Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic
Dave Cope and The Sass and Dent May
Dave Cope and The Sass “Hidden From The World”
Philadelphia’s Dave Cope and the Sass’s sixth album, Hidden From the World, is a triumph. A playful mix of styles that combines power pop, folk, and alternative elements makes for an exciting and varied listening experience that covers a lot of emotional ground. Influences vary throughout the album, from Big Star, Nick Drake, Todd Rundgren, Brian Wilson, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, and more. It’s a very personal album dedicated to his brother, who passed away recently.
Starting with “All Alright,” it hooks you with a fantastic riff before the folk acoustic “Just A Dream I Had of Lizzie.”The jangling title track, “Hidden from The World,” is insightful, and the bouncy “One Hell of A Ride” has a great sitar rhythm. Cope keeps churning out great, memorable songs here. The intricately arranged “Crooked Picture” recalls Pugwash, with a forceful anguish that “some things never change.” “Next to Nothing” and “Precious Heart” are both sweet gems with a catchy, singable chorus. Not a single false note here, and “Settle Down” is a soulful rocker with a touch of Andrew Gold and Motown. Overall, it’s a brilliant album that deserves a spot on my top ten for the 2024 list. Super highly recommended.
Dent May “What’s for Breakfast?”
Dent May is a musical chameleon who can set a mood better than almost anyone. Dent May’s latest album has beautiful melodies and is easy to get into. The opener, “You Already Know,” is a light, airy, upbeat song that encourages the listener to live their life to the fullest, with a clever, slow chorus. “Keep Me In Mind” isn’t as catchy, but still engaging. Another early standout is the fast-tempo “One Call, That’s All,” with handclaps and bright, almost falsetto vocals.
“Coasting On Fumes (feat. Jordana)” has interesting back-and-forth vocals, but May veers into easy listening territory with “Kiss Me In The Rain,” and the songs don’t stand out as much. He tries some pretty psyche-pop touches on “Cactus Flower,” but the chorus doesn’t quite bring it home. The light soul beats and basslines on “Let’s Take It From The Top” sound like demos from disco-era Bee Gees. Nice, but it fails to stick like the first three songs here. Still, this is music that deserves to be heard.
The Cynz and BMX Bandits
The Cynz “Little Miss Lost”
New Jersey-based The Cynz is the duo of Cyndi Dawson and Henry Seiz, and although they’ve been around for several years, it took Jem Records to shine a brighter light on their songwriting prowess. Cyndi’s punk attitude and Henry’s melodic rock style are perfectly balanced here on Little Miss Lost, with assists in production from a bevy of stars: Kurt Reil (The Grip Weeds), Michael Giblin (Split Squad), and Tommy Kristich (The Jellybricks). Even Smithereens legend Jim Babjak plays on a track! With all this in the mix, you will have a great album.
Cyndi’s vocal stylings resemble Brody Dalle (The Distillers) and Joan Jett. The inspiration for the record came from Cyndi’s preadult years when she lived a bit dangerously. There are so many good highlights here: “Crow-Haired Boys,” the 80s jangle of “You Would Not Miss Me,” “When We Were In Love,” “Tell That Girl To Shut Up,” and “Narrow Hips.” Another excellent song is the Smithereens cover “Room Without a View,” and Jim Babjak’s guitar riffs make it even better. Highly recommended!
BMX Bandits “Dreamers On The Run”
The 1990s may have seen the careers of former bandmates Teenage Fanclub, Soup Dragons, etc. overshadow those of Scottish cult pop legends BMX Bandits. Still, they remain mainly the home base of Duglas T. Stewart (vocalist & guitarist). After a run of excellent albums through 2017, Duglas has gradually expanded his style with more quirky folk, and unexpected musical turns. Dreamers on the Run is ambitious and more experimental than usual.
The record starts with the title track, a dreamy melodic folk song with Duglas’ wispy, mature vocals. This is followed by “Setting Sun,” a catchy pop song, and then “Time to Get Away, all about the joys of a beach vacation. Subtle harmonies and light strings make these very enjoyable. Then it takes a dramatic turn: “Cockerel’s Waiting,” is like a Broadway/circus ballad about finding love, but gets weird with the next song, a repeating stanza, “My Name Is Duglas (Don’t Listen To What They Say).” I preferred the straightforward “The World Was Round,” as opposed to the experiments here; like the 8-bit music of “Digital Dreamers.” Overall, it is a mixed bag that most fans will enjoy.
Scarbrough Affair and Pete Ham
Scarbrough Affair “Leftists Unite”
Dave Scarbrough went back through some older recordings from 2006 and remastered them for a fresh re-release. “Leftists Unite” is a political rallying cry about “taking away my rights,” and other causes. Maybe we should approach Taylor Swift about singing this because it would be a huge hit with a female performer.
Dave goes through several styles here from yacht rock (“Take Me Home,” “Care for the Caregiver”) to light adult balladry (“No Sure Bet”) and these early tracks are nicely done. However, he really strikes gold with “Isabella Mae.” It sounds like a lost Gin Blossoms hit single and is a real keeper. Unfortunately nothing else compares to it, although “Oblivious” comes close. There is just enough here to recommend, but I look forward to some fresh tunes from Dave soon.
Pete Ham “Gwent Gardens”
You probably don’t need me to fill you in on Badfinger’s backstory. Because of this, one of the best guitarists, singers, and composers of the classic rock era—Pete Ham—took his own life in April 1975. The canonization of Pete Ham continues with more of his unreleased demos. Gwent Gardens is dedicated to the late Dan Matovina, Badfinger’s biographer, and it continues Ham’s discography that started with 7 Park Avenue in 1997. Another collection from last year, Misunderstood is similar in approach.
Just before he passed away in 2023, Matovina was gushing to a close friend about all the unpublished stuff. “There are so many wonderful Pete Ham tunes that nobody has heard yet. I can’t believe it,” he said. While the album is entertaining for sure, they are still finished demos and will appeal mainly to the dedicated Badfinger fan. You can hear the “hit” potential in songs like “Let the Sun Shine Through” and “I’m Only Human.” As a Pete Ham fan, I wish someone would arrange to cover these songs and produce them fully. Like the Pete Ham Tribute LP last year, this music needs to be heard.
Retro-feelin’ Singles: Frank Royster, Bryan Estepa, Super 8, Jamie Turner, Solitary Bee, Wifey