June 15 – New Noise Notes : Stray Arcade

Today we travel a bit of a path less traveled. As you good readers know, for the most part I look at music from the ’60s through the ’90s and look at significant musical anniversaries. But every once in awhile, I like to feature brand new music… as a bit of site trivia, the very first post of the over 4000 and counting was a review of an album by Toronto indie band Slave to the Squarewave. So today, we look at a new and rising band out of Nashville, Stray Arcade. They were nice enough to contact me and ask if I’d give their material a bit of a listen and I did that, and after doing that was  feeling they are worthy of a bit of attention.

Stray Arcade are for lack of a better “pigeonhole”, a power pop trio begun around the end of the pandemic, according to bassist Jameson Cunningham. He and guitarist Jake Kimble left other Nashville acts to start their own band, finding “common ground in ’90s Indie British music ala The Stone Roses, The Charlatans and The Verve.” I must say I don’t really hear that swirly, shoe-gazey Britpop coming through in their own music, but that’s a good set of bands to listen to. As are acts like Matthew Sweet, the Lemonheads, and Cheap Trick who are also cited by them as something of inspirations for their sound.

They added Kevin Bibb as a drummer, but after playing a bit they realized his voice was pretty good for their sound and shifted him to the front of the stage to take over the vocals. They bring in a drummer for their live shows, of course, but haven’t settled on a full-time one.

They recorded their first single “Wandering Eyes” last year, and have worked steadily since. They put out an EP , Underneath it All , it n ’23 and are working on a new one now. The lead single off of it, “Can’t Complain” came out just last month.

“Wandering Eyes” is a nice little tune of unrequited love with a bit of a jangly twang that made me think of Tom Petty or perhaps Weezer. “Money Mouth”, another of their songs you can hear on their website or via Spotify or Bandcamp has a nice Sloan-like build up and melody and a subtle awareness of the sonic structuring of grunge without coming wrapped up in smelly flannel – there’s a good loud/soft/loud thing going on. “Turn Away” , the pseudo-title track from the first EP showcases Kimble’s guitar prowess as well as the band’s sense of a natural melody. “Can’t Complain”, the new one seems to pick up where it left off.

All in all, I think these guys might have been a next big thing had they come along 30 years ago. Let’s hope that good music knows no expiry date and they can still be that. Now, in all honesty I’d say they aren’t quite there yet – at my end, their production and mixing has a bit of room for improvement (for instance it’s difficult to hear Kimble’s bass at times, and could be played up a bit in the mix) but compared to many of today’s Top 40 entries with so much gloss, over-production and sampling, the rawness is a bit refreshing. They write good tunes with decent, often relatable lyrics. They have energy as a live act and I expect the more they play, the tighter they’ll become. Central Tennessee fans can find out for themselves on July 10, with a show in Nashville listed as their next live set.  They might not have found their “Buddy Holly” or “Don’t Do Me Like That” to catapult them into everyone’s consciousness or ears quite yet but I think they might not be that far off.

Jameson tells me Underneath it All is available as a CD but primarily is marketed through their shows and a few Nashville shops, but as it is the 2020s, anyone can find them online streaming.

I thank Stray Arcade for reaching out to me and hope that you, dear readers, will give a bit of a listen to their work, and moreover that they will keep working away and writing new songs. Sooner or later a big label should come knocking and then we might be able to say “I remember listening to them back when…”

I love listening to the music of my lifetime, and like anyone over 50 now, that’s a pretty big catalog to sort through. But there is something special about finding a brand new act that could be tomorrow’s “music of my lifetime.” Don’t ‘stray’ too far from your sound or influences, lads. We’ll hear more of you soon!