Category: Album Preview

Singles and Previews: Spirit Kid, Nicole Atkins, Chris Merritt, Lisa Mychols and more.

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Some of my long time favorite artists are coming out with new material, so I figured I’d break protocol and share some singles and videos:

It’s been too long, but Spirit Kid is back with a kick-ass single “To My Romeo,” and hopefully a new album cannot be far behind.

Nicole Atkins has been touring a lot lately and after some notable collaborations, she’s started a funding effort for a new album Goodnight Rhonda Lee.

Chris Merritt is a classically trained pop wunderkind and after a series of innovative albums, he took a career break. But now he’s working on”Be Minor” from the upcoming album Time Is Real. Give a listen.

The lovely and talented Lisa Mychols always seems to have something cooking. Her great vocals are featured on the new single “He’s Got Me Dreaming” and it’s available on CD Baby.

I predicted it and it came true! R. Stevie Moore and Jason Falkner backed by the British indie band Happyness at SxSW 2017

Songs that are shakin’ not stirred. Coming soon!

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Andrew Curry of Curry Cuts is always willing to produce excellent compilations and tributes. This new one is no exception. Songs. Bond Songs: The Music of 007 is the latest Curry Cuts release, and it pays tribute to that great Bond music, with some of today’s best indie pop artists – including members of Drive-By Truckers, The New Pornographers, Fountains of Wayne, and Bowling For Soup – offering updated interpretations of every Bond theme ever. Lannie Flowers does the “007 Theme” so how cool is that! But he needs your help! Contribute to the album today!

Get the detailed track list on the Kickstarter page, and check out Lisa Mychols sample track “The Man With the Golden Gun.”

Freebies: The Legal Matters and The Ice Cream Man

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The Legal Matters “An Intro”
The Legal Matters are a power pop supergroup based out of Detroit, Mi. Andy Reed, Chris Richards and Keith Klingensmith joined forces in 2014 to make their awesome debut. Mixing big guitars with big harmonies, their recorded output has one foot in the classic pop era of the 60’s and 70’s (Beatles, Beach Boys, Nilsson, Big Star) and one foot with the current era of classic pop (Nada Surf, The Autumn Defense.) This EP features a new song, “Anything”, from the upcoming Omnivore Recordings release Conrad, along with a brand new and unreleased cover of the Teenage Fanclub classic “Don’t Look Back.” Rounding it off are 2 songs from the Legal Matters self-titled debut.

Assorted Artists “Power Popsicle Brain Freeze” 

Wayne Lundqvist Ford (Ice Cream Man Power Pop) delivers a boatload of music in this new compilation that he personally selected. It’s a massive collection of 139 tracks that’s a quick update to the state of power pop artistry today. Surely you find a great mix tape from all these riches.

Get the FREE download at Futureman Records

 

Hey, Hey It’s The Monkees Again!

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The new Monkees album Good Times! is due in stores May 27th and it celebrates the group’s 50th anniversary. Shortly after the death of Davy Jones in 2012, Mike Nesmith played a series of tours with surviving members Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork in honor of their fallen comrade. He contributes a song here and plays guitar on the new LP.

But the bigger news is that a bunch of closet Monkee fans are making big contributions to the album. “She Makes Me Laugh,” was written by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and other songs have been written by Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard,  XTC’s Andy Partridge, as well as Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller. There are also tunes written by Neil Diamond and Carole King in the 1960s that the group never got around to releasing. The album was produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne. If you ask me this is a classic case of power pop giants given an excuse to lovingly look back at that past pop era we love.

Album Preview: The Posies “Solid States”

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The Posies 8th album “Solid States” is due out May 2o – its been 6 years since we’ve reviewed “Blood Candy.”

The Seattle-rooted outfit, led by Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, have one of the most compelling catalogues in modern pop, and have been inducted into the first class of The Power Pop Hall of Fame. But there have been a lot of changes in the Posies world. “We’ve had two bandmates die, a divorce and remarriage, a transoceanic move … There’s been good things and difficult things, but nothing is in the same place for us.  So it makes sense that this record would sound different from its predecessors.” said Auer.

It has been hinted at that the artists will grow their sound to include “laptop elements” and even though the Posies retain their legendary melodic abilities, the band feels it’s their duty to take risks and explore. Listen to this FREE advance track “Squirrel vs. Snake”