Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Bewitched Hands and Chris Marshall

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Bewitched Hands “Birds & Drums”

Unlike French brethren Phoenix, the Bewitched Hands have a touch of Apples In Stereo and Moody Blues mixed well with a dose of Partridge Family. Compositions have big harmonies in the choruses on “Happy With You” and “Underwear,” both are filled with intricate guitar rhythms and psychedelic retro-distortions. “Birds & Drums” brings to mind Family of The Year with its loose campfire melody. And if you can get past the accents, you’ll have a ball with this album and its faux-punk “So Cool” and clap-along theme “Kings Crown” that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Big Audio Dynamite album. There is a sense of fun and experimentation with pop format that makes listening totally unpredictable, a good example of this is “2 4 Get.” The slower tunes tend to get bombastic and don’t hold interest, with the exception of the lovely glam influenced “Sahara Dream” which builds to a full “Spiders of Mars” styled crescendo. Go to Facebook to hear a sample.

Facebook | Amazon

Chris Marshall “August Light”

Rarely do I tolerate any pure country album that isn’t “alt”, but Portland-based Chris Marshall just grew on me. “Every time The Wind Blows” has a soulful sound that is both genuine and tells a compelling story. A catchy beat is part of “Look Out Your Window,” one of many gems here. The albums theme is on mortality and god (“Thirty Pieces of Silver”) delivered with Chris’ powerful vocal. The messages here resonate just as strongly as the melodies. Highly recommended.

CD Baby | Amazon

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The Rationales and The Spanish Channel

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The Rationales “The Distance In Between”
The Raionales had an impressive EP years earlier, and here is a more mature full LP. “Real Life” is a great opener with its faux blues guitar riffs and lush orchestration. The sound of the band comes closer to Wilco meets Dave Matthews in spots. “Braedon” is the albums’ early standout here, with singer-songwriter/guitarist David Mirabella wailing the chorus “Hey little B, dressed up an army suit where you going with my popcorn?” The song is just infectious and the distorted riffs just drive things along.

Other tracks are equally impressive, like “Jaded,” and “Another Moon” with Mirabella’s distinct vocals taking center stage here (an acquired taste much like Blues Traveller). And no filler here either. More gems here include “Slower-Faster” and the summery “Tongue Tied”. Solid roots syled power pop that fans of REM, Tom Petty and Jayhawks will treasure.

The Spanish Channel “Brooklyn, off Atlantic”
The album title even tells you exactly where the band lives, as this earnest uptempo pop/rock band aims to please. Led by singer/guitarist Jamie Garamella it opens with “People Pleaser” a rocker with an interesting lyrical hook about how to get along with everybody. The guitar riff on “Strapped For Cash” kinda mimics “Hazy Shade of Winter” but the timely subject is relevant to any newly minted college grad. And that’s what makes The Spanish Channel stand out, as the lyrics and hooks are far from boilerplate.

The band also stylistically resembles The Spin Doctors on tracks like “MIssed Opportunity” and “Be A Dog” but keeps things fresh with a variety of rockers that are really unique in sound. The best song here is the Fountains of Wayne-like “Trivia Night” with a crackling riff and catchy chorus that builds around a wonderful guitar and harmony break. The band chugs on all cylinders here, and also the impressive ballad “Everything’s Gone” displays another side of this unique band.

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Supraluxe and Alan Hampton

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Supraluxe “The Super Sounds of Supraluxe”
After a few albums finding their sound, this Minnesota band has found its sweet spot. The lush melodies and classical influences are on unabashed display from its simple acoustic and xylophone opener “Every Little Piece.” The pastoral chord structures on “Lester Bangs” are just infectious. The soft baroque vocal and arpeggio on “When You’re Down” recall The Left Banke at its most winsome. Fans of the 70’s California sound will really enjoy “Go Nowhere,” it’s a real gem of steady rhythm and twanging guitar.

The band goes retro most of the LPs second half. On “New York City’s Not Alright,” its a tune that recalls both The Animals and The Doors. Every song has an angle, and a solid catchy hook as well. A really great epic tune is “Nail Biter,” with its combination of organ, synths, guitars that lead to a gorgeous instrumental outro. My only critique here is that the vocals seemed pushed too much to the background. But the emotions and lyrics for each song shine through and make this release a huge success.

Alan Hampton “The Moving Sidewalk”
Fans of David Mead should really get a closer look at Mr. Hampton. The lush melodies and a simple acoustic guitar is basically all he needs. “Staring At The Sun” has some light strings to support his sweet voice and sunny rhythm.  A certain single is “Change Your Mind” with its halting strum and cascading chorus. “Loud and Clear” introduces some rock riffs into the chorus, and some nice vocal harmonies too. “Where Did You Go?” has a slow Spectorish hand clapped beat with some nice guitar distortions in the main hook.

A few songs don’t quite make it, but are easy to skip. There are plenty of gems here like “Oh My God” which may be the best Paul Simon song he never wrote. This is sophisticated pop with a slightly jazzy feel that makes it easy to recommend.

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Devlin Murphy "Chuck Bird"

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In 2007 the talented Devlin Murphy had a pretty impressive debut and since that time he’s been collecting songs for this new release. A funky “Till The Sun” is a good commercial pop tune, as with the multi-tracked background vocals on the follow up “Hey Love.” Then a perfect spring tune shows up in “Sunshine.” It bounces along with uplifting chords that carry the melody along. It reminds me of Roger Manning, Jr. until the reggae rhythm starts on “It’s Love Love.”

The stylistic changes show Devlins’ development (or boredom) here, but the pay off is the excellent piano ballad “Back To You” with its awesome hook in the chorus. Another big standout here is “Ask ‘n’ Ask” with a great mix of modern pop balladry and soul. My big issue is that although all the songs are well written, the production is inconsistent. Frequently he abuses AutoTune (“Not A Hero”) and a few tunes sound overproduced (“When Its Over”). But fans of Jellyfish styled pop may forgive this, as there are plenty of gems here. With a little tweaking I feel Devlin can be a major star.

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The Hillary Step and Ward White

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The Hillary Step “Note 2 Self”
The Hillary Step (Rob Schiffmann and Jon Rothstein) continue to work melodic magic on ‘Note 2 Self’. The wonderful opener “Tell Me You Love Me” works its masterful chorus into your head effortlessly with smart key changes at just the right moment. The guitar compositions on “All I’ve Got” and especially “Answers” are reminiscent of The Rembrandts in spots.

It shifts gears with a piano ballad in “For The Moment,” with its captivating acoustic solo at the break. And the ballads really resonate, like the son’s plea to his father on “What Are We Waiting For” and “Quietness Of Love” – both full of emotion and honest lyrics. The compositions vary in style, but it’s impossible to dismiss the quality of these songs. Fans of Andrew Gold and Dan Fogelberg will also enjoy this immensely.

Ward White “Done With The Talking Cure”
White is a Brooklyn, NY based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The title track is part Bowie and part Byrds wrapped in a soulful operatic tenor. Next, the sarcastic “Change Your Clothes” is where White’s style most reminds me of Stephen Trask. “Radio Silence” has an effective Beatles guitar riff and catchy chorus.

Frequent collaborator Joe McGinty does some keyboards here, and if you liked the duos album, this seems like a natural addition. The Scott Walker – Burt Bacharach influence is over most of the latter tracks, with light string arrangements on each track. The nicely baroque “1964” has neat hand claps and harpsichord melody. White is a gifted vocalist with a distinct voice and musical stories that beg to be heard.

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