CMON CMON, PROFILED (2025): Something beginning with C

 |   |  2 min read

The Summers We Missed
CMON CMON, PROFILED (2025): Something beginning with C

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.

power_pop_logoWe'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.

474904674_17999985269736635_7594957549178617099_nIn 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.

a2300816715_10Singer 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

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Absolute Elsewhere articles index

MICK, MAC and LU (2021): Jagger, McCartney and Lucinda Williams

MICK, MAC and LU (2021): Jagger, McCartney and Lucinda Williams

Steve Coogan does a passable parody of Mick Jagger, but Jagger is his own best imitator as his new video Eazy Sleazy with Dave Grohl proves. He rolls his eyes, that yawping mouth yelps out the... > Read more

GRAEME DOWNES OF THE VERLAINES INTERVIEWED (2003): Such brave, flawed diamonds

GRAEME DOWNES OF THE VERLAINES INTERVIEWED (2003): Such brave, flawed diamonds

If there were awards in local rock for candour beyond the call of duty, then Graeme Downes, linchpin of the formative and formidable Flying Nun band the Verlaines (1981-97), would be saying... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

The Mothers of Invention: Uncle Meat (1969)

The Mothers of Invention: Uncle Meat (1969)

While it is entirely possible to live a happy and fulfilled life without hearing any music by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, there really is no need to be so deprived given the... > Read more

THE BARGAIN BUY: Elvis Presley; Jailhouse Rock, Spinout (DVD)

THE BARGAIN BUY: Elvis Presley; Jailhouse Rock, Spinout (DVD)

Anyone wanting to see in stark contrast the sullen and moody Elvis of the rock'n'roll era of the Fifties and by comparison a kitsch by-the-number Elvis knock-off film from the Sixties should grab... > Read more