Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Bad Moves and Gentle Hen

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Bad Moves

Bad Moves “Tell No One”

Washington, D.C. band Bad Moves are the tight combo of David Combs (lead guitar), Emma Cleveland (bass), Katie Park (guitar), and Daoud Tyler-Ameen (drums) exhibit an untamed pop spirit with punk tendencies. “Change Your Mind” blasts through the speakers, with the powerful bass, feedback and punked up harmonies that compel attention.

You’ll hear some ’70s and ’80s influences, like The Nerves, The Replacements, and The Cars.“One Thing” and “Cool Generator” are pensive rockers that build up to its choruses, with Emma and Katie dominating the vocals. They shout out a call to action about how those intense younger experiences can affect your adult life. The music is a fun romp loaded with catchy riffs, and without a drop of filler but it does slow slightly towards the second half. This album is a great pickup and the irony of the title is you should “tell everyone!” Highly Recommended!

Amazon

Gentle Hen

Gentle Hen “Be Nice To Everyone”

Northampton, MA band Gentle Hen has a new LP that plays to its strengths but isn’t afraid to play outside the box. The band is led by Henning Ohlenbusch, with a sound that falls somewhere in between Fountains of Wayne and REM. The understated opener “We’ve Got The Goods” is a slyly catchy tune with a nice repeating riff driving the chorus. The rich harmonies of “She’s Got It Bad” recall Teenage Fanclub (as they name drop several bands) about an obsessive record collector. The band does its best to rock faster and harder on “Knock, knock, knock” and “You Can’t Take It Back.” It’s a style that fans of The Connection or Kurt Baker will appreciate.

The music also touches on folk and new wave, but Gentle Hen resonates best when a distinct storyline works with the melody, like the excellent “There’s A World In The World” which flirts with a quirkiness that TMBG would envy. Other highlights include “They Know, They Know” and the light chorus/dark ascendant chords on “Ancient Bones.” Overall a very good album that deserves to be heard.

Amazon

Paul Collins and Checkpoint Charley

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Paul Collins

Paul Collins “Out of My Head”

The King is back! Paul Collins is a rare breed of musician that can rally the power pop faithful to his side with each release. And for over 40 years from The Nerves to the Beat, he’s still got the talent and energy to get his ideas across. Keeping things simple Paul gets a noticeable assist from Paul Stingo (bass and vocals) as he delivers a series of simple catchy themes intermixed with a few introspective ballads.

“In and Out of My Head” starts with a dramatic ballad that sounds akin to late-60’s era Beau Brummels or Ricky Nelson. This is followed by the short and sweet power pop nuggets “Go” and the Beatlesque “Kind of Girl” that has been Paul’s bread and butter. It’s those catchy hooks married to Paul’s genuine emotion that really stick. “Just Too Bad You’re Leaving” and “Midnight Special” follow the same template, but Paul’s grizzled vocals strain to keep up. The love ballads are wonderfully done with “Emily” and “Lost Again” as standouts. Another excellent song is “You Belong To Me” with its sing-along chorus and solid rhythm that should’ve been a huge Billboard hit (if only we had a time machine.) Collins also briefly reflects on his age and loneliness in the nuanced “Tick Tock.” Overall a Highly Recommended album.

Amazon

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Checkpoint Charley

Checkpoint Charley “Pomp, Twaddle & Bombast: Songs 13-24”

Checkpoint Charley is the ongoing power pop muse of Kevin Packard and Jesse Anderegg. The band returns from a 10-year hiatus to craft a follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut, Songs 1-12. Their sound draws heavily on the influence of Jellyfish, Queen, and Muse. The opening 4 tunes are from their Star Wars themed EP Great Jedi Mind Trick, starting with the bombastic guitar melody of “InVader.” Next, the yearning power ballad “Misunderstood” is pure magic, as “The Ballad Of Han and Leia” is a more rocking song that you can dance to. “Mayday” has those soaring harmonies and ascending chords that reach the stars. These tracks are so good, the band was recently featured as House Band at ICC Con in Nashville, TN.

From there heavier “Young & Naive” and “She’s All Mine” are closer to Imperial Drag than Jellyfish. My favorite track is “Child’s Play,” as the band chugs along with gleeful abandon, adding toy piano to the powerful hooks. “559V” is another gem that is perfectly composed, and amazingly most of the songs are over the four-minute mark, but they don’t feel stretched out. No filler here, and absolutely better than the debut – this is super highly recommended.

Kool Kat Musik | Checkpoint Website

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Sunday Night Singles! Bob of The Pops, Timmy Sean, Andy Reed, Jay Stansfield, Bryan Estepa, The John Sally Ride

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Bob of The Pops! Vol.3 – Robyn Gibson (The Junipers) gets better with each group of covers he delivers. Love all this, and it’s a FREE download. Get it now!

Timmy Sean is back with a pure power pop single sure to stay on my playlist all year long.

Andy Reed gives us a slow ballad, and it’s his first solo work this year.

Jay Stansfield hasn’t had an LP ready in a long time, but this new single is a little like Jason Falkner.

Aussie Bryan Estepa delivers a very sweet power-pop tune.  Can an album be far behind?

John Dunbar is back with his band The John Sally Ride and he offers some very sage advice. It’s a pep talk set to a catchy beat.

EP reviews : Cupid’s Carnival and Nick Frater

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Cupid's Carnival

Cupid’s Carnival “Clapham Junction” EP

Cupid’s Carnival wowed us before, and they are back with a much too short EP that gives Beatlesque faves The Weeklings a run for their money. Opening with the Fab-tastic “She Don’t Care,” it will make all those old Beatles fans swoon. From there it gives us several Lennon-styled piano ballads. The sparse “Clapham Junction-Platform 1” is modeled after “Imagine” and the follow-up “Looking For Rainbows” is a little more “Hey Jude,” but these songs are purely original and they definitely resonate.

“Yoko’s Smiling” is another slow tempo ballad, but the production is more layered with some nice slide guitar, organ and percussion. The song is a message of hope and love, about a Lennon fan honoring his idol’s passing. They repeat two tracks here with alternate versions, and it all ends way too soon. Highly Recommended, and btw more, please.

CD Baby | Amazon

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Nick Frater

Nick Frater “Something/Nothing?” EP

I reviewed Nick Frater earlier this year and looked through some of his earlier EPs. This one from 2017 had a Rundgren-y looking cover so I gave it a spin. “Sleep It Off” is a sweet piano intro that leads us to a dreamland of melody, with the forceful “Best Intentions” has an echoing verse and a strong chorus that’s more like Elvis Costello than Todd.

Frater excels at making a dreamscape with banjos, floating harmonies and verses in the round for “So The Wind Won’t Blow It Away Part 2.” Another highlight is “Hotel Radio” with its swiftly changing tempos and melody lines. Overall a fine EP with very little filler, and mostly great music.  Highly Recommended, and I would check out all his music, as its totally infectious. What makes it even better is that Kool Kat Musik has included two EPs as bonus tracks. And of course, the bonus music is awesome!

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

 

 

International Pop Overthrow Vol.21

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Various Artists “International Pop Overthrow Vol. 21”

I’ve been reviewing IPO compilations since Volume Ten, and its tough to come up with any new superlatives for International Pop Overthrow CEO David Bash and what he means to the power pop genre. It’s also notable that in an age of disposable digital downloads, he stubbornly creates a great tangible CD product that is well designed, researched and curated. This year the geniuses at Omnivore Records will be distributing it, so don’t miss out! As is customary, we get lots of new talent alongside old favorites as they stretch the boundaries of what power pop is (or is not). Here are some of my favorite tracks on each disk:

Disc One
Some good introduction tunes start the set, like Kai Danzberg’s “Welcome To The Show” and the syrupy sweet “Together Forever” by Justin Levinson. The deep chords of the slide guitar open Danny Wilkerson’s “You Still Owe Me A Kiss,” and some new artists I liked here include “Read 1 For You” by Searching For Sylvia and “CC It’s Not Me” by The Paper Jets.

Disc Two
A great opener by The Caper Clowns “Pretty & Underwear” is followed later by French power popper Tommy Lorente’s gem “Arthur.” One of the most impressive tunes on this whole set “Come With Me Now” is from David Minchin of The Innocent, as he channels The Raspberries perfectly. You do get some modern influences like The Fulco’s “Tell Me” with a small rap verse and the girl-group pop with Irene Pena’s “Pieces Of You.” Other new bands I enjoyed include Razz Band “Time Marches On” and Hux & The Hitman “How Can They Do That.”

Disc Three
The baroque ’60s of Green Seagull’s “(I Used To Dream) in Black and White” start off the most retro-sounding disc in the set. I really enjoyed The Tearaways innocent mid-tempo love song “I Could Love You Forever” and Emperor Penguins “Jensen Interceptor” reminded me of Love & Rockets. The reliable Plasticsoul’s “Monkey On A Stick” and David Dattner’s “Pinned” shred the chords very well.

With so much good music here it’s easy to find your new favorite band, even though I’ve reviewed many of the artists here. Highly Recommended (as always).

Get it at Omnivore Records

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