Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Latvian Radio and Celsi, Bragg & Maitland

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The Stars Explode

Latvian Radio “Pick Your Poison, Pick Your Blues”

New York musician Patric Westoo returns with Latvian Radio’s new album Pick Your Poison, Pick Your Blues. Its a tighter approach to songwriting as well as mixing power pop, alternative rock, and vintage mod styles. “Paranoia” is a catchy bass melody with a grunge backing texture that reminded me of Allen Clapp (Orange Peels). “Four Letter Word” is a fun retro Kinks-like single that’s great to dance to and “Dichotomy Of Disbelief” adds some horn accents to its dark melody.

Additional highlights include “Observations In A Major Key” and “Radio Riot.” It attempts a punk song “Shake The Tree,” but Patric fares much better with rock and roll melodies on the impressive “Tug Of War.” It sounds like the band is testing out its new sound, and it’s not afraid of experimentation. This LP definitely has some winners on it, so check it out.

CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik

Celsi, Bragg & Maitland

Celsi, Bragg & Maitland “The Road To Glasgow”

Los Angeles artists Anny Celsi and Nelson Bragg team up with Dublin’s Duncan Maitland to form a high-energy trio that plays rootsy Americana and Byrdsian jangle pop in perfect combination. “The Second Summer Of Love” is a great start, with Celsi’s lead encouraging a return to hippiedom telling friends “to grow their hair long again.” Next Maitland’s “Heavenly Day” has a wonderful chorus full of rich harmonies and layered instrumentation. Bragg is featured covering Paul Kelly’s folk-pop “To Her Door,”  and the infectious strumming draws you in.

The trio has some live tracks that are just as cleanly performed as the studio songs. These songs are excellent examples of experienced musicianship, and the trio works well on Anny’s folkie “She Belongs To Me” and the dreamlike harmonies on “The Bright Lights of Glasgow” is a compelling Irish hymn. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | CD Baby

Blitzen Trapper and Dave Caruso

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Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper “Wild and Reckless”

Not content to stick to a genre, Blitzen Trapper has landed somewhere between alt. country and roots rock on its latest LP. Lead singer Eric Earley is part Dylan, part Neil Young with a touch of Springsteen and Tom Petty. Opening with “Rebel” it sets up a story of roadside Americana about a young couple, running from the law and other things. The title track sets the grand theme with a terrific guitar riff in the chorus and it has richly layered instrumentation.

With “Forever Pt. 1” it sets up an epic with lush piano,  strings, and beautiful harmonies – but it then settles into the dusty folk narrative “Joanna” and the bouncy “No Man’s Land.” It always seems to tease us into another genre only to tread similar ground. The music is here fairly predictable if you know the band, but you get occasional brilliance on the energetic “Dance With Me,” and the anthemic finale “Wind Don’t Always Blow.”

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Dave Caruso

Dave Caruso “Buddha Pesto Manifesto”

On the opener, “Listen to This,” it actually describes his music “getting stuck in your head.” Caruso then teases you on “Go Ahead (Don’t Listen)” an Elvis Costello-like rocker, and it then draws you into his world with his soft and inviting vocal. What follows is the brilliant pop narrative “Boomer, Jenna & Lennie” a nostalgic story that recalls Andrew Gold mixed with Brian Wilson styled vocals. The easy-going gems “The Girl Who Checks All The Boxes” and “Hanging With You” have enough Beatle-isms to keep it compelling along with its bright catchy melodies.

Each track is a wonderful surprise from the hymn-like harpsichord pop of  “God’s Green Acre” to the 80’s style power pop of “Getting Involved” and “Allendale.” There is plenty of humorous wordplay with the “Punctuating Shatner,” and the heartbreaking “I Get To Make Her Laugh” will make you think about all those class clowns who are crying on the inside. Not a wasted note here and Highly Recommended.

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The Galileo 7 and Mitch Friedman

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The Galileo 7

The Galileo 7 “Tear Your Minds Wide Open!”

This band has always had a solid sixties retro streak, and here they go all in. The opener “Cold Hearted Stowaway” is the brilliant example of Who-inspired mod pop with a catchy chorus that would be a huge national hit if we had a time machine. The driving “Mystery Train” and “Too Much Choice” are fast-paced psyche-pop tunes, mixing Farfisa organ and fuzz guitar. The drummer, only credited as “Mole” effectively channels Keith Moon throughout.

The slower, spiralling tune “The Mask” allows a more deliberative psychedelic experience that builds to a crescendo. In fact, there is not a single dud in the bunch. Hooks are also all over “Tear My Mind Open” and the band’s output is very consistent from the quick R&B influenced “The Habit Machine” to the multi-melodic “Your Face Tomorrow” which flirts with Prog Rock. There are great retro gems all over this album, fans of similar “Rainbow Quartz” styled bands like The Above or The Grip Weeds will love this. Highly Recommended. Note: This is a recommended as an mp3 purchase. The vinyl LP/CD combo only in terms of the physical product was essentially sold out, but its expected to re-press in January.

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Mitch Friedman

Mitch Friedman “Breaking Muse”

Mitch Friedman kind of positions himself as a geeky pop singer/songwriter, like a combination of They Might Be Giants and Allan Sherman. And I’ve enjoyed his Game Show Teeth which showcased some good songwriting and wonderful guest instrumentalists (John Dunbar, Joe McGinty, Dave Gregory, Andy Partridge.) On his latest LP Breaking Muse, Mitch is purely solo.

Musically it’s sparse, the lyrics comment on transgender celebrities (“Center of Attention”), baldness (“It Won’t Be Long Now”) and diets (“What’s On Your Plate”). It plays a lot like a kids album for sad grown-ups. And while some tunes here have catchy appeal like “The Popcorn Tree” and “You Get By,” on the whole, it falls short. However, the dystopian “Results” is an appealing composition that does hit the mark when it comes to pure cynicism. Mitch’s muse might be broken but hopefully, he can get a little crazy glue and fix things next time.

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The Perms and Mo Troper

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The Perms

The Perms “Miracle”

On their 7th studio release, The Perms have hit their stride, concentrating on hook-filled rock and roll. “Julie” opens things up with a catchy chorus, and the bands punk roots show through on the anthemic “Be Alright,” with a positive attitude that flows through the song. But the big hit here is a grand mid-tempo love song “Lose Yourself” with a combination of fuzz guitar and bright synth rhythms. The songs are all short and sweet, with plenty stylistic variety. The band gradually delivers a harder rock sound on “Think Less,” “Wanted You To Know” and “Busy Izzy.” Fans of Cheap Trick will appreciate much of this.

The immediacy of the music is evident, and on “Now November” lead singer Shane Smith intones “I know it’s tough, I know we suffered, but life is short. What do we have to lose?” And this album embraces carpe diem throughout its nine tracks. And not a wasted note here, with even the jazzy acoustic ender “Gone.” This is a rare instance where I felt they could have added a few more songs. But quality is more important than quantity and musically this is damn good. Highly Recommended.

CD Baby | Amazon

Mo Troper

Mo Troper “Exposure & Response”

Portland songwriter Mo Troper is a skilled power pop musician with a real gift for catchy melody and biting emotive lyrics. Fans of both Superdrag and Wyatt Funderburk will find a lot here to love. Here the hooks are flying fast and stick in your head quickly. The album is a bundle of demoralizing frustrations and cynical solutions, starting with the choral harmonies of “Rock and Roll Will Change The World,” it’s hope is dashed by the next song “Your Brand.” A rich mantra, where marketing your tragedy is all part of being a musician.

The centerpiece here,“The Poet Laureate of Neverland” adds horns and strings to the mid-tempo guitar chorus that states the conceit that artists can’t grow up and “never have to reminisce if you never move on.” Some of these tunes are just too quick (under 2 minutes) but they still stick; “Tow Truck” is a quick gem, “Wedding” is a Beach Boys parody, “Jumbotron” sounds like a lost Teenage Fanclub demo and the self-critical “Clear Frames” is another fantastic ear-worm. Troper stated in an interview, “I want my songs to get stuck in people’s heads.” Mission Accomplished. Makes my top ten list this year.

CD Baby | Amazon

International Pop Overthrow Vol.20

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IPO Vol.20

When I started reviewing IPO compilations, it was always a special time of year to listen to the new talent that IPO’s David Bash found throughout the globe. And over the past 20 years, IPO has grown to encompass 14 festivals all over the world. From New York to Tel Aviv it has become an institution in the power pop milieu, and a rite-of-passage for many artists seeking a dedicated fan base.

Disc 1:
The Top Boost starts us off with the impressive “What If She Loves You,” but many more good songs are here, my early favorites include Lannie Flowers “Kiss A Memory,” Diamond Hands “Just Another Day” and the Beatlesque “I Don’t Know You Now” by Slyboots. Some interesting debuts too; The Harriets “The Hangers On,” the jangling Lunchbox “Everybody Knows” and  The Shamus Twins “You’ll Never Take Her Heart.” If you enjoy 10cc, you’ll love “My Soft Rock Girlfriend” by Blake Jones & The Trike Shop.

Disc 2:
The jangle-tastic Jimmy Haber’s “Chelsea” injects some fresh energy here, but the rookies are what stand out a bit more. Steve Rosenbaum gives us the rare love song for married folk “Kiss My Wife,” the new band Nine Violets “I Will Let You Down” is a catchy gem, and The Tearaways do a damn fine turn on “That’s Rock!” Many bands have those classic ’60s influences, like The Vinylos, Shplang, and New Mystery Girl. Others lean more towards modern folk-pop like Sue Hedges “Two Nearly Touching Hearts,” or Swiss rockers Jengi get more garage-style on “Rod Stewart.”

Disc 3:
The variety is more apparent as the discs are pretty equal in quality, even though by the time we get to the third disc the names are less familiar. Starting with the great harmonies of Crickle’s psyche-pop “Penelope Please” and then Caper Clown’s bouncy “Pockets,” both sound very fresh. More standouts include Leslie Pereira and The Lazy Heroes “Fly Like A Bird,” the very cool sound of The JetBeats “Top Of The Line,” and the glammy Viewers Of “Who’ll Be The One.” Some selections do push the boundaries of the genre, where you really can’t say they represent power pop at all. But the musical quality is what makes this collection an improvement over last year. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik