Tag: Spirit Kid

Sunday Singles: The Popravinas, Lannie Flowers, Lily Sparks, Spirit Kid, Nick Piunti

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Although I don’t review singles, we still want to let readers know when an artist comes out with something cool. And with a lot of new singles floating around, I wanted to feature a few standouts:

The Popravinas

The Popravinas release their first tunes since the full-length CD Everybody’s Fault But Ours in 2008. The Santa Monica, CA based band continues to crank out great tunes and this single proves they haven’t lost a thing since then.
CD Baby

The Lannie Flowers

Lannie Flowers was a highlight at IPO this year and he released a new single at the show, the Big Star classic “Back of A Car”. It was recorded live at the Trash Bar in New York taken from the Live In NYC album. It also has an unreleased new song “Best I Can” which is so good, I’d call it another “A-side.”
CD Baby

The Lannie Flowers

Lily Sparks is a new trio that deserves your attention that performed at IPO. Lead vocalist Niamh (pronounced “neev”) is a rock diva comparable to Grace Potter or Ann Wilson (Heart) and the guitars really rock on this brand new single. Check it out!
CD Baby

Spirit Kid (Emeen Zarookian) continues to dazzle us with this new single, about a supposed “true story” about living off the remains of that last job. Its has a bit of glam in its DNA, and its catchy too! Awesome. Bandcamp

Nick Piunti is hard at work on his next album after the top-ten winner of Thirteen In My Head last year. I enjoyed meeting him and listening to his excellence at Power Popaholic Fest this past August. Once again comparisons to Mike Viola are apt, and I can’t wait for this new one as “Time Machine” is an awesome start. Bandcamp

Spirit Kid and The Tangerines

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Spirit Kid “Is Happening”
It’s been too long since I’ve heard Spirit Kid (aka Emeen Zarookian) and this new album is a joy to listen to. Heavily influenced by late ’60s bands and sounding a lot like Apples in Stereo’s Robert Schieder, the opener “Everything is Old” has an excellent chord structure and catchy baseline makes it pretty darn irresistible. A perfect mix of classic and modern sounds.

“Slow It Down” ironically picks up the tempo, with solid harmonies and frantic guitar shredding after the chorus. Then “Is This Heaven?” really shows us a longing ballad with jangle rhythm perfect for that slow dance at your senior prom. “Making Excuses” bookends pure Who from the “Who’s Next” era and then we get Dick Dale styled guitar accents on the catchy “Too Good For Winning.” The influences aren’t overdone, and each melody drives it home. Without a doubt, so far this is very high on my top ten list – an instant classic. After a long winter, I feel like spring has really arrived.

Amazon


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The Tangerines “Turn On The Light”
The third full length album from the Swedish power pop duo. “Turn On The Light” and “It’s Alight”  are a light jangle-filled confections, fans of Byrdsian strums will find hard to resist. The Tangerines have found their formula; a version of Spongetones-lite as Per’s vocal gently explains blissful satisfaction on the song “Once In A Lifetime.”

The Beatlesque bounce on “It’s A Girl’s Girl’s World” quickens the tempo and the story of “She’s So Fluffy” draws on the Ray Davies storytelling style and musical composition. The album goes through 16 tracks, most clocking in under 2 minutes. The only thing you could argue is that the sound can get a bit homogeneous, until you reach the faux-roots “Up The Country” and “All Through The Years” which mimics CSNY’s “Our House.” Otherwise this is a fine album, fans of mid 60’s pop will thoroughly enjoy.


CD Baby | Amazon

Spirit Kid and Khalid Hanifi

powerpopaholic

Spirit Kid “Happiness” EP
This is the a solid follow up EP to his 2010 debut, a burst of joyous guitars and dense harmonies on the opening title track is sure to wake you up. This moves seamlessly into “That Kind Of Man” with a bit more muscle, along the lines of The Posies. My favorite track is the “Sir Robert The Brave” it’s bouncy beat and ever shifting chords, that recall Cherry Twister and The Velvet Crush. The Rickenbacker acoustic ballad “Fool To Fall” is another charmer. “Down A River” is also a gem similar in style to Apples in Stereo. Overall, it’s exemplary power pop of the first order and one of the best EPs of the year.

Khalid Hanifi “A Brief Respite From Shooting Fish In A Barrel”
Hanifi has a melodic gift  and here he makes a political statement. He gives us his take on a military contractor’s bravado on the opener “Free The World To Death” done in slow shuffle, similar to Randy Newman. It’s a political protest of how bringing democracy to Afganistan is a “soul crushing screw” to the natives. Next “The Splendor of Empire” has a relaxed melody that charms, and the biting lyrics “There’s class warfare alright/But it’s the rich that’s making war.”

You may not like his politics, but Hanifi is one of the best weavers of lyric and catchy melody since Andy Partidge. Another gem about the lowly 99% is “Whose idea was that?” and the jangle pop on “Hog Futures” leads to a bouncy chorus. It ends with a garage rocker “Give Them What They Want.” But this is a real serious album dealing with corruption, war and inequality – not really cheery pop stuff. But so well done, you take the medicine with the sweet melody.