Category: Album Preview

Brent Bourgeois first LP in 20 years “Don’t Look Back” releases

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Brent Bourgeois and Julian Lennon

 

Brent Bourgeois will on June 2nd release his first album in 20 years, “Don’t Look Back”. The record features a ton of amazing collaborations, including Julian Lennon, Todd Rundgren, Charlie Peacock, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Rachael Lampa, Chris Rodriguez, and the first reunion in the studio of Bourgeois Tagg in 25 years. After reviewing his son’s LP earlier this year, its great to see Brent doing some unique marketing for this album.

Brent’s website offers snippets of the new songs (along with a commentary) and you can listen to past albums from Bourgeois Tagg or solo albums. He’s involved with Julian Lennon’s White Feather Foundation, which helps deliver clean, safe drinking water to those in need in Africa. You can buy the album here.

Album Previews: Skeleton Staff and The Dowling Pool

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It’s been a long wait, but we finally get a new track from Skeleton Staff. The main message is this: Stop worrying about imperfections we can’t change and just get on with enjoying life. Buy it on Bandcamp for a buck. Likely this is the first single to a new album on the way. I guess this can tide me over.

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I wondered what would become of Willie Dowling after the break-up of Jackdaw4, but I didn’t have to wait very long. The Dowling Poole is a new band formed by singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Willie Dowling (ex Honeycrack/Jackdaw4) and Jon Poole (ex Cardiacs). Influenced by pop masters such as XTC, Blur, 10CC, The Kinks, The Beatles and more, The Dowling Poole debut album Bleak Strategies will be released this summer. You can pre-order this one from Pledge Music.

Sunday Sun returns and Richard Snow’s freebie

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Sunday Sun was ranked very high on my top ten list last year with a trio of EPs that displayed a mastery of power pop melody and crisp harmonies. The band has a new single out on Bandcamp. Check it out!

 

Another favorite band, Richard Snow and The InLaws released a pretty awesome album in 2011. Richard decided that at this point he wanted to give the album away as a freebie, and spread the word of a “world without money.” Whatever your philosophy, you can get this album on Richard’s website for nothing but a click.

Twins “Babe City”

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So who are TWINS? The Waterloo, Iowa, foursome grew up on records from the likes of fellow Midwesterners Cheap Trick (Rockford, Illinois), Raspberries (Cleveland, Ohio), Shoes (Zion, Illinois), Luxury (Des Moines, Iowa) and Poison Control Center (Ames, Iowa), and they take their job of carrying the Midwestern power pop torch very seriously. The bands first proper release Tomboys on Parade drops on April 1, 2014 — April Fool’s Day. So here is a debut advance single to whet your appetite.

Bob Evans “Familiar Stranger”

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Sidney York

Well this is an album that would’ve definitely ranked very high on my 2013 top album list, if it was available in the United States. It’s impossible to get domestically (sold only in Australia) BUT you can easily hear the entire album on SoundCloud. From the opening vocal harmonies on “Footscray Park” you’ll be hooked. I hope one day it will be available to those of us who live in the USA.