Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Q from Gloucester, England, are a wonderful Mod revival band with power pop influences in the tradition of  The Who and The Jam. “Growing Up” is a heartfelt rocking tribute to your favorite 45 rpm records. The sixties styled beats on “Ego” and “Taste Of Honey” have an early Kinks sound, with guttural chords and on the latter track shouts of “yeah, yeah, yeah” punctuating the end of each chorus. “No Compromise” is another strong track, with a more psychedelic feel similar to The Cynics or The Action.

The big catchy standouts here are  “Good Enough” and “Being Totally Frank” which really seems to channel Roger Daltry at his ernest peak.  Another impressive fact is that the lyrics are all about personal anxiety and insecurity from a British perspective. “Penny Pinching” speaks to everyone living paycheck to paycheck. Every track is quality, without any filler here. Full of punk energy, buzzing riffs and bright harmonies it’s another “no-brainer” to add to your playlist.

The Brigadier “Holiday Special” EP
Once again Matt Williams returns with his latest seasonal themed EP. “When The Sun Comes Out” is a sweet summer song with jangle filled melody, rock riffs and multi-tracked chorus. Once more Matt’s soft vocal plays to the narrative strengths in “Swansong” with a thick reverb guitar.  On the sparse, but brilliant “A Holiday Romance” it’s both corny and compelling, you picture a resort-romance montage.

“Ogmore-by-Sea” is an jaunty surf-styled guitar tune and “Time To Go Home” wraps up the theme in a neat bow. The subtle orchestral touches make the melody display the dichotomy of wanting to stay on holiday and being drawn home, it plays like a Moody Blues meets Aztec Camera epic. Overall, this Brigadier EP is reliable casual fun.

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Bryan Estepa “Vessels”
Sydney singer-songwriter Bryan Estepa grows up here, and has moved fully into solid adult pop bliss. The wonderful pop hooks and solid song craft are evidenced in the opener “Won’t Let You Down,” with the chorus bridging together complex multiple harmonic lines. The worldly theme and breezy charm here is similar to The Jayhawks and Michael Carpenter on “Hard Habits.” The best track is next, “Tongue Tied” is classic Estepa, full of memorable rhythms and wonderful harmonies.

“Purple Patch” is another standout here, Hammond organ, guitar and vocals combine like a vintage cabernet for the ears. “Alone” is similar to Tom Petty in tempo and feel. When things get serious like on “Pull Ourselves Together” and “Let It Go,” Estepa let’s his soul shine through each verse. The albums second half is decidedly sober with more of an alt-country bend to it.  No matter your mood, Bryan creates an essential music album for your playlist.

The Nines are one of a very few reliable power pop artists who’ve produced consistently great music since 1998. Lead by Steve Eggers, over the course of 15 years and 4 full length albums, a few gems tend to slip through the cracks. Polarities gathers these unreleased tracks for public consumption.

The Nines clearly fall in the McCartney/XTC/Ben Folds realm, but the band has its own unique sound and a solid command of melodies and minor chord shifts. The opening track “Anything” is a catchy dance number lead by an ELO styled synth line. Another up-tempo tune is “You Can Get High” with its awesome cascading chord structure in the chorus, although the vocals are slightly buried. The winsome ballads “Goodbye Janine” and “Vanessa” were likely an outtakes from Gran Jukle’s Field. The rolling rhythms of “A Series of Shots” is very similar to Sugarplastic, and the slow guitar strum of “Orange of Summer” is another fantastic ballad. Because each track isn’t related to the others, you’ll find several favorites here. It’s a good thing, too – as this album is chock full of great music to choose from.

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