Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Shazam "Meteor"

powerpopaholic

Thanks to our good friend, Bruce at The Not Lame label, we have the awesome return of The Shazam with Meteor. The Shazam went through some significant changes since Tomorrow The World in 2003; new bassist/backing vocalist Mike Vargo replaced Mick Wilson in 2004. Lead vocalist Hans Rotenberry and Jeremy Asbrock are back with plenty of guitar crunch and killer hooks that brings to mind the bastard son of Cheap Trick, T.Rex and The Sweet. The sound is classic power pop helped in part by the legendary producer Mack (Queen, ELO). The vintage guitar chords get things started on a high note with “So Awesome.” This is music you play loud and jump around doing air guitar to. The mid-tempo “Don’t Look Down” is a big fat rock anthem that is one of many album highlights. Next comes “NFU” (Not F_’ed Up ) which is another fast paced gem with loud harmonies along the lines of Queen. “Disco At The Fairgrounds” sounds like it fell straight off of the “Sheer Heart Attack” LP. And “Dreamcrusher Machine” reminds me a little of The Strokes mixed with Urge Overkill as well. The album falls a bit short of the classic Godspeed the Shazam, but there is plenty here to celebrate. Lots of fun is to be had with “I Got The Bomb,” it’s faux Ramones chorus, and the guitar frenzied “Time for Pie” to close out this collection. We hope to hear more from this talented bunch (and hopefully we won’t have to wait another five years).

My Space | Itunes | Shazam Store | Not Lame

Listen to a clip from “So Awesome”

Listen to a clip from “Time For Pie”

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

Doug Gillard "Call From Restricted"

powerpopaholic 2 Comments

Doug Gillard is best known as the lead guitarist and songwriter in Guided By Voices. An Ohio native, Doug began his solo career with his 2005 debut “Salamander,” but has been in several other bands (Death of Samantha, Gem and Cobra Verde). Doug’s skill and musicianship are impeccable here. Everything that gave GBV a melodic sheen is shown on the opener “Time is Nigh” with steady jangle melody and ascending chords. The title track, “Call from Restricted” has that up-tempo energy and catchy riffage that recall the “Isolation Drills” era. But the crown jewel here is the memorable “For What I’ve Done” – crunching guitar energy that is one of the best garage tunes I’ve heard. It strays from the GBV sound, with “Entwined” sounding a bit like Todd Rundgren’s Utopia. The gentle finger picking style of “Gibraltar” brings to mind Big Star or McCartney at his most wistful. Other highlights include “Gogol Was Rollo” and the “Sun Glow (They Don’t Know)” There are a few spacey excursions (“Without This Light” and “Contractors”) but overall this is a brilliant album. For GBV fans, and if you are getting all of Pollard’s new stuff – then this is a “no-brainer.” Even GBV non-fans will love the variety in tone and pop smarts here. Highly recommended for sure.

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

Vinyl Candy "Land"

powerpopaholic 6 Comments

Southern California’s Vinyl Candy has followed up the stellar “Pacific Ocean Park”with another rock and roll gem. The quartet here is Jim Leber, Matt Corey, Michael “WessC” Wessner, and Justin “JD” Brinsfield. The band has a distinct mid 70’s-era rock sound that mines influences like Queen, Bay City Rollers and Todd Rundgren pretty effectively. This album is also best compared to Imperial Drag with rock guitars paving the way for sticky pop sweetness. Opening with summery melody of “I’ll Be Fine (Part 1)” it has the reverb heavy guitars and Moog synths supporting the chiming harmonies in the chorus. The song moves seamlessly to “Fan Club History” with a Kiss-like ferocity in dense rock guitars and a heavy synth solo. “Chasing Time” is an fine mid-tempo pop example with a heavenly chorus and thick bass lines. “Gasoline & Tangerines” is another gem that tells more of the narrative of a life and possible death on the road. It can get close to the edge when all the varied loud sounds drown out the hooks (“Learn How To Fly”), but this is few and far between. “StarStruck” really comes closest to that Imperial Drag stabbing synth sound. The group has awesome vocal chemistry here, especially on the highlight “Want It So Bad.” The album ends with a slow “pub” version of the opener in “I’ll Be Fine (Part 2).” The theme of the album is the story of a rock star named “Land” and his rise to fame and ruin. It took a few listens to get the full linear story, but it flows nicely. Certainly this album should put Vinyl Candy on the rise to fame for sure.

MySpace | CD Baby | Vinyl Candy direct | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

Listen to “Chasing Time”

Listen to “Gasoline & Tangerines”

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

Dave Caruso "Elizabeth Parker" EP

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Dave Caruso is an independent alternative-pop songwriter from Trenton, Michigan. Armed with keyboard, guitar, bass and drums, Dave has been performing for over 30 years with his band “Caruso” during the 80’s and with this more recent EP he gets to strut his solo stuff. He sounds similar to Cliff Hillis, Michael Carpenter and Mark Bacino, with sunny chiming guitar melodies that are instantly catchy and accessible. The songcraft is top notch, a perfect example is the Elvis Costello sounding title track “Elizabeth Parker”. The next gem is “I Can’t Be On Time,” a finely tuned slice of 80’s styled power pop. the bossa nova ballad “If I Died Today” and strong guitar riffs of “Letter To My Ex” round out the album. If you enjoy any of the artists above, then this is excellent addition to your music collection. I would hope Dave will continue to record and a full length is on the way soon.

My Space | CD Baby | Lala | Amazon

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

Charles Ramsey "Good Morning & Good Night"

powerpopaholic

Charles Ramsey’s second album has plenty of great songs, and it’s opening title track evokes those bright melodic Burt Bacharach-Hal David hits of the 70’s, and resembles current contemporaries, Brent Cash and Adrian Whitehead. But after this great opening track, it settles into a more folk-pop mode with the acoustic guitar similar to Harry Chapin or Cat Stevens with “Things Could Be Different.” Ramsey has a rich mid-tone vocal here that wavers on the higher register at times, but the plaintive “Odelia” is a perfect example of where his vocal range belongs. Lower profile pop ballads make up the bulk of the album with “The See & Be Seen Scene” bringing to mind a Philadelphia version of Billy Joel. The only return to the Brill building pop sound is the brilliant “My Lost Days” which resembles Michael Brown (Left Banke, Stories) with a masterful hook, melody and a gorgeous key change in the chorus. The slow but steady “When Forgetfulness or Sleep Has Gone” makes best use of the full orchestra backdrop, although his vocal limitations are on full display here. If you like classical 70’s pop and folk this is a welcome addition to your album collection.

My Space | CD Baby

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