Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

At this point Adam Levy and his band The Honeydogs are preaching to the choir. This prolific alt. county band is criminally under appreciated as they’ve moved effortlessly from Gram Parsons styled rock to progressive pop, country and back. What Comes After is less ambitious than the earlier masterwork of 10,000 years, but still contains some incredible, melodic compositions. Starting with the acoustic blues riff on “Particles or Waves,” it has an easy soulful chorus, with those cool horns in the break.

Then the horns lead us to the best track here “Aubben” with its steady rhythm, undeniable hook and timely message (“Do you need more than you have?”) The Honeydogs combine influences from Bacharach to Ryan Adams on the lovely “Everything In It’s Place.”  Another favorite here, “Broke It, Buy It” has that jaunty piano riff, jazzy sax solo and quirky melody that can only come from Levy. His vocals remain as distinct as Elvis Costello on the apocalyptic ballad “Death By Boredom.” Some complex guitar work is a highlight on “Better Word” and we go full country with banjo melody on “Blood Is Blood.” Not everything here sticks, and some songs just drag along (“Devil We Do”) but there is enough here to make it a highly recommended album.

The Heartless Devils “El Diablo Sin Corazon”
The Heartless Devils blend Power Pop, Hard Rock, and Garage punk into a sound that is both aggressive and catchy in the spirit of The Ramones and Cheap Trick. The hooks are plentiful and the band doesn’t take itself too seriously in those wrestler masks. The crashing drums and loud riffs penetrate the most jaded listener on “Horror Show,” but the fun really begins with the swaggering “Bad Luck Charm,” which recalls the pop punk of The Godfathers.

The next few tracks are truly terrific, with both “Hold On” and “Blame You” gathering up even more energy and compares well with Paul Collins and The Beat. Other notable tracks include “So Bad” and “Favorite Songs,” but without any slower tunes to break things up it gets a little exhausting toward the albums end. “Larceny” provides a little mid-tempo respite to the listener, but overall a fun album that you can blast loud on the car stereo and give credit to the awesome guitar work of Scott Bittner (lead) and Blaine Horn (bass). In fact, “Blame You” is the new favorite of radio DJ Dave The Boogieman, so you know it’s great.

Matthew Matz “Fallen By The Wayside”
Pennsylvania guitarist Matthew Matz teamed up with vocalist Dean Grey to produce his debut Fallen By The Wayside. Matz has a classic rock style similar to The Gin Blossoms, as evidenced by the impressive “Run Away,” and his guitar skills are superb. The songwriting is pretty standard with some interesting lyrical narratives. “Teenage Loser” is the best example of this; a Cars-like rhythm and sing along chorus about the girl that got away. This leads to the gentle strums of “Gone” which reminds me a bit of Toad The Wet Sprocket. What doesn’t work for me was the occasional heavy handed morality in “Don’t Stray” and the misogynistic bitterness of “Bitch.”  Despite this it’s a worthy album, and even the heavier tracks like “Wilmington” which recall Collective Soul are enjoyable with Matzs fine guitar work.

William Cleere and the Marvellous Fellas “s/t”
William Cleere has gathered a group special musicians with this gorgeous album. Produced by Allen Clapp (Orange Peels) it includes Karla Kane,Khoi Huynh, and KC Bowman (all from The Agony Aunts). Cleere sounds like a mix of Glen Campbell and Elton John and Karla Kane makes for the smooth duet on the piano driven “Labor Day”. Fans of Ben Folds and Billy Joel will appreciate the defiant key chords and bass line of “Side Effects.” This is more or less conventional piano rock tunes with Cleere’s crisp vocal in the forefront. It’s got slight touches of contemporary jazz and classical composition as evidenced by “Soul.”

But it also includes the rockabilly “Girl From NYC” and serves up a real standout on the finale “Goodnight Moon.” This strong melody includes a full group backing vocal, and it recalls Jackson Browne in his prime. The production and musicianship are pristine here – so audiophiles should get good headphones for this one, its worth it.

Bleu “Besides”
One of last years’ goodies that I missed at the time. In the wake of Bleu’s Four, he had a ton of additional tracks lying around, so like the album title says its his “B-sides.” However with a talent like Bleu, his B-sides are better than most artists’ A sides. Joined by guests like Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Eric Barao and Ducky Carlisle – how can you go wrong?

Opening with the earnest sax and piano ballad “Take Cover” but soon the 70 and 80’s era stylings come through on “When The Other Shoe Falls.” With disco beats and synth melody, It’s like El DeBarge and Michael Jackson had a Bleu baby. This style get repeated on “Blow Up The Radio,” another song with maximum funk and danceability. But my favorite here is “Mailman’s Son,” a bouncy McCartneyesque earworm in the best sense. A few ballads lay on the dramatic syrup a bit thick, but otherwise a terrific album.

The Stars Explode started as a kind of vanity solo project by Doug Edmunds, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of critically acclaimed ’90s power pop outfit, Gladhands. “Here and Now” is a great start with a driving beat and Doug’s strong vocal. Guitarist Eric Peterson (DB’s, Matthew Sweet) follows the vocals on “Feet Of Clay” with his signature riffs.

One of the best tracks here is the quirky melody of “Funny Feeling” with its churning rhythm and Edmund’s loose vocals. The lovely acoustic jangle of “Memphis Moon” comes very close to an old Gladhands tune. Another smart melody is on “Cinderella At Half Past” and the fitting coda is on display with “What’s It Gonna Take To Make You Happy?” where the band let’s it all hang out. It’s been over 4 years since Edmunds last Stars Explode project, let’s hope for more to come.