all the other instruments as well.

There is a bit Pixies-inspired surf in the middle-eight, which makes for a nice change of pace. The song will be included on their third album, due for release later this year via Big Stir Records.

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HCTF review of Handclaps & Tambourines.

Librarians With Hickeys: "Can't Wait 'Till Summer" video

Power pop quartet Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for Can't Wait 'Till Summer, a track single from their new full-length Handclaps & Tambourines: "a sunny-side up album, where every shadow of doubt or worry is being chased away with a jubilant, jangling guitar part". The clip was directed by Mike Crooker.

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of Handclaps & Tambourines.

Librarians With Hickeys: "I Better Get Home" video

Power pop quartet Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for I Better Get Home, a track single from their new full-length Handclaps & Tambourines: "a sunny-side up album, where every shadow of doubt or worry is being chased away with a jubilant, jangling guitar part". The clip was directed by Mike Crooker.

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of Handclaps & Tambourines.

Librarians With Hickeys: "Ghost Singer" video

Power pop quartet Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for Ghost Singer, the lead single from their new full-length Handclaps & Tambourines: "a sunny-side up album, where every shadow of doubt or worry is being chased away with a jubilant, jangling guitar part".

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of Handclaps & Tambourines.

Librarians With Hickeys: Handclaps & Tambourines

Power pop quartet Librarians With Hickeys are gravitating towards psychedelic rock on their new album Handclaps & Tambourines, using plenty of echo on the vocals and bringing the bass and drums to the front of the mix. Wearing their emotions on their sleeves (plenty of aching heartbreak) and delving into their extensive knowledge of their peers and heroes, they came up with a dozen instantly hummable songs that sound both familiar and fresh.

As their band name suggests, they don't stick to one genre. They are open to Canterbury scene tinged folk (Last Days Of Summer), a touch of glam (Lady Overdrive) and the blatantly commercial appeal of bands like the Monkees (When We Were Young). Handclaps & Tambourines is a sunny-side up album, where every shadow of doubt or worry is being chased away with a jubilant, jangling guitar part.

Librarians With Hickeys: I Can't Stop Thinking About You

Power pop quartet Librarians With Hickeys have made a video for I Can't Stop Thinking About You, the lead single from their forthcoming album Handclaps & Tambourines, due for release on October 14th via Big Stir Records. The vocals are smack in the middle in the mix og this pleading love song, with the guitarist playing catch on top of the tugging backbeat and swinging bass.

» Librarians With Hickeys on Facebook

HCTF review of Long Overdue.

Librarians With Hickeys: Long Overdue

Power pop quartet Librarians With Hickeys are a first and foremost singles band, the kind who have trouble writing a B-side and opting for double A-sides instead. The Akron, Ohio based band took a leap of faith and released their first album Long Overdue and it's more like a collection of six great singles, without the hassle of flipping and changing the 7" every couple of minutes.

They always put the melody first. Taking cues from the peak years of pop they sing songs about their dealings with the fairer sex. They navigate the treacherous waters of getting a date with Be My Plus One and the superb Next Time wherein the singer declares that he might get as far as "telling I love her" eventually. It is all delivered with a sense of longing for a candy-coloured past when they were young, innocent and hopeful. The angry Leave Me Alone after being shafted and the sultry Black Velvet Dress are like letters written in hindsight. This is upbeat yet introspective collection of songs that is a tribute to the jukebox era.