Author: powerpopaholic

Freebie Monday: Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms + Destroy This Place

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Ryan Allen is singer and guitarist for the band, The Friendly Foes and he is a wonderfully bi-polar rocker. His power pop debut is “Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms” an excellent selection of terrific guitar pop. Opening with the melodic “Oh Yeah” it showcases his solid songwriting chops and excellent guitar work. Next the handclaps, tambourine and harmonies are all over the amazing “Why Can’t I Sleep?”  The dense production on “That’s How I Came To Be” doesn’t disguise the strong melody. And his frustrations about shyness are fully evident on the ballad “Kids R Dicks” in best Big Star mode. Every song here is impressive — it’s one of the best releases this year easily! This album alone earns a top ten nod, but there is more…

Ryan has a darker side, shown in his second project Destroy This Place with “Resurrect The Mammoth.” Here Ryan gets a bit louder, with the opening thunderous feedback and pounding chords on “Safe To Say” similar in style to Guided By Voices. The music remains catchy here on the solid “All That Glitters” and “Hold Tights” so fans of GBV, Ted Leo and The Eels will find plenty to enjoy here. And as a special holiday gift, Ryan is giving both albums to you all as a FREE download.

Free Download of Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms | Free Download of Destroy The Place

Michael Mazzarella “Songwriter”

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I can think of no better gift this holiday season for the power pop fan than this Michael Mazzarella 4-CDR “Songwriter” collection. The set represents all of Michael’s released material to date, covering his songs with The Broken Hearts, The Rooks and solo albums. Michael is best known as leader of the cult power pop band The Rooks, yet his solo work is full of lovingly crafted melodies and heartfelt lyrics. The discs were purposely not sequenced in order but, as varied compilations to showcase his consistent and different (yet compatible) styles as a songwriter. So what is new here? Exclusively through Kool Kat Musik, Mazzarella is offering a BONUS DISC of 21 previously unreleased demos. Many were written either for The Rooks (“Christine Obscene”, “Shine Your Light On Me”, “To Tell The Truth”, “Crimson Girl”) while others (“Save Me Baby”, “Out Of The Rain And The Thunder”, “Metropolis Mine”, “We’re Gonna Move”) were written for Michael’s current band Sonic Blue Sound Revue.

For fans, the bonus disc is essential listening, my favorites include “A Great Prentender” and “Save Me Baby.” Even IPO founder David Bash called this collection “…the most beautiful and frank songs this side of John Lennon.”

My Space | Facebook | Kool Kat Musik

 

The Liarbirds and The Jennifers

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The Liarbirds “Allegedly”
The Liarbirds” were formed in Athens, Greece by British born Jamie Byres (vocals and guitar) and George Dimopoulos (vocals and guitar) joined by Angel Kikira (bass), Bob Synodinos (keyboards), and Kall Nitsos (drums). The album opens with the catchy “Chewing Gum” and it proves to be a sticky tune. “Running Mind” starts out slow, but then chorus kicks and all is well. This is very light airy pop (not much power here) and although it has a retro sound on the smooth “Soul Keeper” it doesn’t linger in your head long. Unfortunately the lack of hooks and simplistic lyrics make most of the remaining tracks forgettable. The lightweight pop only takes a brief respite with the fast tempo of “I Got Lifted.”  Fans of The Pearlfishers or The Brigadier may want to give this band a chance.

CD Baby | Amazon

 

The Jennifers “Well Intentioned World”
I remember years ago the Colors From the Future album, and finally the Baltimore band returns with Well Intentioned World. The overall sound has gotten better and comparisons have been made to Teenage Fanclub and Echo and The Bunnymen on the opener “Roses” thanks to the clear vocals of guitarist Joe Stone and the excellent drumming of Skizz Cyzyk. Echoes of early XTC are here too as the angular 80’s beats and riffs of the title track prove to be the most memorable one here. The frenetic “Around The World” is another excellent face paced tune. Other recommended tunes here are “Elephant Heart” and the impressive guitar chorus of “Driving Out The Demons.” The songs are pure pop played with a punk aesthetic and youthful exuberance – fans of XTC’s Drums and Wires will just flip over this.

CD Baby  | Amazon

Ben Wilkins “Ben Wilkins”

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Ben Wilkins “Ben Wilkins”
Ontario-born Ben Wilkins was already a well-rounded musician, having studied classical music at Montreal’s McGill University and spent his post grad studies in Shanghai, China, when he began working with musical producers Pascal Shefteshy and Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan, Rufus Wainwright) to put together his debut album. The warm classical pop sound permeates most of this album, but the disjointed “Opening” has a mix of indie jazz percussive effects, piano and classical strings contrasting Ben’s clean vocals. It sounds like he has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into the mix to let us know he’s avant garde.

But what comes next is nothing short of a revelation. “Soup for One” is a perfect amalgam of Ben Folds and George Michael, with a simple piano chord that grows into a lushly orchestrated melody. The arrangement and vocals here are pitch perfect and draw you into his world. “Through to You” leans more to the sound of Ben Folds or Adrian Whitehead, with slick harmonies and clean horns. Read my full review at The Rock and Roll Report. But trust me on this, several songs have found a permanent home on my ipod – a stunning debut!

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