Travel to the Moon and Back with WIAIWYA

I’m not sure there’s a label quite like WIAIWYA; it’s a label that blends their love of pop with really creative releases (did you see that 7777777 series?). Today the label announces a 38 song compilation that celebrates the adventures of Apollo 11. They tease us with three delightful pop tracks from Darren Hayman (Hefner), Mikey Collins (Allo Darlin) and Whoa Melodic…all powerful songwriters who’ve graced these pages. Oh, and you loved that Jeanines track from earlier? They’re on here too! So, if you’re wanting to blast off into space and relive the Apollo adventures of 50 years ago, jump on this pop rocket ship and blast off…or just fall in love with all the effort put into another unique release.

Another Hit from Mikey Collins

We’ve already written about the forthcoming Mikey Collins LP, but I’m here to encourage you to look into this new single. It opens with light little keyboard dance, with a teasing bass line just underneath…soon the cymbals and snare get a work out as Collins enters the picture. All this is really to set up the listener for the sublime chorus, where Mikey’s joined by a female counterpart; it’s not far off from the hook-laden work Mikey pulled off behind the kit in Allo Darlin. I like how he stretches himself just a bit before the 3 minute mark, elongating the syllables to maximize melody. You can grab his new solo LP Hoick right now from Fika Recordings.

Mikey from Allo Darlin Readies Hoick

I’ve made no apologies in my undying love for the now defunct Allo’ Darlin. Recently we were alerted to a new project that’s spun out of the ashes of said band; it’s the project of drummer Mikey Collins. As one’s likely to suspect, this is definitely a pop song from start to finish; there are some added flourishes you might not have found on an AD track though. Personally, I really like the vocal delivery of Collins here; it lives somewhere in the realm between Norman Blake and Matthew Caws…both voices I adore. Plus, it never hurts to have a natural bounce provided by the rhythm section. His debut solo LP is titled Hoick and it drops on August 17th via Fika Recordings.