Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Bart & The Bedazzled and Adrian Whitehead

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Bart Davenport

Bart & The Bedazzled “Blue Motel”

Bart Davenport is back with his new band The Bedazzled, featuring Jessica Espeleta (bass, backing vocals), Wayne Faler (guitar), and Andres Renteria (drums). They seem to float through their new pop album Blue Motel. It’s best described as a mix of ‘80s English pop and West Coast yacht rock. The title track features light jangling rhythms and synths, with Bart’s crooning vocals above it all.

A highlight for me was the subtle minimalist melody of “Halloween By The Sea,” with its lyrical lament on American decline. “What’s Your Secret (Cleo)” lifts the mood a little more with its playful bass line. However much of the album’s tone is slow tempo soulful musings and this makes the album drag a bit. On the rare occasion, like “Grownups” the jangling melody is upbeat – a little like The Ocean Blue. Fans of Prefab Sprout and Aztec Camera might enjoy this album. Check it Out.

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Adrian Whitehead

Adrian Whitehead “Nerd From The Suburbs”

It’s been over ten years since Adrian’s been heard, and while his first album was fairly Beatlesque, his latest is little closer to Elton John meets Crowded House on the opener “Folie a Deux.” It’s a great song that drives home the chorus over its guitar strummed melody, and the follow-up is the bluesy progression “Blaming The Snake,” full of colorful lyrics and jazzy brass accents.

That hushed acoustic “Sigmund Freud” is very much in the mold of the late, great Elliot Smith circa XO. Adrian stays in this folk-pop style for the next few tracks. “The Gilded Cage” is a big highlight that mines some wonderful chord progressions and sweet lyrics about friendship, and even a George Harrison-like electric guitar break. The title track is another winner, with an autobiographic spin. The production is top notch and it will grow on you after a few listens. Highly Recommended.

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Secret Friend and Nick Frater

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Secret Friend

Secret Friend “The Divorce Album”

Songwriter Steven Fox is back as the enigmatic Secret Friend with a new series of songs split into two sides and sung by a variety of artists, including some power pop favorites. Side One is six new songs produced by Secret Friend. Side Two has the exact same six songs produced by other artists. The sides do compete with each other, so you could mix your own perfect EP here. Fox is a talented songwriter and knows how to create ambiance. All the performances are good, but some tracks stand out more than others.

The opener “Castaway” sung by Taylor Locke (Rooney) is an amazing song with layer upon layers of harmonies and makes good use of the double meaning of the song title. And while Roger J. Manning Jr. (Jellyfish) does a great job on “Undeniably Blue,” it drags on for over 7 minutes. Jimm McIver’s “Difficult” is more in keeping with the theme, and the chorus is catchy here. The band Perfectly Violent Dream does a great job with their version of “All The Things We Had.” I also liked Wyatt Funderburk’s version of “Over Now,” from the guy’s POV. Overall, a good album to pick through.

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Secret Friend

Nick Frater “Goodbye Kayfabe” EP

Nick Frater is a multi-instrumentalist from Croydon, UK. He starts out with an impressive opener “Built To Last,” one of the best retro-Raspberries singles I’ve heard this year. It’s almost impossible to top, but “Paperchase” leads with a nice tropical beat and a solid chorus.

“More Than This” is another strong melody that is like a mix of Squeeze and Andrew Gold. The bouncy “Remoaner” is another winner that sounds like BBC sitcom theme with a little Jeff Lynne in its DNA. Overall not a bad track, and one of the better EPs I’ve heard this year. Highly Recommended.

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Artist Profile: KC Bowman

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Oakland, California multi-instrumentalist KC Bowman has been extremely active recently, to the point that I had to dedicate this entire post to him. He has been described as a studio hermit with Beatlesque tendencies. Comparisons to XTC, The Talking Heads, R. Stevie Moore, and Beck are a good primer for what to expect on his albums, and he’s contributed to many bands including The Agony Aunts, The Corner Laughers, and his own Preoccupied Pipers. A few weeks ago we reviewed his solo masterwork Fresher Tin Villages.

KC Bowman

KC Bowman “Important With A Capital I”

This is a comprehensive “greatest hits” package that covers Bowman’s career from solo works, other bands and rare compilations he’s been in. It opens with some great catchy singles; “The Super Bad Report,” “Mine Called Somebody Else,” and “Palomine Cranes.” It also includes several other bands he’s played with like Vinny’s Vipers and Rhythm Akimbo. With a massive collection of 25 tracks, this is a great “starter kit” for those wanting a good mix of KC in their playlist. It’s one of the best single artist anthologies I’ve heard this year and at $5, it’s a bargain bin special!

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Fireproof Sam

Fireproof Sam and The Network Stars “Get Passive”

KC Bowman gathers a huge assortment of talented friends including power pop favorites like Bradley Skaught, Rhythm Akimbo, The Agony Aunts, Pop 4 and more. Excellent lyrical wordplay highlight “Screwed Over By Stylish Introverts” and “Old Trope Academy.” You also hear some Motown influence on “Tryna Be Bolth” and playful Ska on “Obvious Scarecrow.” “Vaticial Trance” sound like a lost Orange Peels outtake. And with the inclusion of the catchy power pop of “Rev Nine” and “Idiot Rock,” it’s all very good. All sales will benefit Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating stigma and promoting recovery and wellness for people with mental illness.

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The Preoccupied Pipers

The Preoccupied Pipers “Stupid People Going Stupid Places”

In 1992 Bowman began making recordings with members of a pop band called Lawsuit, and shortly afterward collected these homemade recordings and dubbed them The Preoccupied Pipers. Incredibly, this loose collective of friends continues to make catchy eclectic pop. Unstructured but very melodic, the Pipers have amassed a huge collection of music that’s as good (maybe better) than anything Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices) has done.

This latest gem is a fun listen from bouncy opener “Art and Culture” to the multiple lead vocals on “Pirahna.” And the power pop tunes still dazzle, check out “Azalea Divine,” “Truck Bombs” and a crisp cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Sundown.” A few silly fillers here, but it’s a FREE download so I won’t complain. In fact, the entire Pipers catalog (ten albums) is available on Bandcamp for FREE. Enough music for ya?

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Oberon Rose and Anton Barbeau

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Oberon Rose

Oberon Rose “Tell Me About It”

I was extremely proud to have Oberon Rose play Power Popaholic Fest a few years ago, and now Tommy Oberon takes his band and ups the ante on a brilliant sophomore LP. Older rock influences (Beatles, Pink Floyd) are happily played alongside newer ones (The White Stripes, The Flaming Lips.) The opening title track is an infectious rocker that shimmers to life with its flowery production and psychedelic flourishes. This is followed by “No Stranger” as it continues to impress with its driving rhythm and sing along chorus.

Tommy’s guitar solo is truly amazing on the epic ballad “Life In A Box,” one of the best tracks here. The flashes of experimental alt. rock concepts like the ambitious march of “Battle Hymn (Of The Magi)” work so well, you can sense the band is firing on all cylinders here. And it isn’t afraid to change tone on “A Place In The Sun,” and get pastoral on “The Way To Avondale” with its gentle harmonies. The band closes out with the very Sloan-like “Drawn and Quartered” and the slow-burning finale “Twice Bermuda.” Strong work from Tommy Oberon, with Chris Listorti (bass)and Mike Keyes (drums.) Not only highly recommended, but it makes my top ten list for 2018.

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Anton Barbeau

Anton Barbeau “Natural Causes”

While Barbeau is a prolific and tireless musician, picking through his catalog for the good stuff can be challenging.  But on Natural Causes, it’s easy — as “Magazine Street” is a jangling pop treasure, with a strong bass line and hook in the chorus. “It’s The Coffee That Makes The Man Go Mad” has Anton’s quirky lyrics and instrumentation with some nice harmonies. Some of these tunes are from his past catalog of work, but there is a good amount of polish in the production that makes this his most accessible album in years.

“Disambiguation” and “Magic Sandwiches” both are good distillations of the Barbeau artistic aesthetic, and I like to compare it to Adrian Belew in some other universe. Not everything here sticks, but enough does. More standouts include “Just Passing By” and “Down Around the Radio.” This is the Anton Barbeau that I’ve been waiting for.

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Jeremy Messersmith and The Laissez Fairs

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Jeremy Messersmith

Jeremy Messersmith “Late Stage Capitalism”

After a long while, Jeremy Messersmith returns with the message; “I have a knack for awkward silences,” from the song “Purple Hearts.” The song is all about the mundanity of loneliness and  “Monday You’re Not So Bad” is a melodic jangling gem that recalls The Monkees and The La’s. Messersmith’s late ’60s and ’70s pop influences are on his sleeve, with the bossa nova beat of “Postmodern Girl” and “Happy” sounds like a mashup of Brian Wilson and Neil Diamond.  It’s a great singalong that sticks with you and includes a densely packed finale.

Acoustic ballads dominate the second half of the album, with the exception of the rockabilly rouser “Jim Bakker.” The message of Late Stage Capitalism is about life’s precious ordinary moments and how we should appreciate them. “Once You Get To Know Us” reminds us to stop chasing consumerism, as Jeremy states “We have everything you’ll ever need… the internet, daytime TV…” and the amusing closer “No Superheros” takes its shots at Cleveland, and the fact that all the superheroes live in NYC or LA! Highly Recommended.

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The Laissez Fairs

The Laissez Fairs “Empire of Mars”

Get out the incense! The Laissez Fairs are a band that does exceptionally trippy psyche-pop. Lead by John Fallon (The Steppes) and Joe Lawless, the great opener “High Horse” is a perfect meld of The Beatles, The Byrds, Troggs, and The Creation. The echo of the fuzz guitars on “Like Mrs. Peel In Leather” and”Wanna Make You Mine” has some great overdubbing and layered guitar rhythms.

In fact, each track sounds like a lost nugget from the ’60s psychedelic era, “Almost Got You Made” has crisp vocal harmonies alongside the sitars and Rickenbackers. The droning title track is amazingly mesmerizing, as good as any Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd tune. And it’s more than period musical accuracy, the songs are also well written. Fans of this brand of retro pop will not be disappointed. Highly Recommended!

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