Ever since Farrah came out with “Moustache” in 1999, they have been a nicely evolving power pop band. After the hard sounding “Me Too” they matured with the new “Cut Out and Keep.” This is an excellent album, and does a great job starting with the corny “Dumb Dumb Ditty” a term referring to a clever homonym (the song itself is a dumb ditty). The lyrical and musical content has improved to the level of Fountains of Wayne and Weezer, and will definitely please fans of either band here. The gentle ballad “As Soon As I Get Over You” has wonderful lyrical rhyme like “As soon as I get over you, I’ll change the name on my tattoo.” The very energetic “Awkward Situation” has all the hallmarks of a power pop classic. “Fear of Flying” tells a great story in the lyric and the most Adam Schlesinger sounding tune of the bunch. “No Reason Why” is a Jellyfish-like a song filled with trumpet trills and rocking guitars that is my favorite here. The tracks are all killer and no filler. This is a no-brainer if you have e-music.com and a good excuse to open an account if you don’t. Bottom line here is that this is a top ten album for 2007. Take a peek at the cool video for “Fear of Flying”
Author: powerpopaholic
Back by popular demand, Lee Hazlewood
Lee Hazlewood sings ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin”
Okay, the above track sounds like some studio tomfoolery. Below is the real hit song with the smoothest bass line ever written. Nancy Sinatra sings ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin”
Pelle Carlberg "In A Nutshell"
Swedish songster Pelle Carlberg has a good sense of humor. In his self-titled opener “In A Nutshell” starts with two minutes of bleak boring piano, then two minutes of silence before the “pop” song begins “They say I need a hit song…” And the hilarious lyrics continue “I’d rather wear a leather thong.” Not bad. Pelle has a kind of soft pop approach similar to Belle and Sebastian or early Sondre Lerche. “Showercream and Onions” has a bouncy chorus that contradicts the distrubing lyrics “I like you, despise you.” Most of the album is low key and mellow, and fans of Nick Drake styled pop will enjoy it. “Middleclass Kid” has a bit of Billy Bragg styled storytelling with a great beat and a catchy hook. Pelle’s clever lyrics are easy to overlook, but they are brilliant and filled with sardonic wit. Other gems here are “Crying all the Way to the Pawnshop” and “I Love You Imbecile” – each with memorable chorus and rhythms. He kind of overreaches with the choir on the overly dramatic anthem “Pamplona” and the ballad “Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Until Tomorrow?” didn’t really impress me. But overall a solid effort that pop fans will enjoy. Stream the entire album here or get a free download at the Labrador site (Swedish).
Pelle’s Website | MySpace | itunes | Amazon
Listen to “Clever Girls like Clever Boys much more than Clever Boys Like Clever Girls”
Listen to “I Love You Imbecile”
The Deadbeat Poets "Notes From The Underground"
Deadbeat Poets members — singer-guitarist Terry Hartman (Backdoor Men, Napoleon In Rags, Terry & The Tornadoes), singer-bassist Frank Secich (Blue Ash, Club Wow, Stiv Bators Band), guitarist-singer Pete Drivere (Infidels, Pretty Demons) and drummer John Koury (Infidels, Slackjaw) are a varied group of musical professionals with a common love of a great guitar pop song. A good comparison to other like-minded groups would be Scott McCaughey and The Minus Five. Lots of influences here include The Stones, The Cars, The Who, The Byrds, and Tom Petty. Fans of these bands will enjoy The Deadbeat Poets. The opener “The Truth About Flying Saucers” is a cool guitar centered song, that evokes classic Cars. “The Green Man” cribs a little bit from Pete Townshend’s “Behind Blue Eyes” but is also full of original hooks. My favorite song is the energetic “No Island Like The Mind, No Ship Like Beer” – an excellent hook filled anthem for drunken philosophers. I expect a group of guys named “Bruce” to be singing this with mugs raised (Monty Python fans know what I’m talking about here). Some great guitar twang on “Where Was I When I Needed Me” is alot like typical Southern Culture on The Skids. More Brydsian brilliance is on the amazing song “It’s Nothing.” This is a great album that fits like an old favorite pair of jeans. No filler here either, it’s all great stuff. Listen to some tracks on MySpace and pick up this one.
MySpace | Kool Kat Musik | Not Lame | Digistation
Lee Hazlewood R.I.P.
Lee Hazlewood, the pop svengali who wrote the Nancy Sinatra hit ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin”, died of cancer in Las Vegas on Saturday (August 4). He was 78. He was a recording eccentric who refused to acknowledge mainstream tastes; a songwriter capable of crippling fatalism (“My Autumn’s Done Come”) and playful country corn (“Dolly Parton’s Guitar”), and songs that use elements of both (“Dark in My Heart”); it’s all part of the highly contradictory legend of Hazlewood. His influence is felt all over today’s Alt. Country movement.
Listen to him sing “Summer Wine”