Graham Reid | | 2 min read
The Summers We Missed
The release of the new single Turn Off The Lights by the Belgian trio Cmon Cmon reminded us of what a fine power pop band they are.
But before we introduce them – we're guessing they would be new to you – we'll quickly address power pop, one of our favourite escapist genres.
Essentially the style takes the elements of guitar-based pop – strong melodies, verse-chorus structure, maybe a guitar solo, close harmonies – and pushes them up a notch.
We've noted in the past the alphabet of power pop: Beatles, Badfinger, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Dwight Twilley Band . . .
As a genre it is nowhere near as hip as it was in the Seventies with bands like the Raspberries but it pokes through every now and again – especially in the US – with groups like Gin Blossoms, Greenberry Woods and others further down that alphabet.
Cmon Cmon hasn't made much of a ripple in the local cosmos, but at least let's introduce them via that current single.
Turn off the Lights
As they admit, there's a strong Tom Petty component in that song, and there's also a sense of nostalgia and loss which is often a hallmark of power pop because the idiom, although upbeat, favours melancholy minor keys.
Cmon Cmon – singer/guitarist Jorrit Hermans, bass/vocals Steven Omblets and drummer/singer Michel Becx – formed in 2019, more as a fun project than with any serious intention of wide success.
They'd had a band together in college but went off into careers in advertising, real estate and lecturing.
In their Forties, they clicked again and with the wisdom of years had more to write about than when they were in their early Twenties.
They sent demos to producer Alex Newport (Bloc Party, Death Cab for Cutie) who liked what he heard and stepped up to produce their self-titled debut EP in 2022.
Against expectation – they were from Belgium after all – they got traction in the US at college radio which recognised the band had tapped into the latter part of the power pop alphabet: Raspberries, REM, Shoes, Teenage Fanclub . . .
Their debut album The Crack and The Light (which included the singles) arrived the middle of 2023 and was picked as one the best of the year by Britain's Sunday Times.
Singer Hermans says of the album's title, “[it] reflects the nature of the songs, all of which are true stories. They’re quite dark and twisted with lots going wrong, but what connects them is hope. That’s the crack and the light.”
Again there is a sense of wistful romantic melancholy and reflection in many of the songs (The Summers We Missed) and is clear-eyed in My Heroes about those who let you down, and when you let yourself down.
There's a maturity about Cmon Cmon's lyrics (Way Down about when life goes wrong but changes aren't made) which step past teenage romance and move into a time in adulthood when you are forced to reflect on choices made (Black Holes).
Cmon Cmon are reflective, intelligent and thought-provoking power pop for adults who can sympathise with a lyric like Nothing on the Radio.
Well worth adding to your alphabet of power pop between Cheap Trick and Marshall Crenshaw.
Marshall Crenshaw? Now there's another name to explore.
Next time maybe.
.
You can hear and buy The Crack and The Light at bandcamp here.
For a fast 15 minute audio introduction to power pop at Elsewhere go here.
post a comment