Author: powerpopaholic

The Very Most “A Year With The Very Most”
A simple concept album by Boise’s finest indie pop band that is a compilation of  the band’s excellent EP collection. Each EP was stuffed with melody, subtle humor and a seasonal theme. In the twee-pop tradition of the Shins and Belle & Sebastian, full of joyful enthusiasm and layered vocals. The mood of each song changes with the seasons, and many of the nineteen songs are under three minutes, just enough to build the atmosphere. With Summer almost here, it’s my favorite section — “A Mid-80s Lower-Middle Class Family Summer Road Trip” opens with castanets, horns and drums in a Beach Boys styled dream suite, perfect for an open road trip. “The Motor-Vu Lights” and “You’re In Love with the Sun” are just plain ear candy, and fans of Cloud Eleven, Gerry Beckley, Jeff Larson will enjoy the smooth arrangements and vocal harmonies. Finally, an album you’d want to hear all year long!

My Space | Very Most website | Amazon

Matthew Pop “Reinventing The Cosmos”
Millions of people have already heard Matthew Pop’s music without realizing it. Matthew has done on-screen music for  independent films and hit shows like MTV’s “The Real World” and this is his fourth album.  Pop’s sound is a buzzing guitar and big drum beat approach that is contemporary with hard rock overtones. The opener “Without You” is an impressive start, full of Weezer like hooks in the chorus and a warbling lead guitar. Another good power pop track is “Anytime You Say Goodbye” with a driving riff similar to Splitsville. The hard guitar riffs lead “Take Me Home” closer to a typical arena rock sound, but after that the remaining album doesn’t give us much more. It seems to trace contemporary emocore trends in rock with songs like “The Younger Kind” and “Uninspired” which could fit in Taking Back Sunday’s playlist. Thankfully the slower title track has some excellent chord changes and an interesting melody at the album’s end. While I enjoyed the album’s first half, the remaining portions felt too commercial to me. But if you’re into that style it may be fine for you.

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There are certain bands that just defy convention, and Spygenius is one of them. The combo starts this album with a mix of lounge organ, guitars and percussion with “Digden’s Rise.” It could be some alternate James Bond movie theme, with it’s dark jazz elements and stormy ending. It’s a heady start, but it yields to the brighter “Smardy’s Fish Paradise” which smacks of Neil Innes or Stackridge with a ramble about English love. This style continues on “The Ballad Of Jack Snipe” where the XTC tradition of multiple themes and rhythms layered one after the other make a compelling listen. Guitar strum and handclaps lead the song “Stupid” and the stream of consciousness lyrics help keep it listenable. Unfortunately, the band seems to fall into a self-indulgent spiral on “Matter Out Of Place,” but they recover nicely on the great “First Do No Harm” which sounds like it fell off of a classic Crosby Stills Nash album. The album loosely tries to shift musical gears with each tune, and it doesn’t always work. “You’ve Got A Lucky Face” and few other tracks speed up tempo or volume to point where they feel forced. Thankfully another gem here “The Girl Who’s Everywhere” fills the air with Byrdsian guitars and vocals, and “Trolls” is a six-minute epic that any Stackridge fan will cheer loudly to. Eclectic listeners will find Spygenius a real treat.

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