W/e 22/05/26 - Touch Girl Apple Blossom, Towa Bird, All American Rejects, Genesis Owusu, Metronomy

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Congrats to Genesis, our winner this week, in at #4 this year.

This top quad are separated but the tinniest of margins – just 0.3 on anyones score would have moved him from 4th to 1st.

He also has the tune of week and a high number of different nominations.

Towa Bird improves on her 2024 debut by half a point and almost 300 places.

Unusually, The American Rejects and the Blossoms have exactly the same avg score.

Sam has the 😊, a smidge ahead of Annette (and what would have been her first for 8 months, she’s very disappointed 😆). Erol’s getting well acquainted with ☹️ - his 5th in the last 3 months.

Metronomy say Hi to Crystal Castles and Lit on the classics.

Andy

All American Rejects - All American Rejects have got 3 all time classics of early aughts pop-punk and emo, sadly they don’t add to that here, although Search Party is pretty good. Enjoyable but basic nonetheless 6.5

Towa Bird - Cracking stuff this and a feature from alt rock royalty to boot. If Reading was still Reading she’d definitely be playing 7.5

Genesis Owusu - Interesting beats and intelligent lyrics, top class hip hop in the vein of The Roots and with Tommy ten names dragging his temu Nazis around London this weekend the kind of messages that need spreading 8

Touch Girl Apple Blossom - Really good indie tunes. Moves along briskly and pleasantly 7

TotW - All Gone by Towa Bird

Metronomy - Not my thing at all but not too bad 5

Carlo

The All-American Rejects – 7.0

A good mix of steady tracks. Nothing massively standout, but enough going on to make me want a possible third listen… if only I had the time.

Towa Bird – 6.9

Easy to listen to with a nice laid-back feel throughout. A pleasant album overall.

Genesis Owusu – 7.2

Loads of energy and personality throughout. I can imagine this being quite good live.

Touch Girl Apple Blossom – 6.9

Less poppy than I was expecting, which definitely helped. They don’t sound particularly Japanese though!

TOTW: The All-American Rejects – Clothesline

Classic: Metronomy – 6.7

Beyond the familiarity of The Look, the album reveals a subtler and more experimental sound. Some tracks resonate more than others.

Guy

The All-American Rejects – I was expecting them to be a bit punkier from Sam’s description. But there was more of an indie / Americana vibe to them. Decent but unremarkable - 6.7

Towa Bird – Really enjoyed this. Loved the previous album and this is more good quality indie pop. A few TOTW contenders - 7.8

Genesis Owusu – Good mix of beats and samples over some quality rapping. Gritty without being too heavy - 7.5

Touch Girl Apple Blossom – Hmm. Had an 80s indie vibe about it which is right up my street but the production was awful and you couldn’t hear the vocals properly - 6

TOTW: Your Girl - Towa Bird

Metronomy – I do like the Metronomy hits (The Look is a classic) but there are some clear plinky plonk fillers on this which detract from the overall score (Some Written is a case in point) - 7

Phil (OG)

The All-American Rejects 6.4

Generic punky indie. Occasionally catchy tunes or decent riffs surface out of the murk but this is definitely landfill.

Towa Bird 7.4

Really enjoyable pop album. Nothing particularly earth-shattering, just good songs, well produced with plenty of variety. What’s not to like?

Genesis Owusu 6.8

Uneven. Some of the more downbeat tracks misfire but when Genesis is properly engaged this is decent.

Touch Girl Apple Blossom 7.2

Is Sarah Records still going? Guys, there’s this band you really need to check out … But seriously, it’s good to hear that jangle pop hasn’t died out. Enjoyably rackety.

TOTW – Towa Bird - Afterglow

Classic

Metronomy 5

Not for me, Clive.

Phil (New)

The All-American Rejects 6

Some decent catchy moments, but I found it a bit shouty in places.

Towa Bird 8

Strong opener. Cracking guitar solos on Dog and 69 BPM. Enjoyed this start to finish.

Genesis Owusu 8.4

Big mash up of genres works really well throughout, the album has a decent structure. Love the bubbling bass on the lite drum and bass track 'Life keeps going' and the synthy 'Big Dog' is also superb

Touch Girl Apple Blossom 6.5

Slow starter, improved in the 2nd half. 'Moon was gone' was a great tune. Lots of strummy la la la stuff.

TOTW: Genesis Owusu - Life Keeps Going

Metronomy 6.8

Simon

All-American Rejects: the sort of band I would normally avoid like the plague, and whilst this won't get any repeat listens it was actually more palatable than I expected. 6.2

Towa Bird: never heard of Towa Bird but this is an appealing blast of smart, infectious alt-pop - the slower tracks weren't anything special but Dirty Habit and All Gone in particular are excellent. 7.5

Genesis Owusu: vibrant and invigorating, he's chucked a variety of styles in the pot but the output is engaging and extremely listenable - another one to add to the list of quality artists from down under. 8

Touch Girl Apple Blossom: classic old school indie which sounds like it should have come out on Sarah Records c. 1988 - didn't particularly float my boat tbh, not helped by the fact that the vocals sounded like they were recorded in a cupboard, although the last track is a belter. 6.4

TotW: Genesis Owusu - Life Keeps Going

Metronomy: can't say I know much about this lot (although The Look vaguely rang a bell) - style-wise it's the sort of thing that would normally appeal but this didn't particularly grab me. 6.7

Sam

All American Rejects: from pop punk heroes to introspective emotional 40 somethings ! I liked it tho . Well Made . 8

Towa Bird : Great stuff ! I’ve already put ‘dog’ in my June radio animal themed show . 7.5

Genesis Owusu: blimey this Ghanaian / Aussie has let loose . Most of this was absolutely banging . A hint of ska in there too . Put a smile on my face . 8

Touch Girl Apple Blossom . Stupid name aside this was bouncy fun indie , nice one : 7

Metronomy : I liked This . Well produced with some dancey bits and quirky English bits . 7.5

TOTW : Staring Back at Me by All American Rejects.

Mark D

All American Rejects - Drifting towards pop at points but sits well as quality rock and each track had something going for it. Expected more punk to be evident. Good variety and vocals and harmonies strong - 7.25

Genesis Owusu - Nice mix of influences alongside some good rap. Some heavier stuff, funk, guitar. Preferred the upbeat and faster songs and the joint tracks were good. 7.5

Towa Bird - Decent pop with a nice mix of styles and neat lyrics in places. Slightly 80s feel. Started really strongly but felt weaker as it went on. - 6.75

Touch Girl Apple Blossom - Dont know Beautiful South very well but somehow this felt like them at 1.5x speed. Had an energy throughout and enjoyed the vocals but nothing spectacular - 6.25

TOTW - Genesis Owusu - Falling Both Ways

Classic - Metronomy - Didnt work for me and the slightly "quirky" tunes / variety of instruments and sounds were irritating. Shame as i think there were good songs underneath there somewhere. - 5.5

Erol

The All American Rejects - mainstream US indie that’s lacking an edge. Decent enough but not much more. 6.5

Towa Bird - an enjoyable serving of indie pop rock. Would be good to listen to during a mid afternoon festival slot with a beer in hand. 7

Genesis Owusu - lively and energetic with a welcome mix of soulful/ funky/rap styles to keep it interesting. Good work from the boy down under. 7.3

Touch Girl Apple Blossom - there’s a certain charm to this but it frequently sounds like the same song over and over, with just a few adjustments. The jingly jangly guitars are entertaining but it’s let down by the vocals which sound like they were recorded in a bedroom and then laid on top. 6

TOTW - Dirty Habit, Towa Bird.

Metronomy - the Look is a good track but the rest is a bit too ‘quirky electronica’ for me. I lost interest towards the end. 6

Paul

All American Rejects (6)

Started strongly but fell away, expected more.

Towa Bird (7.5)

Quality indie pop, particularly enjoyed Dog & Gap in your Teeth

Genesis Owusu (8)

Excellent high energy hip hop with a good mix of styles. musically strong with a sense of righteous anger running through much of the lyrics.

Touch Girl Apple Blossom (7)

Lively jangly indie tunes, had a bit of a live pub gig feel about it. Enjoyed it, Big Star Shinin’ was a highlight.

TOTW - Genesis Owusu- Stampede

Metronomy (8)

Decent album with a distinctive style, helped by the organ synth sound. Its got a really nice feel around it. Loved The Look and Everything goes my way.

Annette

All American Rejects: 7.5

Towa Bird: 7

Genesis Owusu: 8.5

Touch Apple Girl Blossom: 7

TOTW: Stampede by Genesis Owusu

Classic: Metronomy - 7.5

Mark KE

All American Rejects - I always had this lot down as basic US pop punk, but seems there's a bit more to them, not bad at all, maybe a tad bland but a pretty decent listen with a few nice Strokesy touches - 6

Towa Bird - better than stuff like Holly Humberstone that we did the other week, and she seems to know one end of a guitar from the other - 6.5

Genesis Owusu - cracking album, full of variation and manic vocals like a cross between John Lydon and Ranking Roger from The Beat. The intensity drops off a bit in the final third but still a fab listen - 8

Touch Girl Apple Blossom - straight outta 1986, lovely bit of cutesy low fi jingle jangle - 8

TOTW - Most Normal America, by Genesis Owusu

Jim

All American Rejects 7

Interesting mix of American rock styles, taking better bits from each. Search Party was a cracker.

Towa Bird 7

Decent power pop/rock. The poppier bits had a little Pheonix about them.

Genesis Owusu 8

Cracking mash up of styles. The handful with the more pounding baseline were especially good and reminded of the excellent offering from the not-so excellent Slowthai a few years back. These sorts of finds are why this adventure is so much fun. Nice work.

Touch Girl Apple Blossom 7

Very pleasant, if a little light but it had enough quirkiness a la Pip Blom to stand out in the JJ crowd

TOTW: Stampede by Genesis Owusu

Metronomy 6.5

Nice sounds, good for beach bar background but lacking a little punch

Adam

All American Rejects

Thought this was going to be rockier than it was based on having listened to the older stuff back in the day. An enjoyable indie rock/pop outing. 7

Towa Bird

Really interesting disco/pop/indie sound with great guitars throughout. Looking forward to more. 8

Genesis Owusu

Another top album this week. Eclectic mix of sounds. 8

Touch Apple Girl Blossom

Less Apple, more Vanilla in sound. 6

TOTW Genesis Owusu - Life Keeps Going

Classic

Some very fun tracks in The Look and The Bay - always a favourite for summer. Let down in places with some of the slower noodly tracks but good nostalgia nonetheless. 8

Matt

All American Rejects 6.9

Towa Bird 8

Genesis Owusu 7.2

Touch Apple Girl Blossom 6.8

TOTW Towa Bird Gentleman

Justin

All American Rejects - Pretty standard for this style of Blink 182 American rock 6.7

Towa Bird - Hard indie sound worked well. Definitely above land fill status 6.9

Genesis Owusu - All over the place but enjoyed the variety and will get some more listens. 7

Touch Apple Girl Blossom - Classic NME C90 indie. Always an easy listen but not really going to set the world on fire. 6.6

TOTW Genesis Owusu - Falling Both Ways

Metronomy - Gentle eccentric UK indie. 7