The Beach Boys, together with estranged sonic genius Brian Wilson for the first time in decades, have the brand-new reunion single “That’s Why God Made The Radio.” You can close your eyes and go back in time… “Tuning in the latest star/From the dashboard of my car/Cruising at seven/Push-button heaven” The song proves without a doubt proof that nobody can replicate their harmonies, even though thousands of bands have tried. This is vintage Beach Boys and with both Brian and Mike Love passing 70 years old, they figured it was now or never.
Airport and The Dead Girls
Airport “Go Up”
Released last year, but an overlooked treasure for sure. The band draws from the big hook filled melodies of old school 70′s AM radio classics like Cheap Trick, Blue and Pilot. Lead by Craig Small, the jangly guitar starts us off with the Eagles-influenced title track, but then on “The Plan” you get a taste of those gorgeous ascending chords in the chorus. “Hate You” adds some fuzz to the lead, as the backing harmonies build to an apex similar to Badfinger.
Nothing falls flat here, and the thick chords and hook on “Knot Again” make it a real gem of a single that will give you goosebumps. “Stay” has a rhythmic guitar intro along the lines of “Sweet Child O Mine,” but falls into sweeping alt. rock ballad. Fans of alt.country and guitar melodies will eat this up. A most worthy addition to your playlist.
The Dead Girls “She Laughed A Little” EP
Solid guitar jangle and smart harmonies are the specialty of The Dead Girls. The vocals of Cameron Hawk and JoJo Longbottom are excellent here, comparable to The Gin Blossoms or The Rembrandts with a bit more bite. You’ll find the b-side “It’s All Happening” is reminiscent of Joey Sykes’ Coward with contrasting heavy guitars and high pitched vocals. The EP is just an opening for you to check out the back catalog LP Out of Earshot from 2010. Here, the guys sound similar to Husker Du and its best featured on the songs “Te Quiero” and “Pulling Teeth.”
Budokan and Beyond Veronica
Budokan “Spin A Little Gold”
This Canadian band from Victoria, B.C. has the loud fiery energy that is sure to make it a rookie-of-the-year as far as I’m concerned. Yes, the name and sound are indebted to Cheap Trick (as in Live From Budokan) and those strong, layered guitars ring true on the openers “The Queen’s English” and “You Don’t Stop Lovin’ The Band.”
You’ll hear some Stones influence mixed in there too (“The Right On Girl” and “Bastards of Feel”) and with a heavy 13 tracks, you get your money’s worth. Drink plenty of Red Bull with this one, cause it doesn’t slow down or get mushy. No clunkers, and I especially liked “Saint Joan” and “Kelly Green.” Not much else to say here, just listen…
Beyond Veronica “Hard Times For Dreamers”
Beyond Veronica follows the great tradition of female-fronted power pop and it’s essential listening for fans of Jana Peri, MaryKate O’Neil and Joan Jett. “If You Love Her” is a great start with vocalist Bonnie Veronica’s melodic croon reminding me of Grace Slick at times.
The band does a great job setting the table, and Bonnie hits it outta the park on the excellent “Secret Things” and you’ll hear more “bad-girl” narrative on “Taste Of The Same.” Kirk Larsens’ guitar work is the perfect compliment to Bonnie’s vocals, even for the jangle-filled ballad “My Friend.” Larsens’ awesome riffs poke out between the chorus of most tunes. The song composition and rhythms stick to the early 60′s for influence, imagine The Shangri-la’s and The Animals jamming together. Mostly it’s great, but a little more diversity would have prevented things from getting routine. Overall a welcome addition to your power pop collection.
Facebook | CD Baby | Amazon
Kids Power Pop: Rockford’s Rock Opera
Rockford’s Rock Opera
This is a special post for parents of young children. How do you avoid your child being exposed to rotten commercialized pop found on 95% of kids TV programming today? As far as I’m concerned if I hear a certain Purple Dinosaur singing I’d rather shoot myself. Well its pretty easy, you just need to seek out quality melodic kids music like Gustafer Yellowgold
Based in the UK, Rockford’s Rock Opera is a unique story-adventure that contains some wonderful rock music, and a positive message about the dangers of animal extinction. It’s spread out across 3 CDs and contains audio performances from a talented group of performers. The story is truly an epic journey of a boy and his dog (Rockford), the brainchild of Elaine and Matthew Sweetapple. The story is a bit of Pepperland, Mike Batt and The Magic Garden, the music is a mix of folk and rock that will charm any kid from 4-12 years old. The messaging is both warm and inspiring, if a bit heavy handed. You can get a free download of of disc 1 on the website and plenty of online goodies. Highly recommended to parents with good taste in melodic music.
Kishi Bashi and Fallon Cush
Kishi Bashi “151a”
Out of the tons of bands coming to SXSW this past year, Kishi Bashi made the best impression on me. Bashi is a touring violinist for Of Montreal and Regina Spektor, and on his solo album he manages to spin both lush texture and joy in his orchestral arrangements.
The swirling violins of “Manchester” are just dazzling with elaborate harmonies and strings building to a loud crescendo. Next “Bright Whites” is another album highlight, with a Japanese language backing rhythm choral – it’s undeniably catchy too. The album travels into electro-pop world with hand claps on “It Began With A Burst” – kind of like The Beach Boys and The Beta Band partying with The Shins. The slower “Wonder Woman, Wonder Me” reminds me of Godley & Creme a bit and the clean harmonies in “Atticus, In The Desert” are also impressive. Fans of Arcade Fire, Yes, and Andrew Bird will love this.
Artist’s Website | Amazon
Fallon Cush “April”
The new Fallon Cush album marks a distinctive change in style. The first album flourished with power pop; April sticks mostly in the genre of Americana and Folk. The rootsy reflection of “Forever After” has varied orchestration and memorable guitar chorus. A bit like Jullian Lennon and Glenn Tilbrook, lead singer Steve Smith’s emotional plea in the melody of “Honey, Honey” resonates beautifully.
The tension is released on the weary “In The Nick Of Time” where the lyrics concentrate on saving a doomed relationship. But most impressive was the piano melody of “Where Your Name is Carved” – it recalls the best of Andrew Gold and Mike Viola and it’s my favorite here. Fans of Steely Dan and Bruce Hornsby will enjoy the compositions “Sight to Remember” and “Every Waking Hour” with its wonderful lyric and spot-on guitar melody. No filler here, and things pick up in tempo on “Renegade Blues” and a touch of Dylan is heard on “Frank & Margaret.” Overall, no sophomore slump here – a great LP from Smith that’s highly recommended.
New dB’s album coming soon!
Wow! Power Pop legends the dB’s will be releasing their first full length album in 25 years. It’s also the first in three decades to feature the band’s original lineup of singer/songwriter/guitarists Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, bassist Gene Holder and drummer Will Rigby, the same lineup that recorded the beloved early-’80s classics Stands for deciBels and Repercussion. It is due to be released June 12, 2012 on Bar/None Records! The new album — produced by the band, with additional production by longtime cohorts Mitch Easter and Scott Litt — finds the seminal quartet reenergized and inspired, delivering a dozen new original songs that rank with the group’s finest and most influential music.
Bos Taurus “In The Sun”
I was happy to introduce Bos Taurus a few years ago, finally after a long wait we get Steve Chesser’s follow-up, In The Sun. The sound and atmosphere has completely changed from the debut, and the songwriting reflects a much lighter pop sound, with REM styled jangle and Belle & Sebastian like intimacy.
“I’m Fine” slowly fades in and sets up a light summery vibe. On “Even Now” the jangling rhythm and harmony rain down with well placed guitar solos between each chorus. Some horns, piano and female backing vocals are added to the infectious “Just Like Lightning.” The same approach is taken with the catchy title track, and the sounds here start to remind me of Field Music. Some songs feel like they want to break the format, “Precious Pearls” is an example of the densely layered approach of two both styles (soft pop rhythm and rock guitar). In any case the overall results do make for a compelling listen. Occasionally the lack of hooks (“Household Of Your Soul”) and the repetitive tempos (“If”) make it a chore. But when Chesser is able to get his guitar at the forefront of a melody, like on the Joe Jackson-ish “Must Be The Light,” its pure magic. A great summer album arrived early, so check it out.
The Critters “Timepieces”
Old bands don’t always die, sometimes they come back. Originally similar to The Lovin’ Spoonfuls, they scored a big hit in 1966 with “Mr. Dieingly Sad.” Known for soft vocal harmonies I wondered what the band would sound like 45 years later, lead by surviving original member Don Ciccone. Much like The Four Seasons after its prime, it goes after a contemporary sound and splits up vocals and songwriting between new band members.
Listening to the opening track “Keep America Dancing,” I thought I had the wrong band on… it sounded more like Hank Williams Jr. But I need not worry, an excellent cover of Jackie Deshannon’s “Children and Flowers” and a few of the band’s past hits followed, albiet with a slick Vegas-style gloss. Mr. Ciccone still has solid songwriting skills, evidenced by the impressive “A Roll Of The Dice,” but its his only new contribution other than the forgettable ”Ooh, La Ooh.” The harmonies that gave the band its claim-to-fame are still intact and displayed beautifully on “Pledge of Allegiance.” Not bad for a bunch of a geezers. Tailor made for the oldies circuit, it will win over my dad easily, but I wished the band stayed closer to its folk rock roots instead of trying to appeal to the Lee Greenwood – Wayne Newton crowd.
The Power Popaholic interviews: Meital Dohan and Little Barrie
It’s been quite a while since I put up an interview, but here are two that I finished last month and finally got around to editing. The UK’s Little Barrie have gotten rave reviews for their latest “King Of The Waves,” which I reviewed back in February. Lead guitarist Barrie Cadogan couldn’t have been any nicer to me, and its a shame his last concert in NYC was on a weekday where I couldn’t get out. Check out the interviews page or listen to the interview directly.
In the “Hey-that’s-NOT-power-pop” department I interviewed the lovely Meital Dohan. Meital is an Israeli actress known for her supporting role on Showtimes’s Weeds as Yael Hoffman. She’s also done several episodes of the Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) series Woke Up Dead and a couple movies. However she is also breaking into the dance pop genre and has a 2 new singles Yummy and Yummy Boyz. You can listen to my interview with her directly or visit todaysmodernpop.com
The Lemon Clocks “Now Is The Time”
The Lemon Clocks, a “power pop all-star” lineup comprising Jeremy Morris, Todd Borsch (The Ringles/The Gilligans), and Stefan Johansson (The Proper Electronic Company), divide this album up between jangle and psychedelic prog rock. So retro you will swear this is a long lost 60′s classic. The Rickenbacker riffs jump forward on the punchy “Garden Of Eden”and then on the 8 minute plus “Rainbow Bridge” its like a magical pairing of The Byrds and 13th Floor Elevators.
The trippy hippie mantras “Life Is LIke A Dream” and “The Bright Side” are great tracks among many here. The vocals get a bit lost in spots (“The Man Who Lost The Time”) but Jeremy’s in full McGuinn mode throughout the album. A great head trip for pop fans who want to go to a “Better World Beyond.” Even the sizzling guitar distortions on “Lemon Clock Land” give the old Pink Floyd a run for its money. Not a weak track anywhere and my top pick for psychedelic pop album this year – so tune in and turn on, man. Also recommended for fans of those neo-psyche bands like Olivia Tremor Control and Neural Milk Hotel.
