Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Golden Bloom is multi-instrumentalist and frontman, Shawn Fogel, who brings his bright energetic melodies to us with Fan The Flames. The album begins with the keyboard heavy pop song “E.H.M.” and Fogel wants the listener to soak it all in. The follow up “Doomsday Devices” is a sure fire hit single about using your last resort in a situation. Then the gorgeous strumming and descending chorus “Fan The Flames” will be appreciated by many Wilco fans for sure. The album explores Fogel’s frustrated optimism, or maybe optimistic frustration. The ballads here are strong as well, “She Leaves Me Poetry” and “The Fight At The End Of The Tunnel” have a bit of George Harrison-like melancholy and heartache. “Dead Petals” has a good catchy hook, and a cheerful rant against those ignorant to our planet’s peril. Fogel played all the instruments on Fan the Flames — piano, bass guitar, tenor sax, keyboards, harmonica, and drums — with his usual precision and passion. “Theme For An Adventure At Sea” is another well written and thought provoking song. Even the short political rant “Untitled” is fun. Enjoy this adventure in thinking man’s power pop.

My Space | Saki Store | Golden Bloom.net

Listen to “E.H.M.”

You’d think after Peter and The Penguins, I would be done with Beatle styled rock bands this year… well no. In Germany, the leader of the Beatles Revival Band, Richard Edward Kersten (Frank) wanted to write Beatlesque songs, with a modern studio flair. So he hooked up with a young Ronson Jonson (Furt) and the results are here. Opening with the very Rain-like “Sipping Lemonade In The Sunshine,” Frank and Furt’s vocal and instrumental skills will win you over. “Flow Down Stream” mixes sitar and the albums groovy production techniques are similar to The Pillbugs. The melodies are really good here, and a few highlights are the sunny “Don’t Care Cos I Love You” and early Mersey ditty “Picture On My Wall” with just the right amount of handclaps and perfectly timed riffs. And it’s not all Fab Four by-the-numbers either, as they veer off the template just enough to keep it interesting with the mid tempo “Someday” and the poignant ballad “It All Equals In The End.” These tunes are more comparable to fellow German transplant Martin Gordon, especially the last track “It’s Such A Long Time,” full of long psychedelic passages. Pop fans can relax and float downstream with this one.

Itunes | CD Baby | Frank Furt Website

There is nothing ordinary about Seattle based classic rock quartet The Lonely H. Fronted by the charismatic, 6’7″, 19 year old Mark Fredson, a man hard to miss in any room for both his height and booming voice, and accompanied by the Brothers Whitman – Eric Whitman (guitar) and Johnny Whitman (bass) – and drummer Ben Eyestone, The Lonely H have more swagger and set their site’s on nothing short of being the next Allman Brothers Band. Unlike the pop nature of their last album Hair, this one leans heavier on the rock and roadhouse blues formula. In fact fans of the Bob Segar and Wilco will enjoy the honest and memorable songwriting here. Highlights include “Cold Blues” and “Diggin’ A Hole” with Fredson’s howl, and pumping melody. “Going Out West” rocks a bit harder, like vintage AC/DC or Jet. The most country-fried song here is “Singer” which will sit right with fans of The Eagles. The guitar rock twang and memorable hook makes for excellent listening on “Other Side Of The Water.” It’s not perfect, as the stripped down acoustic “Phoenix” and “River” reveal the groups vocal limitations clearly. The group then redeems itself with the catchy “Girl From Jersey.” Overall this album is clearly a winner — fans of classic rock can safely turn up the volume here and enjoy these young’uns.

My Space | Amazon

In a story that defines passion, Lead songwriter Freddie Lemke of Strangefinger, was virtually homeless when he wrote songs for Into the Blue back in 2005. Working on a donated 16 track recorder, he slowly formed the band and after scraping everything he could to finish the album, the group was out of money and it looked like it was all over. Then Jellyfish’s Chris Manning approached the band and helped with vocals, producing and mixing the final cut. Believe me it was worth it. Opening with a heavenly Brian Wilson-like harmony and beach waves, it dramatically opens with the ballad “Sleep,” full of rich guitar and detailed orchestration. The production has a 70’s styled polish and fans of 10cc and Bob Welch will appreciate it. Although the beach theme is evident, it sounds closer to Jellyfish meets Peter Frampton, than Beach Boys. Some truly great music is here, with the excellent “There’s an Ocean” full harmonies over an unforgettable hook filled melody. “System To The Grind” is a piano fueled gem similar to Todd Rundgren. The album seamlessly jumps from one song to the next at first. Then we get a few strange detours along the way with “Sunshine Between” going all Steely Dan, before we get to “Colored In Snow” a soulful rock ballad. The jazzy “Sugar” goes in another direction, and then we return to the smooth ballad “Two Angels.” I guess a lack of consistency is the only strike against it. The singles here are flawless and worth the effort to add to your collection.