Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Rob Bonfiglio and Jim Noir

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Rob Bonfiglio “Mea Culpa”
Bonfiglio (Wanderlust) continues to expand his sound from his debut. This time his combination of pop and rock influences are more varied, the opener “The Message” still has roots in the 70’s  and 80’s but the key changes and melodic bridges bring out the songs hopeful inspiration.

“Eyes On The Prizes” has a fantastic Lindsey Buckingham styled rhythm and chorus. “Just What You Are” channels Lenny Kravitz and “Fooled Myself” could be a lost Steve Eggers tune. No filler anywhere here and plenty of soulful adult pop included with those rock and roll riffs. His wife’s band Wilson Philips looks like it rubbed off a bit more on this album, with more harmonies and clearer background vocals. Overall a great LP that makes my new best of 2013 list.

CD Baby | Amazon
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Jim Noir  “Jimmy’s Show”
Noir takes the best of 60’s Carnaby Street pop and updates it with melodic magic on his past albums, taking the listener on a journey through a psychedelic side show carnival. It’s unfortunate that Noir seems to be musically loitering on Jimmy’s Show. It starts out pleasantly enough with “The Tired Hairy Man With Parts,” a sweet Kinks slice of English life. “Tea” is another good standout, with its manta-like verses “I just want a cuppa tea” and its choral harmonies.

However, many songs seem unfinished sketches dragged out to full length. “Sunny” and “Driving My Escort Cosworth To The Cake Circus” both stay in the same key and feel like filler. “JCC Sports” is cute re-do of Nilsson’s “Coconut” and the Beta Band influence is felt on “The Cheese of Jims Command” and “Old Man Cyril.” Its still essential listening if you’re in the mood for classic English pastoral pop. I guess I expected more from Jim, instead of paint-by-numbers nostalgia.

Artist website | Amazon

Alex Vans and Rachel Brown

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Alex Vans “DJ Booth”
Alex Vans starts DJ Booth with a synth bass beat on “Good Enough,” as guitar hooks bring to mind T.Rex or Bowie with a danceable melody worthy of Abba. The next song “Chase The Night” is another perfect example of this, the mixing of old influences skillfully into something fresh.

It veers into alt. country on “Saints” and Vans proves he’s a skilled composer of mood and lyric on the albums best track “Hideaway.” Parts reminded me of The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s early stuff, with a better, slicker pop surface. Highly recommended and a great new LP for 2013.

Bandcamp | Amazon | Alex Vans website

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Rachel Brown “Building Castles” EP
Brown has an soft voice, along the lines of Zooey Deschanel or Norah Jones and knows her way around a pop hook. “Bumblebee” is a hummable pop confection, sweet as honey. Then a subtle hip hop beat is used for “Four Leaf Clover” that’ll stick in your head. “Rockstar” uses unusual percussion that builds to its bouncy chorus.

These first 3 tracks are the most impressive, and then the instrumentation nearly vanishes on “Your Little Act” and “On Your Side” to focus on Rachel’s voice. She is a major talent in the making, so catch her now before the inevitable indie superstardom (along the lines of Nataly Dawn).

CD Baby | Amazon

The Candy Strypers and Ican Ican’t

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The Candy Strypers “The Candy Strypers” EP
 From Manchester, UK this “band” is really musician Paul Hughes, showcasing his skills with a big emphasis on Brydsian jangle and Rooks-like melodies. “Hymn the Girl” is wonderful single with a cheery chorus and “Sunshine Speakers” has a touch of harmonies, similar to Weezer. “Calling Sarah” has a bit more garage elements, and overall I’d say its an impressive start for Hughes. I look forward to hearing more in the future.

Amazon | ManicPop Records | Facebook

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Ican Ican’t  “Year of The Stat”
 This a pet project of musician Dermot O’Leary, gathering up songs from his other bands (Alanalda, Demostat) after they broke up into a “greatest bits” collection. The work is fine DIY indie rock, “Draw The Line” is a fairly catchy example right off the bat. A bit like Jonathan Coulton,”Little Wings” has little details of bitterness that endear you to the narrative.

Personal pain and apathy come out of the ballad “What If I Told You I’d Die Tomorrow” and the only other standouts here are the light harmonies and sunny melody of “Shortcut Thru’ The Park,” and the Lennonesque revenge tale “Sucked My Will To Live.” O’Leary has the talent and ability to get across many ideas, and overall the theme of loss here is well done. I hope for something more upbeat in future work.

John LT “Suburban Superstar”

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Cockeysville, Maryland singer/songwriter John LT has exceptional storytelling skill only matched by his melodic instincts. “Lottery Ticket” tells us that the apocalypse is coming, but he’s got that winning lottery ticket (“someone’s got to win”), told with gusto very reminiscent of Billy Joel.

“Petty Angel” is a blues pop gem about breaking the ice with women. LT’s melodies really stick fast, “The Sound of My Tears” is a classic pop single that shouldn’t be missed. Those little Beatle-isms on “Nowhere To Go” keep things moving along,  even the slower ballads like “The Driver’s Song” sound like a lost Paul Williams hit, with its “Cheers” like chorus. It even does a good job at 70’s funk with “Mr. Wonderful” and triply narratives “Nothing But Nines.” This came out in December, and would’ve made my 2012 list.

Amazon | Mother West | Itunes

Frank Bango and Neil Nathan

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Frank Bango “Touchy Feely”
 Frank Bango was has emerged from a long hiatus after The Sweet Songs of Decay, this album was entirely funded with Kickstarter. It’s also a wonderful comeback for Bango to the positive melodic goodness of “Defenseless,” full of layered McCartneyesque touches. Bango’s nasal vocal  works perfectly on the psychedelic melody “Not A Word” and the yearning ballad “Night Song” is almost like Elvis Costello. Overall a great album with barely any low points (although the ballads tend to drag), easily could’ve been added to my top 30 list. Other highlights include “Too Lazy Too Love You,” “What Kind Of Saturday” and the jangly treat “Astronaut I’m Not.” Note: I was told this is an official 2013 release – so its the first candidate for the top ten in 2013.

Bandcamp

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Neil Nathan  “Sweep The Nation”
After an awesome debut, Nathan moves toward a hard rock concept album, although it reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd’s The Wall mixed with Styx Mr. Roboto bringing us a dystopian plutocracy message. The both the title track and “Jumpstart” drives the thematic melody forward, much like Collective Soul. Then “Comin’ Round The Bend” is more like classic Meatloaf.  “I Aint No Company Man” has a solid KISS riff and his voice deepens as he plays a different character. Both “There Is No Time” and “Everybody Everywhere” relentlessly blasts you, almost into submission. Fans of late 70’s styled bombast will love this, others be warned it doesn’t tone down till the last track “All We Need Is So Much More.”