Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Nines and Simon Felton

powerpopaholic

The Nines “Alejandro’s Visions”

A labor of love for Steve Eggers, with the help of Bill Majoros (the Foreign Films) this is a cinematic album that harkens back to the 1950s, from doo wop to the advent of rock and roll. Its like an audio movie musical with the cacophony of sounds opening up “Alejandro’s Visions,” and leads to the best Beach Boys meets The Platters song  you ever heard  in “I Have Found You.” The album concept is a familiar “boy-meets-girl” trope but its done both seamlessly and brilliantly.

“My Sweet Marie” brings to mind an early Buddy Holly concert, and then the charmed couple visit a amusement park in “Escape From A Small Town” with both rockabilly swagger and sweet harmonies throughout. Eggers heartfelt vocals are in peak form here, culminating in the a cappella “When Our Love Was In Bloom,” and his strongest dramatic statements “Operator (Coming Home To You)” and “And Suddenly” compare well with the best work Jeff Lynne (ELO) has ever done. Other songs recall old Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, but overall this was an album that was impossible to put down, and that’s enough to make it a welcome addition to my top ten albums list of 2016. 

CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik

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Simon Felton

Simon Felton “Return To Easton Square”

Another collection of therapeutic/confessional songs from Simon Felton (Garfield’s Birthday) that range from sombre to silly. The catchy piano  of “Alibi” has interesting lyrical phrasing “I wanna be your glass of wine…” Simon still has a way with melody as demonstrated on the Donovan-like psychedelic “Goodbye (Again)” and ”It Must Be (A Nightmare).”

While some corny stuff finds its way in “Good Morning Britain” (which sounds like an update of “Act Naturally”) there are plenty of compelling songs here. More highlights include “I Would (If I Wanted To)” and “It’s Obvious.” Give this one a chance and add it to your playlist.

Bandcamp

Allyson Seconds and Rob Martinez

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Allyson Seconds

Allyson Seconds “Little World”

Allyson is based in Sacramento, CA and “Little World” is a great example of California pop, with contributions from Anton Barbeau, Colin Moulding (XTC) Kimberley Rew (The Soft Boys) Beavis Frond and the late Scott Miller (Game Theory, The Loud Family) amongst others. Her silvery timbre is not unlike The Bangles Susanna Hoffs.

The album sticks to environmental themes with a warm energy that doesn’t sound preachy. On the fast paced title track, Allyson’s soft vocal flows over a keyboard melody and on “Sun Don’t Shine,” Barbeau’s psychedelic fuzz guitar dominates. The momentum slows with the ballad “Summer of Gold” and the new age folk of “Great Blue Heron.” But there are several highlights here; the sparse “Octagon,” “Burning Burning” and “Apples Are Falling” all make good use of Allyson’s gentle voice. Fans of The Jayhawks, The Bangles and Aimee Mann will surely want to pick this album up.

Amazon


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Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez “New Love Environment”

Rob Martinez is an Albuquerque singer-songwriter with a crisp retro pop style on Adam Marsland’s Karma Frog label, he brings to mind all those squeaky clean pop singers of the early ’60s transitioning to the psychedelic era like Bobby Sherman or Tony Burrows. “Hanging’ On The Line” and “Love Life” are great examples of sunshine pop with just a dusting of psychedelic flourishes.

“Some People Never Change” gets a little more aggressive, with Hollies-like harmonies and the confessional ballad “Hey Girl” are perfectly fine pop singles. While Martinez innocuous vocal doesn’t put himself apart as much as Allan Clarke (The Hollies) he comes pretty close. And some winning melodies break through, like the catchy “When She Comes To Town” with its Rickenbacker flourishes and the multi-layered chorus of “Hard To Take.” By the albums end we finally get a riff heavy power pop tune “Better Get Ready.” Marsland does a great job on guitar here and provides Martinez ample support. Fans of McCartney and The Left Banke will enjoy this too. Highly Recommended.

Karma Frog Records

Big Star “Complete Third” and Friends & Frenemies

powerpopaholic
Big Star

Big Star “Complete Third”

Big Star’s third album is a big deal in that it appealed to fans outside of its loyal power pop base, and its raw emotions cemented the band’s legend. At this point the band was cut in half, with Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens doing what they really wanted, commercial considerations be damned. Chilton’s lyrics showcase deep depression and frustration, and his vision was highly influential in the development of alternative rock, still felt decades later.

Recorded in 1974 but not released for the first time until 1978, Third would be subsequently re-released, renamed and re-sequenced many times over the years. While some demos and alternate versions and mixes of songs have dribbled out on various compilations, all extant recordings made for the album are presented for the first time on Complete Third. This definitive collection boasts 69 total tracks, 29 of which are previously unheard session recordings, demos and alternate mixes made by producer Jim Dickinson and engineer John Fry. The set allows the listener to track the creation of the album from the original demos, through sessions and rough mixes, to the final masters of each song. The box set contains extensive notes from original participants and artists influenced by Big Star. It’s comparable to The Beach Boys Pet Sounds Sessions in terms of its thoroughness.

While this may be overkill for the casual fan, this is a “must have” for serious Big Star fans and music audiophiles. Highly Recommended.

Amazon


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Mystery Lawn Music

Assorted Artists “Friends & Frenemies”

Mystery Lawn is a Northern California label that’s home to many great West Coast power pop bands like The Orange Peels, The Agony Aunts, The Corner Laughers, Anton Barbeau and more. But what I love about a compilation like this is I can discover other bands I have not heard before like The Variable Stars on “The Lights Above Los Gatos” and the light airy vocals of Arts & Leisure on “Can’t Breathe.” And its not all rock and pop, examples of classical (Henry Plotnick) or folk guitar (Black Butterfly Gang) are featured too.

If you dig harmonies and female lead vocals you will love The Flywheels (“Counting To Eleven”) and Alison Faith Levy (“Rainbow Tunnel”) who clearly channels Jackie DelShannon. While not everything here is as infectious as “Oh Please” from the brilliant Marshall Holland, I didn’t really find a really bad track among the 18 songs on display here, and many are exclusive – so pick this one up! Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp exclusive

Mimi Betinis and Steve Ison

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Mimi Betinis

Mimi Betinis “Music Sounds”

Mimi Betinis (Pezband) makes a long overdue return since 2010’s All That Glitters and the arrangements are more playful, less structured on Music Sounds. “Pontiac” is the most rock oriented single here, asking some important life questions on a road trip. Mimi’s vocals are soft but clear throughout — he just sounds great.

Next “Summer Love ’68” is a descriptive slice-of-life love story that may or may not be fictional, but the strong “Corinna” is a big highlight with a sweeping guitar hook in the driving chorus. From here the album starts to resemble the McCartney solo era on the sweet “Listen to Me” and the jazz-inspired “This Girl.” The charm of Betinis approach works best on the catchy gems “She Wants You” and “Sound The Alarm,” where the sonic experimentation within each hummable melody works best. Overall a highly recommended album, and keep it coming Mimi!

Music Sounds | Amazon

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Steve Ison

Steve Ison “The Stars Are Never Really Distant”

Steve Ison is a bedroom pop artist with a solid talent and knows a catchy hook or two on The Stars Are Never Really Distant.This album is a compilation of songs he’s worked on since 2006. “If I Met You Again” slowly opens with Ison’s warm jangling melody, and a bouncy guitar chorus with a big hook. But my favorite here is the jubilant “Golden Pie,” its catchy blues pop of the highest order with some nice harmonies and a toe-tapping rhythm.

“Lou Reed” echoes the music legend in his best Velvet Underground style, with echoing piano and strings. His main influences are all classic 60’s artists. “The Strangest Feeling” and “Girl On The Train” are folk melodies that recall both early Dylan and Buffalo Springfield. As Ison floats from genre to genre he demonstrates skillful musicianship, as “I Know A Good Thing” is very much like Donovan. You may also like his previous release On The Way Up. 

Bandcamp only

8×8 and Baby Scream

powerpopaholic
8x8

8×8 “Inflorescence”

This is the third 8X8 album from duo of Lane Steinberg (NYC, US) and Alex Khodchenko (Kiev, Ukraine). The two musicians have shown from the very beginning how to make excellent music through long distance collaboration. This effort is more of a mixed collection of styles ranging from bouncy pop gems like “My Summertime High” to acid-tripping psychedelic epics like “The Essence.”

The best 8×8 work clearly falls in that psych-pop middle with the brilliant “After All is Said and Done” with its swirling organs and guitar chimes, and “Bubbles” full of layered guitar rhythms and Lane’s rhyming lyric. The strong narrative piano on “No More Second Chance” and atmospheric “Some Surreal Idea” are more highlights on this album. Without a doubt, this is music that deserves to be heard. Highly Recommended.

Buy Direct | Kool Kat Musik

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Baby Scream

Baby Scream “Life’s A Trap”

Once again Argentinian artist Juan Pablo Mazzola brings us his latest musical vision with producer Nick Schinder. Often compared to John Lennon due to his similar sounding timbre and subject matter, and the opener “Life’s Better When U R High” is no exception.

The simple guitar strums are supported by light strings on “The Ballad Of Music Biz” where Juan Pablo laments he’ll “never make the cover of Rolling Stone” and other assorted depressing musings. Thankfully the tempo swings up as the lyrics get bizarrely sweet on “Climbing Down” about the joys of fatherhood. The next several songs concentrate on the regrets of lost youth, very much in the spirit of Harry Nilsson. As he says on “Midnight Snack” it’s not the end, but “life is about beers and weed.” Chill out with this one.

Amazon