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Big Stir Records & SpyderPop Records 2021 Retrospective

by Various Artists

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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: BIG STIR RECORDS and our partners at SPYDERPOP RECORDS invite you to take a look back at our watershed year of releases with our 2021 Retrospective, a sampler from the records that made the past twelve months a milestone in our service of the global indie pop rock scene. Not only did the year see the formation of the collaboration between the labels and vastly increased digital and physical distribution via The Orchard/Sony, it saw the release of our best reviewed and best-selling albums and singles yet, and reflected the vibrant diversity of the worldwide scene from California and Texas to the UK, Finland, Germany and the fertile rock and roll heartland of the midwestern US. With more vinyl and CD releases, wider airplay, and continued support from critics everywhere, BSR made its strongest statement yet in support of its core mission: melodic rock and roll is alive and well, and new music matters. We hope you'll agree that we served up some of the year's best.

The music collected for this look back speaks for itself, from new releases by renowned power pop, indie rock and psych-pop greats like SORROWS, ANTON BARBEAU, BILL LLOYD, LANNIE FLOWERS, and Finland's THE BABLERS to the latest from rising singer-songwriters CHRIS CHURCH, DOLPH CHANEY, NICK FRATER, IRENE PEÑA and DANNY WILKERSON. Indie bands from LA (THE BROTHERS STEVE, THE ARMOIRES, THE FORTY NINETEENS) to Oklahoma (THE LUNAR LAUGH) and Austin (THE STAN LAURELS) to Manchester and Canterbury in the UK (THE SPEED OF SOUND and SPYGENIUS) offered up their finest full-length works to date. And we presented our strongest slate of standalone singles ever, including new tracks from LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS, THE INCURABLES, POPULAR CREEPS, the legendary FLASHCUBES, STEVE STOECKEL (of The Spongetones) and rediscovered gems from the much-missed POPSICKO.

In sum, it was a dazzling and diverse display of the possibilities still awaiting discovery in the three-minute pop song. We will let a sampling of the reviews for the year's albums tell the story.

On BIG STIR RECORDS in 2021:
“The Big Stir label has established itself as a tastemaker in recent years, releasing a dizzyingly varied swath of music from bands in (and well beyond) the power pop idiom... staggeringly consistent in their quality.”
-Bill Kopp, MUSOSCRIBE
“The best thing to happen to the pop rock scene in ages, and long overdue.”
-Don Valentine, I DON’T HEAR A SINGLE (UK)
PRAISE FOR OUR ALBUM RELEASES by release date:

The Stan Laurels (Austin, TX), THERE IS NO LIGHT WITHOUT THE DARK (January 23)
“An album that will undoubtedly grace the best of lists of 2021… Big Stir Records have started 2021 with a first album that bangs so hard it will be hard to eclipse.”
-Darrin Lee, JANGLEPOP HUB, South Africa

Dolph Chaney (Chicago, IL), THIS IS DOLPH CHANEY (February 20)
“A modern pop masterpiece...  the songs are ultra-strong and memorable, like mental glue... focused and gripping. Smart fine-tuned pop music that is inspired and truly resilient." 
-Don W. Seven, babysue (April 2021 Top Pick)

Chris Church (Lenoir, NC), GAME DIRT (March 27)
"GAME DIRT isn't just good, it's great. The Lenoir, North Carolina-based indie hero produced and wrote all 13 tracks on the disc; what's more he plays all the instruments on Game Dirt too. The songs have a palpable depth and real world feel that extends from the effusive melodies and arrangements to the intense lyrics and Church's dynamic vocal powers.”
-Robert Kinsler, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL TRUTH

The Armoires (Burbank, CA), INCOGNITO (April 1)
“INCOGNITO reveals The Armoires as a much more ambitious, dynamic outfit than we ever imagined... despite its variety in song and styles, ‘Incognito’ is definitely the work of one band, one that is discovering there really are few limits to what it can be and do." 
-Dennis Pilon, Poprock Record (Canada)

BIG STIR SINGLES: THE NINTH WAVE (April 10)
"Every song here is a star.  Trying to pick favorites is indeed a challenge, since each number contains its own divine spark."
-Beverly Paterson, POP-A- LOOZA

The Forty Nineteens (Los Angeles, CA), NEW ROARING TWENTIES (April 24)
"Simply put, New Roaring Twenties is a hugely enjoyable and tuneful slice of pleasingly raw 21st-century rock & roll.... Their vibrancy, way with a killer tune and sheer hard work has gained them many admirers stateside and hopefully when the people over here in the UK cop an earful of this monster it will be the same here too." 
-Ian Canty, LOUDER THAN WAR MAGAZINE (UK)

The Bablers (Helsinki, Finland), PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS (May 28)
“As an exercise in creating original music using someone else’s signature arrangement and melody ideas, PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS is an unqualified success. But it’s every bit as successful as a standalone musical experience. It’ll make Beatles fans smile, while making them Bablers fans in the process. Bravo.”
-Bill Kopp, MUSOSCRIBE

BIG STIR SINGLES: THE TENTH WAVE (June 12)
“Big Stir records should be congratulated in finding so many wonderful artists and songs to release to such high standards on a weekly basis, and I would recommend any music lover who has not yet had the pleasure to enjoy the ever growing cannon of pop magic released on that label to give this fine compilation a listen and then go back rediscover their other fine releases."
Brian Bordello, MONOLITH COCKTAIL (UK)

Anton Barbeau (Berlin, Germany/Sacramento, CA), OH THE JOYS WE LIVE FOR (July 19)
“An excellent and entertaining album, embracing novel ideas and techniques… Quirky and playful, OH THE JOYS WE LIVE FOR accents the creative spirit of our favorite cult figure on each and every cut. Anton Barbeau truly exists in a class of his own, and this album certainly extends his credible reputation.”
Klemen Breznikar, IT’S PSYCHEDELIC BABY Magazine (Slovenia)

Lannie Flowers (Arlington, TX), HOME (relaunched July 23)
“Lyrically thoughtful, nuanced, passionate and always melodically stimulating, Lannie Flowers continues his string of top-notch releases with the fabulous HOME.”
John M. Borack, Contributing Editor, GOLDMINE MAGAZINE 

Sorrows (New York, NY/Los Angeles, CA), LOVE TOO LATE... the real album (August 13)
"This is like unearthing a time capsule of early 80s punk--polished, not slick, with grit. Arthur Alexander and Joey Cola snarl their vocals and guitars, and the whole effect is both the kind of album indie rock bands should be making today and won't--no synths, guitars, organically snotty attitude, rather than sounding like robots--and out of time in the best ways, a look back at how things used to be, and maybe should be now." 
Andrea Weiss, ALL AROUND RECORDS

Danny Wilkerson (Arlington, TX), WILKERSON (relaunched August 20)
“One listen to Wilkerson from beginning to end is pure pop bliss.”
Michael McCartney, The Time Machine, KMNO FM, Radio Maui
“Wilkerson is a stunning musical tapestry. This shouldn’t be marketed just to power pop - everyone in the whole entire universe needs to get this album. This is my favorite album of the year - nothing else even comes close.” 
Stephen Schnee, DISCUSSIONS MAGAZINE 

The Lunar Laugh (Oklahoma City, OK), NIGHTHAWKS! (September 10)
"With soaring harmonies and good bones, this is their best record yet… Katy bar the door as the live sets take off like a burst of starlings... Starting with 'Winsome,' they run the tracks together like a brightly colored freight train, with complexity and exuberance.”
Mike Baron, POP GEEK HEAVEN

The Speed Of Sound (Manchester, England), MUSEUM OF TOMORROW (September 17)
“A whole lot of fun… ‘Museum Of Tomorrow” could soundtrack every groovy club scene in every late ‘60s Hammer movie. Powerpop that lovingly embraces the ‘60s and ‘70s.”
SHINDIG! MAGAZINE (UK)

Bill Lloyd (Nashville, TN), WORKING THE LONG GAME (relaunched September 24
“You have to check out Bill Lloyd’s new LP, Working The Long Game. He’s one of the best songwriters in show business. I especially like the song Yesterday. It’s now one of my all time favorites. Great work, Bill.”
Tom Petersson, CHEAP TRICK

The Brothers Steve (Los Angeles, CA), DOSE (October 15)
"A ten-track sunburst in audio form... guaranteed to put a smile on even the gloomiest of faces... If you love songs that sound like either the title- or closing-credits-song from a five-decade-old cult television show, then ‘Dose’ is the album for you. This is Summertime power pop floating on a psychedelic breeze...... A (wait for it) ‘Dose’ of this musical medicine will make everything taste sweeter, guaranteed. Highly recommended."
RPM ONLINE (UK)

Chris Church (Lenoir, NC), BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE (relaunched October 22)
“No-holds-barred dive into riffage, with guitar cranks welded to every square inch throughout. Though it offers something more to the listener, which makes it a fascinating release that aches to be explored.”
Kevin Burke, THE BIG TAKEOVER

Nick Frater (Croydon, England), EARWORMS (November 19) 
“Frater’s thrown down the gauntlet, he’s going seventies and doesn’t care who knows it. If you’ve been longing for simpler musical times sans the sticky polyester, get Earworms. Your ears will thank you.”
-Dennis Pilon, POPROCK RECORD (Canada)

Spygenius (Canterbury, England), SPYGENIUS BLOW THEIR COVERS (November 26)
The followup to SPYGENIUS’s “Man On The Sea”, the 2020 Album of The Year at HERE COMES THE FLOOD (Netherlands)
“The true value of a covers album is how well it reflects music that speaks directly to the artist, and inspires them to make music of their own. Because Spygenius approached this project fully on their own terms, it stands head and shoulders above the customary “covers” fare.”
-Mike DeAngelis, THERE ONCE WAS A NOTE

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released November 26, 2021

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Big Stir Records Burbank, California

Big Stir Records presents the finest music from the global pop rock scene on CD, Vinyl and Digital. Pop outside the box with Big Stir!

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