Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Somerdale “Brighter Than Before”

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Right away you get the feeling Somerdale spent a lot of time with old school power pop and rock records. The trio consists of Chuck Penza (bass), James Caputo (guitar) and JJ Fennimore (drums) and the opening track “That’s Over Now” sounds like it fell off a classic Raspberries album. The band has the ability to channel its influences with stunning accuracy. “Bent On Napalm” has a bluesy riff similar to the Stones “Street Fighting Man” as Caputo belts away.  The bands approach is similar to 70’s influenced retro outfit Vinyl Candy, but with much less glam and a stronger songwriting approach. And it boasts two good singers, as Penza and Caputo share the lead duties.

You gotta love the beautiful opening chords and harmonies on “Sugar Valley, CA” as the chorus recalls The Bryds and Sloan. The guitar gets even heavier with the handclaps and cymbal on “We Are All Together.” It brings to mind KISS minus the makeup and with an even catchier chorus. The nicely timed ballad “Like A Rainbow” is Penza’s best moment as it recalls classic Frampton. It has a few misses (“If I Knew The Words” and “Oklahoma”) but includes a good cover of The Left Banke’s hit “Walk Away Renee”  and a very Bay City Rollers-ish “Best I Can.” Overall, there is more than enough here to recommend to melodic rock enthusiasts.

Billy Burnett and John Holk

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Billy Burnette “Rock and Roll With It”
Burnette has a long and proud history in rock and roll. And I’d be shocked if anyone else short of Brian Setzer can play Rockabilly better, as Billy’s dad helped invent the genre. He’s played with rock legends Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many more. The title track of the new album “Rock and Roll With It” is a bona-fide classic with a catchy rhythm that doesn’t quit. “My Love Will Not Change” is an uptempo country rocker that has a highly polished sound that will impress the most jaded critic. “Beautiful Distraction” is a honky tonk theme suitable for the NFL or NASCAR and each following track is solid twang-fest thereafter. “I really felt like it was time. I really like this music. I didn’t get into my dad’s whole Rockabilly thing until after he died.” Burnette says, and we’re all the better he’s carrying on the family business. One listen to the autobiographical “Hot Rod Billy” and you’ll be shakin’ all the way home.

John Holk & The Sequins “If You See Her”
In country pop music, subtlety is a premium that is often hard to come by, but John Holk uses his mellow vocal and melodic approach to win you over. The band’s sound is in the vein of Gram Parsons, The Byrds, or The Scud Mountain Boys. The pop goodness shows up in the lush second track, “If You See Her” with its tight harmonies akin to The Association, floating on top of the jangling guitar rhythm. Carrie Shepard joins Holk for a sweet duet on “Lady Jane” and another great pop moment is on “Autograph” with its ear-worm worthy chorus. Another standout is “If She Were You” with a superb guitar solo at the break. The album breaks into bluegrass and traditional country in the latter half which slow it down quite a bit, but it recovers with the easy going guitar of the ender “The Mountain” with its “Proud Mary” bass line. Overall a nice gem of an album with solid performances.

Hans Rotenberry & Brad Jones “Mountain Jack”

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This came out earlier this year, and despite almost no PR effort at all it has managed to become a favorite amongst music bloggers. It’s also been really tough to get ahold of. Shazam frontman Hans Rotenberry, and Shazam’s former producers Brad Jones unite to forge a Americana album with a sweet power pop spin. The compelling jangle of “Count On Me” and “A Likely Lad” have Jones (Guilt Flake) fingerprints all over them.

Rotenberry’s “Froggy Mountain Shakedown” and “Back To Bristol” have a Kinks “Muswell Hillbillies” flavoring. The melodies shine brightly and both artists work to make the album as repeat-friendly as possible. These two titans of Nashville power pop have also kept things understated enough on tracks like “Puttin’ On Airs Tonight” and “Buffalo Daughter” to keep things poppy, but still clinging to those country roots. Also one track alone doesn’t carry the album, nor does one songwriter dominate – each track just sounds great. Simply put, the best musical collaboration this year and yes – it makes my best of 2011 year end list.

Gary Ritchie “Hum, Sing, Repeat!”

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Some power pop has the same effect as your favorite comfort foods, it may not be too fancy but it really satisfies that craving. Gary Ritchie has done some great lo-fi pop previously, and this all-new album does an even better job. The songs are all short melodic gems that follow the Beatles meets Nick Lowe template. In fact Gary tells us in the liner notes who the influence is for each song, like “This Time Around” has a touch of Tom Petty and The Who. Some tunes fall very easily into the Merseybeat revival like “Pretty Little Gina” and “Hear From You.” The melody lines and composition is really strong here, “Alright” being a really good hook-filled example in the Pezband-Kinks mode.

And Gary simply doesn’t recreate the riffs, but builds his own songs along the classic guidelines. The song “When I Grow Up,” really hits home to aging pop fans with lyrics; “will I age like a vintage wine/ or be a drunkard in my prime when I grow up?” and the defiant “I won’t” over the chorus answer the question. There are a whopping 18 tracks here, and just about every song resonates fun and nostalgic warm feelings. And its not all one style, “Fancy Two Tone Car” is a countrified rocker that combines the Bryds and Eddie Rabbit and the Rick Springfield styled “Could Have Been Love” are both catchy nuggets. Great job, Gary!

Richard Snow and The In-Laws “Am I Really That Boring?”

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From Nottingham England, Richard Snow is known for his jangle fueled guitar and impressive melodies, evidenced in past releases. Richard formed his band The Inlaws in 2005 so he could bring his music to a live stage, and now includes the band in his third release. Opening with the gorgeous “Stop Your Crying?” is the kind of ballad that combines The Byrds jangle and Steve Winwood styled harmonies. The updated merseybeat is more pronounced on “Middle Class Girl” and the acoustic sadness of “If You Don’t Rescue Me” is a sweet folk diversion, with a nice choral coda.

The album’s centerpiece “21st Century” is another gem with some Mod backing vocal touches, and its retro theme, “It’s modern life I fear… the 21st Century sucks.” Another impressive ear-worm “Take Me Back Home” with its multi-tracked chorus is both simple and very catchy. Occasionally the rhythms on songs can get predictable but it’s performed with such skill, it’s hard to complain. Every song here is good, without any filler to be found – and a special treat is the title track with it’s wicked riff that builds and its obsessive-compulsive lyric “Am I really that boring? Yes I am, and I don’t care.” Fans of jangle rock  and smooth harmonies will love this album. Highly Recommended.