Jose Estragos “Vol.3”
Madrid Spain has always been a bastion of power pop talent. I was lucky to catch Jose at IPO in New York last week while he was fresh promoting his third album. Jose is an avid Beatles fan, and its shows from his Merseybeat music recorded in Abbey Road studio #2 to his album cover drawn by the legendary Klaus Voorman. This third album completes a trilogy, the earlier albums are available in the USA.
Jose Estragos II | Jose Estragos I | Amazon Spain
Súper Ratones “Mancha Registrada”
This Argentine band has been around since the late ’90s and remains active today. A good place to start would be Mancha Registrada (2000), with influences ranging from Beach Boys, Beatles, ELO and Queen. “Como Un Fantasma” could almost be a James Bond theme, with its dramatic guitars and “Otro Dia En La Vida” certainly has excellent pop production with soaring choruses and punctuating strings. The album was produced by Los Pericos’ guitarist Juanchi Baleiron and “Cómo Estamos Hoy” was a big hit in Argentina. Even though Súper Ratones never broke through to the USA, they still deserve to be heard by power pop fans.