Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

DC Cardwell "Some Hope"

powerpopaholic

DC Cardwell creates a heart felt acoustic gem here, full of wonderful melodic hooks and a Ray Davies styled vocal. The gentle minor chords and harmonies that open “I Am Still The Same” are both brilliant and poignant.  Digression: I think the decades most overlooked instrument on recent casual classics is the xylophone, I mean it’s on every good easy listening hit from Pampelmoose to iphone commericals.

Anyway, “Birthday Present” is another example of solid composition and a revelatory Harrison styled guitar break. The pace picks up with the bouncy “Peace and Love” at it’s most Kinks-like and then it veers to Dylanesque territory the next bunch of tracks like “Way With Words” and “Meet The Author.” The country-like pop bounce returns on “A Minute Of Your Time” and “We Fell” has that smooth guitar jangle. A few miss, but most here hit the mark and with a whopping 16 tracks to go through, you’ll find several favorites here. Some of the  mid-tempo ballads (“The Quiet Ages”) are like magical combinations of both Paul Simon and McCartney.  Fans of David Mead and John Southworth should also flock to this release like ants to a picnic. And yeah, it’s a belated 2010 top rated album. This is a perfect year ending release, so put away your “Auld Lang Syne” and play this.

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Readymade Breakup "s/t"

powerpopaholic

Readymade Breakup has grown from a small indie band with power pop tendencies to being poised to break out to mainstream audiences. This new self-titled release is the band’s most mature outing to date, coming along just in time to add to my best of 2010 list. Lead singer Paul Rosevear’s vocals are more forceful, and Jim Fitzgerald’s guitar riffs are leaner, more into classic rock territory than ever before. The sound comes closer to Collective Soul’s brand of melodic majesty but with more energy.

“Inside All Along” has is an opener that that has all the right ingredients; heavy guitar riffs, Rosevear’s multi-tracked croon and a chorus that sticks in your head. “Just” and the anthemic “Waiting For You” are modern rock classics that should bring in a wider audience.  When we get to “There” the pace eases up a bit, into a Counting Crows styled number only to roar back with “Unzip My Face” full of Cheap Trick influenced guitar acrobatics. The lone ballad here “Not Through With You Yet” showcases Rosevear’s distinct vocal style, as a near whisper grows to a wail. We end it with “Erased” a powerful Pink Floyd influenced slice of psychedelic pop.  The album is only nine songs, so each one is carefully constructed and melodic all the way through. One of the best rock albums I’ve heard all year.

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Anya Marina and Tomn

powerpopaholic

Anya Marina “Spirit School” EP
After a pretty good debut, Anya gives us a taste of her next album with this EP. Anya relocated to Portland, OR and really does a great job with the slow grooves on her lead track “You Are Invisible.” Her vocals still have that sensual half whisper, and the last part of the song uses dramatic strings. A standout here is the gritty dance rocker “Whatsit,” a collaboration with Dandy Warhol’s Courtney Taylor-Taylor. But my favorite is the title track, a note-beat perfect single that hits hard. Hopefully her next full length will take this approach, as “Spirit School” bounces along a killer bass rhythm with the catchy kid chorus “We’re rubber and you’re glue, and no matter what you say we’re gonna stay here right for you.” Anya is an artist that continues to grow and create great music with an attitude and depth that I haven’t heard since Sam Phillips.

Tōmn “Tōmn” EP
Tōmn (pronounced “tome”) aka Tony Maiella is a North American musician based in Boston who fuses rock and Brazilian music, creating lush pop arrangements. This rich combination of influences is really apparent on the melodic opening track “Primeiro Encanto.” Tinkling keys, flamenco rhythms and subtle guitar strums blend together quite nicely here. Tony also knows his way around a ballad as “Will I Still Call You Friend?” is very John Mayer-ish. The forceful “Off The Map” is a bit like Rick Altizer, with multilayered guitars and forceful vocals. Some of the quieter songs have nice little jazz touches, but they seem a bit half baked at times. Enough good stuff here to recommend though.

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Garfields Birthday and Michael Carpenter + another free track!

powerpopaholic

Garfields Birthday “More Sense Than Money”
Brothers Shane and Simon Felton have returned since 2008’s “Let Them Eat Cake.” The Weymouth UK band has quietly been doing it’s thing on the small Pink Hedgehog label. This album is chockfull of smart tunes with combinations of crunchy guitars and soft harmonies.  “Cool Your Jets” is a great opening single and “I See Shadows” is a dreamy smooth pop song with Simon’s vocal floating above the melody. “Cambridge” is another soft pop gem that stands alongside Chad and Jeremy’s classics. These ballads are where the brothers shine, but the lyrical story and melody works perfect on the excellent mid-tempo “Carry On Karaoke.” This is so much stronger than anything they’ve done before, and the harmonies go into overdrive on “Future Song.” Like a softer version of Teenage Fanclub, this is one album sure to warm your heart over the holidays.

Michael Carpenter & The Cuban Heels “The Incomplete Cuban Heels”
This album gathers tracks from “Give The Dog A Bone” and “New Dog Old Tricks” (both are sold out EPs) and represents a “greatest hits” of Carpenter’s alt-country styled bar band. The Cuban Heels consist of Casey Atkins on guitar (Perry Keyes, James Cooper), Russell Crawford on drums (solo artist), Charlie Lee on bass (Too Many Guitars) & Jadey O’Regan on piano (Big Radio). Carpenter and the band had many sessions during 2008-2010 period, and if you like The Black Crows, Dylan, Wilco, or Tom Petty this collection is for you.

MySpace | Amazon | Bandcamp | Kool Kat Musik

As a bonus here is Michael Carpenter’s Free Christmas Single “Sunny Day for Xmas!”

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Chris Murphy and Bastards of Melody

powerpopaholic

Chris Murphy “Look At This/Remember That”
Chris Murphy comes to us through Michael Carpenter’s Big Radio Records label. I hear a few musical similarities, but Murphy is a musician with his own style. He’s made his name on Australian Idol and has toured as one of Perth’s best known vocalists. Fans of Crowded House will appreciate Murphy’s earnest croon on the opener “Here She Comes.” The follow up “Walking Around In The Dark” has a bouncy tempo and solid melodic chorus that make it a treat.

Then Chris takes it up a notch on “Run and Don’t Look Back” with classic rock riffs and the soulful mid tempo “The Bigger They Are.” Many artists put the “hard” songs alongside the “soft” ballads, but are rarely successful with both styles in equal measure. This is what makes Murphy so special. Blues rocker “Come And Get Me” and the tender duet “Don’t Doubt It” come from opposite sides of the musical spectrum, but are both wonderfully written and performed. Occasionally the album does get formulaic in it’s pop approach (“Your Pretty Little Head”) but it’s better than most bands out there. It ends off with a nice little Beatles cover, “Blackbird” with flute and violin flourishes that enhance the song’s appeal. An impressive debut that pop fans will appreciate.  

Bastards of Melody “Hurry Up and Wait”
New Jersey’s Bastards of Melody have followed a mantra of catchy guitar riffs and memorable melodies. The latest album’s vibe is based on the Cheap Trick – Replacements variety of power pop. “Around You” follows this formula perfectly. The Rickenbacker jangle and harmonies are part of “All I Want To Know” and you’ll want to crank up the volume here. “Dream Jeannine” has little psychedelic touches and a Byrds-like chorus. After a few mid tempo songs the band breaks out those high energy riffs again for “Cut and Paste.” Fans of The Spongetones and Smash Palace will appreciate the dreamlike pop texture of “Gateway Center.” My only peeve is that lead singer Paul Crane’s vocals shouldn’t be buried under all those multi-layered riffs (like on the pop punk gem “Unproductive”). With that mentioned the compositions are strong, without a hint of filler. An exemplary album of the genre that shouldn’t be missed.

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.