Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Gerry Beckley “Unfortunate Casino”
Gerry Beckley (America) has been serving up stellar pop for most of his adult life. After recent work with Jeff Larson, a haunting concept album emerges with Beckley’s trademark warm melodic style. The gentle “Always” starts us off with a simple hushed vocal, guitar strum and horn accents. “Feelings Flow” is another sentimental soft shoe melody that easily brings us a smile.

The title track is a simple tune that builds into a rich complex theme, but a real gem is the upbeat “Remembering” with its hook filled harmonies and handclaps. The slower numbers really resonate too, “Dark River” and “Cup Of Rain,” being especially moving. In addition, a pair of wonderful songs (“Hello” and “Simpson Sky”) written by both Gerry and Bill Mumy are perfect pop in the Andrew Gold mold. No throwaway tunes here make this album an essential purchase. I look forward to more Gerry Beckley each year.

Snowbirds “s/t”
The Snowbirds are a six piece Americana/Rock band from Wisconsin with a gentle confidence and knack for making majestic melodies. Lead singer Jason Berken has a sweet soulful vocal and the rest of band does a great job bringing out each songs emotional heart. The steel lap guitar and harmonies on the opener  “Current State” impresses and “Old Wall” is another roots pop gem. Things get bumped up with the Gary Louris styled “Cody Cody” full of gorgeous chords. The barroom anthem on “Shakedown” balances the album out between slower ballads and Tom Pettyesque mid tempo songs like “So Long.” Fans of alt country style like The Jayhawks, Ryan Adams and The Autumn Defense will really enjoy this one.

Ivan Julian is one of punk’s unsung talents as long time guitarist for The Voidoids. He’s jammed with the Isley Brothers, The Clash and Matthew Sweet, so it’s a bit surprising we are finally hearing a solo album. The album is classic pop punk with a relentless energy and Julian’s distinct vocals. “Waves” opens the doors with a Ramones-like chorus, but the big standout is “A Young Man’s Money” with it’s pitch perfect riffs and lyrical rants.

The title track is a dark urban love song filled with grit and distorted guitars. Julian is assisted by the Argentinian indie band Capsula, who does a great job here fleshing out the compositions. The beat and ringing guitars of “Hardwired” and “Constricted” are also standouts that recall the heyday of the CBGB’s era. “The Beat” adds a touch of psychedelic drone and “Godiva” will appeal to your inner Hendrix for sure. For fans of Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground and Lou Reed this is an essential album to add to your collection.

Ivan Julian’s site | Amazon

Marc Robillard “Left London”
A Canadian transplant living in L.A., Robillard delivers a solid sophomore pop album that focuses on recollections of failed relationships. The production team of Andrew Bojanic and Liz Hooper keep things crisp and it suits Marc well. Marc’s tortured delivery on “Love Song” is similar to Chris Martin, yet with a warmer demeanor. Next, “Unfold” is an acoustic guitar gem similar to David Mead and “Ghost” is a haunting ballad that slowly burns into your consciousness. Once again we follow the theme on “Everstop” with those perfect “break-up” lyrics.

While each song is beautifully rendered, the protagonist Marc creates is essentially a moping broken heart with no escape from his depression. By the time we get to “Crazy” he asks “is there anybody there who cares?” ‘Left London’ is a brilliant album – each song is finely crafted, my favorites here being pop goodness of “Conclude” and “Bleed.” No filler here as this album stays with you long after the final track plays.

John Laprade “World Class Faker”
John Laprade adds to his EP from 2008 with this full length debut that adds a pile of new tracks. The opener “Soul Shaker” is a standout with its up-tempo, positive message and solid melody. Many of the newer songs have a slower tempo that fit solidly into the singer-songwriter vibe, a good example here is “World-Class Faker” where the production is clean and sentiments are genuine. Fans of James Taylor will really love the gentle “Infinity,” as it provides a nice contrast to the rocker “Knock You Down.” My favorite new song here is the bouncy piano of “Anytime” which resembles Michael Carpenter in the chorus. A really good album that rewards with repeat listens.

This Lafayette, Louisiana quartet are often described as sullen, sarcastic and full of sunshine.  I enjoyed the eclectic 60’s pop of Midnight Matinee a few years ago. But now with ‘Melt White’ they take their game to the next level, full of symphonic psychedelic power that recalls the best of the Elephant 6 collective. A great headphones album that is not to be missed. Read the full review at The Rock and Roll Report.

My Space | Amazon