Author: powerpopaholic

The Office "Mecca" FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

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I’ve always been a fans of Chicago’s Office and it’s catchy indie pop sound. Band leader Scott Mason recently gave us pop fans a gift — their new album as a free download. And oh yes, it well worth the effort. Mecca has a steady rhythm and swaggering guitar riffs blended with a thick synth gloss. I like to think of them as Sparks meets The Shins. The songs start off on the Queen influenced “Sticky Dew” with a great chorus and it just gets better from there. You can’t beat the chiming genius of “Enter Me, Exit You,” where melodic multi tracking bliss and a big beat are just awesome ear candy. In Scott’s Blog he gives us the raw tracks on how he built this album’s signature song. This is a fascinating listen with all the parts broken out (so you musicians take note). The other songs are all really good too, (no filler here) and at this price I will not complain. This is a great follow up to the sound of “Q&A” from a few years ago, and Mason’s band just gets better the more I hear it. Fans of Queen, 10cc and  The Minus Five will simply go spastic over this manna from The Office. You have no reason NOT to get this one.

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Clare and The Reasons "The Movie"

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And now for something completely different. Contemporary orchestral jazz pop, complete with a string section that has wonderful top notch melody and production. Clare Muldaur has a voice as sweet and smooth as honey here. The album is an 11-track foray into theatrical, space-themed chamber pop that falls somewhere between the score of a Broadway musical and a collection of sweet and playful nursery rhymes. Using a bevy of collaborators, including Sufjan Stevens and Van Dyke Parks, Muldaur gets just the right touch to many of these lush pop songs. Opening with plucked strings of “Pluto” it laments the poor planets’ current status. What follows is the somber “Nothing/Nowhere” with a beautiful hook and orchestral pop sweeps that achieve greatness. “Under the Water,” is an equally gorgeous ballad that brings to mind a sunny summer day, with Muldaur’s soothing vocal taking us there. Other standouts include the ethereal and metropolitan “Alphabet City,” and the cosmic themed “Science Fiction Man” is a dreamy love story. The playful “Rodi” is almost like a sing-a-long done by The Manhattan Transfer, but it’s catchy no doubt. Things get a bit maudlin with “Sugar In My Hair,” but for the most part the album is pure joy to those who appreciate sophisticated pop. 

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Under The Water – Clare & The …

Nothing/Nowhere – Clare & The …
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The Milk & Honey Band "Dog Eared Moonlight"

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It begins with the gentle strum and piano that brings “Just You” to life on The Milk and Honey Band’s newest album “Dog Eared Moonlight.” The band’s pastoral sound has more in common with Alan Parsons or Nick Drake than Andy Partridge in this sophomore LP. The XTC influence is still there, but pushed to the back a bit. Guitarist and singer Robert White brings some muscle to the guitar heavy treat “Waste Of Time” as the light pop motifs give way to a more intense sound. The wonderful ballad “Maryfaith Autumn” brings forth rich imagery in both the lyrics and sound, with the rhythmic piano resembling the patter of raindrops. “Absolutely Wrong” is full of that gorgeous English styled jangle and backing vocal harmonies. The middle of the album sags a little under the emotional weight of country folk “No World At All” and “Disappear.” But, the long country ballad “Cut The Line,” is an epic with amazingly smart chord changes. You don’t expect such hooks on a low key song and that’s what makes this release a great one. Robert mentioned “I was intent that it feature a mixture of styles, I always liked that on records by artists I love like The Beatles. Look at Revolver or Sgt. Pepper or The White Album – so diverse, loud stuff mixed amongst acoustic. No rules as long as it all flows together.” And flow this album does. Highly recommended for sure.

Get a FREE mp3 download of the NEW Milk and Honey Band single ‘Disappear’

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Chris Richards and The Subtractions "Sad Sounds of the Summer"

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Detroit’s Chris Richards and the Subtractions have released their latest collection of hook-laden, power pop. Richards has been doing this for a long time (since 1989) and the experience shows. The crunchy guitar riffs lead the opening “I Can’t Quit Her” and more sweet melodies and luscious harmonies follow. There is enough rich reverb on the Raspberries-like “Consolation” and heavy rock guitar on “I, Miss July” that it demands repeat listens. Richards has expanded the popularity of the group worldwide, where he explains, “I’ve been fortunate to have my records released and do well in Spain, Sweden, Japan, and Australia and both the press and fan reaction have been amazing. It’s a challenge trying to let fans in multiple countries know we’ve got a record out, but there’s such a great network of the music’s fans out there that word just seems to spread.” Some tracks have a thick jangle texture to them, like “Oh Canada (Part Deux)” and others remove the wall of sound and keep the melodies in the forefront (reminding me of Del Amitri a little) in “Take It From Me.” It’s hard to argue with such good music, but we only have mid-tempo and heavy rockers here (no ballads) if you want to be picky. “I Do Declare” has some great percussion work courtesy of drummer Larry Grodsky and “Beg or Borrow”has an amazing guitar solo ending. Fans of the Posies, Lolas and Tommy Keene will be in pop heaven with this one. Overall, this album is exemplary of the genre, and thus deserves a top ten nod for 2009. 

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