Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Sick Rose “No Need For Speed” 
The Sick Rose is a band from Italy that hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention. No Need for Speed is rich in classic power pop structures, irrepressible enthusiasm, and it’s also produced by Dom Mariani (DM3, Stems). The band has been playing garage syled pop for a while, but here they roar out of the gate with “Putting Me Down,” and singer Diego Mese has a clear vocal that compares well with Curt Smith (Tears for Fears).

The guitar riffs and jangle melodies are awesome on “Magic Teacher” and “Pathetic Girl.” If you’re looking for that garage feel with harmonies “Before You Go Away” is another winner. The band is pretty consistent here, and for the most part we get mainly fast paced tunes with a few mid-tempo ones (like “Drop By And Stay”). The Beatles-style Rickenbacker arpeggio dominates “Take It All Back,” and it’s another keeper here. So while you chow down on some Thanksgiving grub, feed your need for power pop with The Sick Rose.

Dot Dash “Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash”
Dot Dash are a Washington DC band with a both feet firmly planted in the post-punk indie pop genre that recalls The Joy Division and The Cure. Opening with the C-86 styled “The Color And The Sound” it sure brings back memories of my college days when raw minimalist jangle rock was everywhere thanks to REM’s Murmur.

Singer/Guitarist, Terry Banks and bassist Hunter Bennett (Julie Ocean) are joined by guitarist Bill Crandal (Modest Proposal) and drummer Danny Ingram (Swervedriver). An early standout is the melodic “Learn How To Fly.” Unfortunately, Banks lead vocal gets buried on many tracks, and it hinders great tunes like “Dissolve” and “Alright, Alright.” You have many near misses here too, “A Straight Line” and “Gripped” suffer from Banks atonal “punk” approach. You basically hear a band still finding itself in spots, but both “Seconds In A Day” and “Hurrah” you get a good melody to match the solid guitar playing. Overall this is a band worth exploring, so check it out.

Trolley “Things That Shine and Glow”
Fans of Rainbow Quartz bands and all neo-psychedelic rock rejoice! The Trolley connects the sound of nugget-era 60’s with the energy of today. The quartet has also been spotted at SXSW and IPO this year. From the opening bars of “I Woke Up” you’ll hear a chord reworking of The Seeds “Pushin’ Too Hard” and the sneering croon of Paul Wall. But the band is more than just a retro retread, as the next tune “My Obsession” shows, its got a solid hook filled melody and masterful composition. “The Calico Cat” continues this atmosphere, and the jangle filled “In The End” add bits of The Kinks, The Zombies and The Beau Brummels with each musical phrase.

The harmonies are notable on several tracks. Not everything here sticks, but the album has 14 tracks and most of them are highly recommended. Stand outs include “Out Of Love,” “Til I’m Gone” and “That Made Me Wanting You.” So light up the patchouli incense and tune into Trolley.

The Outfield “Replay”
We’ve had a revival of sorts with several mid 80’s acts coming back to life this past summer (The Cars, Journey, Weird Al Yankovic) but I was really brought back to the era with the new album by The Outfield. It’s amazing that after all this time Tony Lewis’ voice can still hit those high notes (only Yes vocalist Jon Anderson is comparable) and it’s like we never left 1983. The band is true to it’s sound and some strong compositions are here with the anthemic “Aladdin’s Cave” and “California Sun” washes over you with it’s melodies, steady drumming, and solid harmonies.

In addition, these eighties icons grew up in the sixties and nostalgia is in full bloom with a tribute to Cream on the song “Disraeli Years.” On the other hand, if you never liked the Outfield or AOR arena rock to begin with, there is nothing here that will win you over. When it comes to reunions however I would say that this succeeds where The Cars revival feels artificial and forced. This fits rather nicely in the bands discography.

 

Argentinean rockers The Kavanaghs return for their sophomore album, and they have a more modern sound here. Singer and composer Tiago Galíndez tells us “In our first album we wanted to sound and to look retro. We wanted to be like our heroes, like the bands that influenced us. There’s a change in this new album”. Opening with the charging “Tonight” it favors 80’s styled angular riffs with a repeating synth keyboard melody. The next song “Come On (Before The Wind)” displays the band’s harmonies, drummer Seba Cairo does the vocal lead here and his accent is pretty thick. And those retro influences are less overt, but still there (thank goodness).

The mid tempo number “It’s Real” has a 70’s rock vibe with thick layered guitars,  and the songwriting is excellent. Another winner is the wonderful “Emma Peel” – a gorgeous bridge here that describes the singer’s obsession with swinging London’s favorite TV heroine. The band continues with the powerful “That’s All You Need To Know,” it has solid guitar melodies that recall both Badfinger and The Rollers. The ballads are also well written, with the group harmonies lifting “Those Days” and the McCartney-like croon of “About Tomorrow.” A few tunes here lack some hooks, and some ideas seem under-baked but when the band hits the mark, like on “Away From All We Know” it’s just magical. As a bonus; get 4 tracks for free at the Eternal Sunday promo page!