Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Freebies: The Legal Matters and The Ice Cream Man

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The Legal Matters “An Intro”
The Legal Matters are a power pop supergroup based out of Detroit, Mi. Andy Reed, Chris Richards and Keith Klingensmith joined forces in 2014 to make their awesome debut. Mixing big guitars with big harmonies, their recorded output has one foot in the classic pop era of the 60’s and 70’s (Beatles, Beach Boys, Nilsson, Big Star) and one foot with the current era of classic pop (Nada Surf, The Autumn Defense.) This EP features a new song, “Anything”, from the upcoming Omnivore Recordings release Conrad, along with a brand new and unreleased cover of the Teenage Fanclub classic “Don’t Look Back.” Rounding it off are 2 songs from the Legal Matters self-titled debut.

Assorted Artists “Power Popsicle Brain Freeze” 

Wayne Lundqvist Ford (Ice Cream Man Power Pop) delivers a boatload of music in this new compilation that he personally selected. It’s a massive collection of 139 tracks that’s a quick update to the state of power pop artistry today. Surely you find a great mix tape from all these riches.

Get the FREE download at Futureman Records

 

Maps and His Mothball Fleet and The Jeremy Band

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Maps and his Mothball Fleet “Fighting Season”

Maps & His Mothball Fleet is the musical alias of Philadelphia musician Matt Wanamaker. After being deployed to Afghanistan in 2013, he wrote and recorded the rough demos of 50 songs to send back and forth home to friends. Then it was cropped down to 15 where it became the album Fighting Season with indie folk pop at its core, starting with the Belle & Sebastian-like “Trust The Teahouse.” But the best track here is “A Lot Becomes A Little” with its catchy call-and-response chorus.

“Walk With Me Madeline” is a comforting pedal steel guitar melody, you hear the echos of Matt’s war experiences in “Great Game Fields” and “From A Closing FOB.” Unfortunately these songs are pretty forgettable, the tempo comes back on the rhythmic gem “Private Planes Of The Old West” with some nice harmonies. Other standouts include “Blue-Eyed Jesus” and “Nothing Against Dover.” Check it out.

Amazon


Cool Ghouls

The Jeremy Band “Hit You With A Flower”

Latest LP from Jeremy Morris and company aka The Jeremy Band. “Hit You With A Flower” starts with a rhythm similar to ELO’s “Do Ya” and runs off into a deep jangling chorus. “Get It Right First Time” and “Love is Everywhere” are very typical Jeremy’ jangle pop, but “Big Black Bike” mixes a little prog rock, like The Move’s “Brontosaurus“ and it seriously kicks ass.

The fantastic guitar work continues on “Watch What You’re Doing” with some brilliant fuzz drenched riffs, more Zepplinesque rock than pop. Really hard to come up with more accolades, let’s just quote David Bash of IPO who said “Jeremy Morris is one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met; a Man Of God, a music teacher, label owner, and guitar hero, and his band is made up of family and friends, kinda like a particular legendary band we know. Long may they live, and long may they rock!” Amen, brother.

Jam Records (exclusive)

Note: Song played in the video is not on the album, but you get a good idea of what The Jeremy Band sounds like.

Wesley Fuller and Cool Ghouls

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Cool Ghouls

Wesley Fuller “Melvista” EP

Wesley Fuller is the newest kid on the retro power pop block from Melbourne, Australia with a debut EP.  Full of jangle and 60s influences, the opener “The Dancer” has a glam guitar similar to Sweet and the mid-tempo pop of “Shock Me” is upbeat, but kind of generic.

One of the highlights is the jangling, heavy beat of “Runaway Renee” with its irresistible sing along chorus. The title track is also pretty sweet ear candy with its hand clapped beat and multi-tracked harmonies, and “Change Your Mind” has a that glam beat (think Gary Glitter) and a simple melodic phrase. Check it out.

Amazon

Cool Ghouls

Cool Ghouls “Animal Races”

San Francisco’s Cool Ghouls absorb those classic 60’s influences on their third album, Animal Races, produced by pop maestro Kelley Stoltz. The band has a roots-garage psyche rock style and the opening title track is the keeper here with its catchy chorus. “Sundial” has a Byrdsian jangle that combines with the ghostly vocals, also makes it an effective song with a gorgeous “ba-ba-ba” coda.

From there we get even more psychedelic on “Time Capsule” which is a bit like re-filtered Jefferson Airplane. The mood is mellower on “When You Were Gone” and the piano led “Days,” which has a warmth that belies the lyric “Morning through your window gives you no reason to get up.” It gets kind of western with that slide guitar on “Brown Bag,” but for the most part its echoing reverb drenched pop. And despite the dark, paranoid lyrics there is a playfulness to each song. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Velvet Crush and Suit of Lights

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Velvet Crush

Velvet Crush “Pre-Teen Symphonies”

Looking back on 1994’s Teenage Symphonies to God, it established The Velvet Crush as a power pop powerhouse comparable with Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet. Omnivore has a look back with this collection of demos and live tracks on Pre-Teen Symphonies. Engineered by Mitch Easter (who also added some guitar) the demos have the energy and spirit of the times, with the signature tune “Hold Me Up” still holding up years later. Another gem “Time Wraps Around You” displays the respect for “the summer of love” with harmonies that feel warm and inviting.

These early demos were pretty rare at the time, and includes a cover of Three Hour Tour’s “Turn Down.” The live tracks (recorded at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro) have Tommy Keene added as lead guitarist delivering a solid performance. This is an essential addition the original Teenage Symphonies and a treasure for Velvet Crush fans.

Amazon | Omnivore Direct

Suit of Lights

Suit of Lights “Break Open the Head”

Suit of Lights is an alt. rock band founded by Joe Darone (The Rosenbergs, Fiendz) and on his newest album, he looks to build an ambitious concept album that deals with issues of the mind. It’s experimental in some respects and will challenge the listener, as the title track is a perfect example. “Break Open the Head” starts out fairly dull until we get to the a pitch change in the catchy chorus. “New Frontier” has a theatrical style with a circus-like theme buried mid-way, it reminded me of The Blood Rush Hour with more of a prog rock approach.

“Higher Self” lays out the album’s psychological concept followed by “Monsters,” a highlight track about paranoia and insecurity. “Revolution of You” is an uplifting prog theme with some edgy guitar and orchestral backing. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea, as it is a pretty dystopian vision overall especially “Reality 2.0” and “Circling the Drain of History” with its march tempo about “our brains full of mush.” However if you’re looking for music that tries to make you think — this is worth repeat listens. Give it a try.

Amazon

Those Pretty Wrongs and Corey Landis

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Those Pretty Wrongs

Those Pretty Wrongs “Those Pretty Wrongs”

Those Pretty Wrongs is the collaboration of Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and good friend Luther Russell. The album was recorded using Big Star’s old instruments, including Chris Bell’s acoustic and electric guitars from the great #1 Record. As a result, the opener “Ordinary” sounds like a long lost Big Star track, with Stephens doing a moving vocal performance and some sweet backing harmonies delivering the message that its “okay to be ordinary.”

From there, “I’m For Love” is has an upbeat 1970s radio-friendly melody and strong guitar solo. “Lucky Guy” again uses that indelible acoustic guitar and harmonies similar in style to David Crosby or Jeff Larson. “Empty City” is likely the best song here with a grand piano melody, similar to Pet Sounds in spots. From there it moves into more indie folk pop with the exception of the “The Cube,” with its creeping chords and circus piano touches. While Stephens vocals strain at times, its the songs that ultimately make this album a success. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Corey Landis and The Attacks

Corey Landis and The Attacks “Corey Landis and The Attacks”

Corey Landis is a piano rocker, along the lines of Ben Folds and early Billy Joel as he bangs away on the keys with a flair for the melodic and dramatic. Add to this, the album was produced by legendary Beatles audio engineer Geoff Emerick. On the opener “Accident” he marvels at the flashing lights and broken glass, rather than confront his own issues, with an energetic tempo. “Hard Reaction To Love” and “See You Next Tuesday” is about a dysfunctional love-hate relationship, with the former being a stronger melody.

While Landis vocals are a bit strained on “All Things” his furious piano work makes up for it, and he slows the tempo on “Loose Ends” and “Depleted.” Overall the song craft and the story telling are first rate, but many tunes miss the hooks needed to encourage repeat plays. Landis loosens up a bit more towards the albums end, and “The Ballad of Mikey Stone” and “Dress For The Weather” are a lot of fun and worth adding to your playlist for sure.

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