Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Nomads, Athanor and Radio Ready

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The Nomads “Solna”
 The Nomads are Sweden’s premier garage rock band, and their latest offering Solna is the most accessible album in years. Starting with the catchy single “Miles Away,” its got the riffs, power and melody in perfect balance. If you are a fan of The Stooges or The Hives you will really dig this. Guitarist Hans Ostlund shines here, “The Bad Times Will Do Me Good” has that minor chord fuzz with an excellent solo midway in. In fact there is a lot more pop here than I expected, “You Wont Break My Heart” has a good mix of countrified mix of guitar underneath a “la-la” chorus.

Still, plenty of crash and stomp rockers are here. “Don’t Kill The Messenger” is a good example of this and some Ramones-like punk rock appears on “American Slang.” Rounding it out are the ringing riffs and 60’s beat style on “Make Up My Mind.” Overall you have a pretty complete album with no filler and a great mix of hard-edged riffs and solid melodies. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | KoolKat Musik

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Althanor “Flashback”
Advertised as “late 60s influenced psychedelic proto power pop band from Chicago,” Althnor is a the collaboration of Greg Herriges and Rick Vittenson. The pair dreamed of rock ’n’ roll stardom, toiling away in their basement back in 1972 and they released a single “Inner Space” that got some local radio play. Forty years later (!) they finally got a record contract from an indie British label looking to release the bands entire output.

While most of the bands music falls into the psychedelic folk genre, it boasts nice Beatlesque harmonies on “I Don’t Mind” and “Memory (Don’t Fail Me)” which is akin to Badfinger or The Aerovons. The fuzzy Lennoneque “Habits” and “Read Me” sound good, given these were made in 1975. This a perfect compliment for fans of other rare psyche-pop bands like Lazy Smoke, Creme Soda, and The Only Ones. For power pop completists, the four songs mentioned above are essential listening.

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Radio Ready “Lost Power Pop Hits 1978-1983: Texas, Vol 1”
This is a fantastic new regional power pop compilation series from Cheap Rewards Records. This first volume covers bands from the Lone Star state and contains many hard to find singles and unreleased demos. Fully authorized by all the bands and expertly mastered, it rightly belongs in your power pop collection.

Staring with Lannie Flowers first band The Pengwins “What You Gonna Do” is a fantastic single, and the rarely heard Bruce Moody “This Is It” reminds me of The Toms. A few gems included are The Take “Tonight” and True Hearts “All My Time.” Lots of punk influences here with local bands like The Rattlecats, The Spies and others I’ve never heard of.

Bandcamp | Cheaprewards.net

The Very Most and Adam Daniel

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The Very Most “Just A Pup” EP
The Very Most are an indie band from Idaho, clearly influenced by both The Beach Boys and Belle & Sebastian. The use of tinkling percussion and vocal harmonies create a delicate arrangement for the title track and its seamless transition to “Idaho, America in 2049.”

The light, dreamlike melodies pass over you like cool breeze. In fact the use of sleigh bells does give it a wintery feel. The upbeat “We Don’t Have Any Cuts To Waste” recall ’90s pop of The Beautiful South and The Ocean Blue. Even a spritely cover of Tom Jones “It’s Not Unusual” featuring Liz Hunt, feels welcoming here. Overall a very satisfying release that will leave you wanting more.

Bandcamp | Amazon

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Adam Daniel “Pop, Baby”
 L.A. songwriter and musician Adam Daniel hasn’t given us an album in over 12 years, but the memory of that debut Blue Pop was strong. Like a mix of Elton John and John Mayer, he storms out of the gate with “Summer’s Comin.” Next comes Adam’s statement on male romantic ambivalence with “In and Out Of Love,” a glossy pop single.

Adam varies his styles here, loud horn-guitar density with “Regret Shuffle,” and “Invisible” going in the opposite (softer) direction. Some great melodic tracks include “Your Gravity” and the ballad, “Lullaby.” It doesn’t always work, as “Dream Out Loud” has a ’90s AOR rock undertone that sounds dated. But there is enough here to recommend, as its more varied and dramatic than his debut.

Amazon | CD Baby

Nick Capaldi and The Fadeout

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Nick Capaldi “The Golden Summer” EP
 A budding star is evidenced by Nick Capaldi’s The Golden Summer is a short EP with its glossy power pop. The opener “In My Shoes” is a catchy Tears For Fears styled pop hit that’s ready for radio, and “Dumb it All Up” another gem with its infectious beat has mellotron and horn flourishes. Next, “The Right Time” is an light airy ballad with swelling strings, reminding me of Seth Swirsky and closer “First of the Runaways” has a great Andrew Gold styled piano melody. Each song is a potential hit here, so you’ll want to check out his previous album,  A Shade of Orange with fresh ears. Easily one of the best EPs this year.

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The Fadeout “Shapes of Animals”
The Fadeout are a band from Montreal that specialize in sun-drenched melodies that take its cue from the Beach Boys playbook with a twee touch. Staring with the light “Wake Up (I’m Not There)” the band uses the same instrumentation and harmonies as the Wilson brothers or Phil Spector pioneered. Lead singer Sacha Philippe Hebert-Jodoin has a slightly fey, high-pitched vocal  (similar to a young Michael Quercio) that is very soothing.

Each song follows a consistent pattern with some nice compositions found in “Sinkin’ Ship” and the “Sloop John B” clone “Fantasy.” And therein lies the problem, as the band fails to move beyond their influences to keep things catchy or memorable. The group certainly has the skills and talent to pull it off, but they need better songwriting to move forward.

Sam Phillips and Felsen

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Sam Phillips “Push Any Button”
Prolific singer-songwriter Sam Phillips returns with her 10th studio album, Push Any Button. Thankfully she leaves behind the wanderlust of her recent past and brings us melodic pop that comes closest to her masterwork Martinis & Bikinis. Starting with the organic percussive effects on “Pretty Time Bomb” it sets the stage for the compelling melody of “All Over Me,” with neat little horn flourishes and a churning guitar rhythm. The catchiest song is next, “When I’m Alone” with its fast paced beat and Phillips expressive vocals.

The minimalist orchestral base and plucking strings suits Phillips well on tracks like “Going”and “Speaking Of Pictures.” Another gem “You Know I Won’t” is another sing along melody and with barely a wasted noted, its a perfect showcase of an artisan at her best. Highly recommended AOR listening.

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Felsen “I Don’t Know How To Talk Anymore”
Oakland band Felsen is a hard working local band made up of guitarist Dylan Brock, singer/guitarist Andrew Griffin, bassist Christian Hernandez, and drummer Art McConnell. Felsen has toured throughout the West and puts together a workman-like effort on this new album.

The songs take a while to reach the hook, but they do get there. The lead track “Rock and Roll’s Not Dead” certainly takes its time, as we don’t get any rock guitars till the four minute mark. Much better are the melodies of the title track, “Better Days,” and the catchy “Tokyo Electric .” Where Felsen falters is in the slow meandering epics (“Gunfighting At Dawn”), but if you’re patient you’ll appreciate both the environmental message and the music.

Carnival Season “Misguided Promise: Carnival Season Complete (1984-89)”

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Carnival Season “Misguided Promise: Carnival Season Complete (1984-89)”
As a music collector you often spend some some time looking over “lost” bands that never got the attention they deserved, and thanks to the internet nothing is “lost” anymore. Through a connection with Tommy Keene (FYI: new album coming up next month), I came across this obscure ’80s power pop band from Birmingham, AL that toured with The Replacements and Redd Kross (to name a few). Made up of guitarist Tim Boykin, bassist Brad Quinn, and drummer Mark Reynolds they broke up just as the Seattle grunge scene emerged in the early ’90s.

They certainly deserved more recognition than as mere footnote in power pop history, as Misguided Promise gathers up the bands entire output in one neat package. Read the full review on BlogCritics.org

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

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Carnival Season “In Our Time”
Carnival Season drummer Mark Reynolds passed away in December of 2012, the band had been sharing song demos for possible inclusion on their first album in 25 years. “In Our Time” would have been one of Mark’s songs to be included on the album. The song was recorded In Kobe, Japan, and Birmingham, Alabama, by Carnival Season’s Brad Quinn (bass, keyboards, vocals) and Tim Boykin (guitars) with guest drummer Eric Wiegmann. So this is the official last single of Carnival Season, it makes as perfect epilogue to the above mentioned anthology.

CD Baby

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