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.
