Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Ned Brower "Great To Say Hello"

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Rooney drummer Ned Brower knew what he was doing when he hired Ducky Carlisle to record and Mike Viola to co-produce his debut. The mix of pop styles are spread all over the map here. It’s cool that Ned explores these areas and mines his favorite influences. He thrills on the starting track “Underneath Your Spell” with harmonies and handclaps weaved together. The guitar riffs lead you into “Hide Your Secrets Away” and the chorus hooks you instantly (it’s the best track here).

“The New Lonely Fool” has a T-Rex style to it’s beat and is the most Rooney-like of the tracks here. An easy listening 70’s pop feel to “Mine and Mine Alone” slows things down a bit, and then the warm “Father To Son” bounces along like an updated version of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World.” On “The Alleyway” Ned seems to channel Thin Lizzy lead by Warren Zevon. Considering Rooney bandmate Taylor Locke has two albums out, Brower should get started on the next one while we enjoy the variety his debut offers.

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The Davenports "Why The Great Gallop?"

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It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from Brooklyn’s The Davenports. But the new album finally arrives and it’s worth the wait. Lead by frontman Scott Klass he deftly filled the album with terrific hooks and clever lyrical stories, similar in style to Fountains of Wayne. The guitar heaviness of the past albums have given way to quirky character studies and great percussion. “Christopher Starts” has a generous helping of inner monologue and infectious beat. Lots of fast paced tunes are at the albums start, and they don’t seem to be related at first. By time I got to the handclaps and tambourine chorus in “Don’t Cry Mary” a story begins to emerge.

This is an excellent album, where every song advances the narrative point of view. Anxiety and paranoia are on display on “Something’s Gonna Get Us” with typewriter sound effects and “You Can’t Drink Anymore” has an impressive guitar lead. The crux of the album seems to be “Figure Me Out,” a strong piano melody with full strings backing Scott’s vocal. The confessional tone of the story is framed out by each song. For me it took a few listens to appreciate the details in each melodic track, not everything here is instantly sticky and the tempo on a few tunes are too similar. But there’s no filler here either, overall it’s not too early to add this to my “best of 2011” list.

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Eric Crugnale and Miami Dan

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Eric Crugnale “Carol Was Here”
Local Long Islander Eric Crugnale is a pleasant revelation on the scene, a long time session man with other excellent artists (Kevin Bents, Andrew Fortier) who set out solo. Eric’s smooth singer songwriter sound compares well to David Mead or Brian Estepa. The title track has bits of Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach wrapped in the main melody and hooked me right away.

“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” is catchy and bouncy guitar pop of the first order, and another big highlight is “I’m So Glad” with it’s 70’s soft pop falsetto. “What We Deserve” is a grand orchestral pop number, with full strings and horns and “Never Thought” recalls Mike Viola’s blend of pop beat and earnest vocal treatment. The album has a few timid compositions, but most of the songs here are brilliant and it ends on the great Michael Carpenteresque “Old Enought To Know” Just add it belatedly to my 2010’s “top ten” pile.

Miami Dan and The Hayes Street Band “Star Of The Beach”
Miami Dan Yoe channels an East Coast Al Jardine perfectly on his opening title track, and the excellent backing harmonies by The Hayes Street Band prove an effective Beach Boys facsimile. Add to this a cadre of musicians including ex-BB David Marks, session favorite Probyn Gregory and you’ve got a winner. The musical themes are adult, but it’s all about the sand and surf on “No Fear.” A bouncy “Look East Again” is a joyful look back on memories of a young relationship. The beautiful piano ballad “Time To Move On” is a memorable duet with Katey Randall’s strong vocals.

The storytelling aspect here is great on “1944,” a bio of WWII veteran. Unfortunately it takes a hard right turn on “Age of Deception” and the politically charged “Take Back America” which are good songs but belong on a John Rich album. The last 5 tracks are remixes by Chris Hicks. I have to praise the craftsmanship and attention to detail in both the songwriting and extensive liner notes here as well. This is no doubt an effective adult pop album that deserves repeat listens.

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The Sorrows and Shalini

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The Sorrows“Bad Times Good Times”
During the IPO festival my friend Dave “The Boogieman” raved about The Sorrows and but I didn’t really get around to listening to it until recently. To put it mildly, I was blown away by what is the definition of a “lost” power pop classic. Frontman Arthur Alexander brings elements of The Beatles, The Who and The Kinks to this sonic delight. Almost every one of the albums songs are pure pop perfection, lead by the guitar assault of the title track. Rather than name my favorite songs, I’ll just say this stands alongside The Beat, The Poppees and The Plimsouls as best of breed early 80’s NYC power pop. The songs are taken from The Sorrows long out-of-print albums, and thanks to BOMP records they sound better than ever. So much interest was generated by this album that Alexander is putting together a new album. Finding this shiny pop treasure will make your day.

Shalini “Magnetic North” EP
Singer/guitarist, Shalini Chatterjee is a songstress with a sound shaped by an aural diet of early rock, Motown, and ’80s art-rock. Whether as part of a band, such as ’90s San Francisco college radio darlings, Vinyl Devotion, or as a solo artist, Shalini’s main focus is making energetic, inspired, and fun rock songs. Read the review at The Rock and Roll Report.

UPDATE: I got a few facts wrong in the Shalini review: Mitch Easter and Don Dixon suggested Shalini from her FIRST name (not last) and she played bass in a band called KIssyfish (87-90) not Vinyl Devotion. Sorry for the mixup.

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Blank Pages and Macrodots

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Blank Pages “Absolute Uncertainty”
South Jersey’s power pop veterans Blank Pages have teamed up with Kool Kat Musik to release their fourth collection of irresistible hooks and shining harmonies. Once again lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Greg Potter helms this workman like effort as “Let It All Out” is a strong opening that describes his songwriting compulsion.

Jangling riffs dominate “Help Me” and “Can You Feel” is another highlight with an early 80’s influence. The casual strum and minor chords make “I’ve Said All I Can Say” another delight. The Pages are hitting their stride here and I’m sure it’ll be widely enjoyed by power pop fans the world over. Kool Kat is also including a bonus disc with tracks from the band’s “Early Years” that were unreleased till now.  

Macrodots “The Other Side”
After relocating to San Francisco to play Janis Joplin in the Off Broadway biopic Love Janis, Cathy Richardson teamed up with guitarist Zach Smith (of the 80’s band Scandal) to form Macrodots. There is a hint of similarity here with Scandal as Richardson has a strong female vocal with Cheap Trick riffs that gain your attention on the title track. The next track is the soft guitar of “Beautiful Girl” which builds into a great power ballad.

The arrangements are crisp and the hooks are plentiful on “Everything” and the Cars-meets-Heart  styled epic “Not Too Late.” It flirts with heavy bombast on “Piece O Me” to the point that even Brody Dalle would be jealous. Not a bad track here, although “If I Could” has so much drama, it reminds me of what Melissa Etheridge would sound like if she sang Meatloaf. This album really rocks, so buckle up.

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