Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Secret Powers “Six”

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Montana power pop powerhouse Ryan Maynes returns after 2 years, to bring us his 6th release with the requisite influences of ELO, Beatles and Jellyfish. Maynes starts with the plaintive melodic ballad “Bitter Sun,” a sweet piano couplet and catchy chorus is exactly what I expect from The Secret Powers.

“Palarium” is a more forceful melody with the “ba-ba-ba” backing vocals, numerous layers of chorals, drums, violins and guitars. Truly an amazing piece of music, with a mandolin break before the end. “Spare Parts” shares the same tempo as “Mr. Blue Sky” in a bouncy tune about an android in love. The Ramones styled riffs on “Reservoir” starts out pretty simple, then Ryan lays on keys, guitar solos, and tambourine slaps. Each song here shines with a minimum of production echo. “Paula Brown” is another gem, with a shift time signatures and Ryan’s best rocker rasp. He’s even come to terms with his mid-life crisis on “Ready To Get Old and Die.”

Yeah, no filler either, so it quickly enters my top ten for 2014 best-of list. This is an early gift from The Secret Powers that I gladly give thanks for this season and unlike leftover turkey, you’ll want to nosh on this album into the new year.
power pop

CD Baby | Itunes | Amazon

 

Balduin and Flake

powerpopaholic

Balduin “All in A Dream”

Balduin is a bit of a mystery man from Switzerland,  but for lovers of retro pop this is one of the best recreations of psychedelic music I’ve heard. Heavily influenced by British pop of the late 60’s, Balduin performs these songs on a plethora of period instruments (sitar, mellotron, harpsichord, harmonium, etc.) and if you didn’t know better you’d think this was a lost gem from the record bins of 1968.

“Love Is You” is a sunny baroque pop confection similar to late era Beatles, and most consumer friendly with its sly hook. Next is the sitar raga “Which Dreamed It” recalling George Harrison, and the folky “Autumn” is a reverb heavy folk number like the Byrds or Donovan. Fans of retro acts like The Sunchymes or Any Version of Me will marvel at the delicate arrangements that Balduin creates, bringing the era to life. You can also play spot-the-influences of Syd Barrett, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks. There is some instrumental filler scattered about the 16 tracks, but most of these are gorgeous (“Prisma Colora”). “Father” is another standout, like a lost John Lennon solo (the missing piece between “Mother” and “Beautiful Boy”). Fans of period baroque can do no better. Highly recommended.
power pop
Exclusively from Sunstone Records

Flake

Flake “Songs Without Words”

Okay, this weirdness isn’t power pop, but a Swiss duo Thierry Luethy, and Isabelle Ritter do make quality art-pop that deserves to be discovered. No label, no distribution, no publicity — just download the tracks from their website for free.

And while some stuff here is totally skip-able (“Everytime I Get The Shakes,”) there is enough here to make me appreciate the hard work Thierry and Isabelle put in. Check out the catchy “Hipster Girl” and the compelling chorus of “We Are The Night.” Ritter’s vocals are gorgeous and rescues the more ambient compositions, and more modern pop goodies are here too: “Shooting Star” and “As Time Goes By.” The method of discovery and price of admission are just right for finding new music.
power pop

FREE Download on Flake-Music.com

Freebie Fridays (early): Myracle Brah, Ballard, Doc Vinegar and The Legendary Losers

powerpopaholic

Normally I’d close out the week with some great new free music, but the bounty of awesomeness was too good for me to wait til Friday…

Myracle Brah

Baltimore’s Myracle Brah is an one of the best loved American power pop bands, lead by singer-songwriter Andy Bopp (Love Nut). It’s been a while (since he’s involved in several other bands) but the long awaited return of Myracle Brah is cause for celebration, and a FREE Bandcamp EP is just the icing on the pop cake, including a cover of The Troggs “A Girl Like You.” Stop reading, download and just listen!

Ballard

Coming from the UK, Ballard has been putting out EPs for a while now. He’s a self described 40- year old malcontent that spews lo-fi Garage pop with a touch of bubblegum soul. He loves recording things spontaneously and mixing it up in mono – and its totally DIY cool. Check out his latest FREE Download.

Doc Vinegar

Straight from Aubagne, France comes Doc Vinegar,  Psychedelic Pop with a 60’s vibe influenced by The Byrds and The Kinks (with a French accent). This retro-nostalgic sound is always a guilty pleasure of mine, and Doc Vinegar does a really sweet job with this music. 12 big tracks here – just say “Oui” to a FREE Download. Merci, Doc!

The Legendary Losers

The Legendary Losers, an Albany three piece band is on a mission to bring music (played with real instruments) back to the masses. The opening track is a rant about “electro-freaks and techno-geeks” messing up rock and roll. Dave Graham has a rough vocal, but he sings with solid conviction about “The Rock That Makes Me Roll” and it reminds me a little of Paul Collins mixed with Mojo Nixon. Enjoy the FREE Download, even if you have “a Green Day sticker on your BMW.”

Sunday Singles: The Popravinas, Lannie Flowers, Lily Sparks, Spirit Kid, Nick Piunti

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Although I don’t review singles, we still want to let readers know when an artist comes out with something cool. And with a lot of new singles floating around, I wanted to feature a few standouts:

The Popravinas release their first tunes since the full-length CD Everybody’s Fault But Ours in 2008. The Santa Monica, CA based band continues to crank out great tunes and this single proves they haven’t lost a thing since then.
CD Baby

Lannie Flowers was a highlight at IPO this year and he released a new single at the show, the Big Star classic “Back of A Car”. It was recorded live at the Trash Bar in New York taken from the Live In NYC album. It also has an unreleased new song “Best I Can” which is so good, I’d call it another “A-side.”
CD Baby

Lily Sparks is a new trio that deserves your attention that performed at IPO. Lead vocalist Niamh (pronounced “neev”) is a rock diva comparable to Grace Potter or Ann Wilson (Heart) and the guitars really rock on this brand new single. Check it out!
CD Baby

Spirit Kid (Emeen Zarookian) continues to dazzle us with this new single, about a supposed “true story” about living off the remains of that last job. Its has a bit of glam in its DNA, and its catchy too! Awesome. Bandcamp

Nick Piunti is hard at work on his next album after the top-ten winner of Thirteen In My Head last year. I enjoyed meeting him and listening to his excellence at Power Popaholic Fest this past August. Once again comparisons to Mike Viola are apt, and I can’t wait for this new one as “Time Machine” is an awesome start. Bandcamp

The Successful Failures and Joe Sullivan

powerpopaholic

The Successful Failures “Captains of Industry, Captains of War”

Chesterfield, NJ trio The Successful Failures have gotten better and better with each album, as former Dipsomaniacs leader Mick Chorba tightens the sound up on the bands’ fifth album. You’ve got a melodic mix of classic power pop that fans of The Replacements, Cheap Trick or Sloan should really flock to. And as a songwriter Micks come a long way too; his stories are deeper and more compelling.

Chorba’s hooks are strong on the the opener “Stagger Lee & Woodrow Wilson,” supported by band mates Ron Bechamps (bass) and Rob Martin (drums). Together the trio effortlessly make you love their sound and lyrical prowess on “Milwaukee” and the dramatic energy is right on for the gem “1954.” The jangling “Meal Parade” is the type of melody that recalls Robert Pollard and GBV. But its tough to single out a favorite. Every single track here shines, all with differing tempos and styles. “Falling Out” is a light piano-guitar combo, and the slower ballads work as well as the fast paced fuzz guitars. Even the alt-country “O Carolina” bounces along to a catchy beat and the best attitude song here is “Sunny In My Head” with great minor chord shifts. One of the best LPs this year, it would be a crime to ignore – and it makes my top ten nominated list.
power pop
Amazon | CD Baby


The Successful Failures

Joe Sullivan “Schlock Star”

Joe Sullivan (An American Underdog) delivers a sunny burst of bubblegum pop with the help of fellow band mate/producer Andy Reed. If Ron Dante (The Archies, Cuff Links) were reincarnated today, he might sound a lot like Sullivan with those crisp vocal harmonies. Joe mixes those early sixties influences into his modern guitar pop easily.

From the Beach Boys meets Ramones styled “Conspiracy Radio” to the Archies-like “Nurse Tracy” its a fun romp with multi-tracked harmonies and infectious guitar lines. “Okinawa Girl” is another gem that brings to mind Marc Bacino’s Pop Job. And Sullivan adds plenty of humor to tracks like “Rock Star Boyfriend” with an Ozzy Osborne interlude between the chorus, and the Star Wars nerd-love of “Victims of the Sarlaac.” This is one of those albums you can listen to on repeat mode, so yeah its highly recommended.

power pop

Bandcamp | CD Baby