Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Although not new, this is a great example of excellent and timeless melodies from Gary Ritchie. Originally from the Chicago band, Loose Lips, Ritchie teamed up with band mate Jeff King to channel his love of those classic jangle bands in Pop! Radio. Fans of Pezband, Fotomaker, The Raspberries, The Rubinoos, and The Spongetones will just love this album. From the opening chord riffs of “I’ll Be There” you’ll hum along to the beat that has that 70’s rock feel. The Beatles-jangle isn’t far behind on “You Were Only Using Me” and the hooks just continue to fly by. The excellent rocker “Living On Lies” is a humorous autobiography of a rocker who hasn’t gotten “a life” due to his love of rock and roll. Most of the songs are about moments in a relationship and what happened “Last Night” (a great Dwight Twilley reference here) and other odes to the girl of your dreams. The gems here keep coming, and to get into any more tracks here seems superfluous. Not a single scrap of filler here, so if you never heard it do yourself a favor and stop reading. Get a hold of this album.

My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame

Last year on the IPO#11 disc a standout was “There Goes Pete Best,” and this year has been chock full of Beatlesque bands making debuts this year. From The Poor Richards, Alan Bernhoft to Pete Best himself – the sound is just timeless and embedded in pop culture. Not even compared to other like-minded bands (The Fore, The Offbeat) this Norwegian band is easily a cut above the rest. That’s because they take the template and enhance it – for example, “Barefoot” uses the Rickenbacker riffs, honey sweet Beach Boys choruses and sax touches to make a catchy song, not just imitate what’s been done. Lots of highlights here that make them comparable to The Spongetones in quality (they even do a cover of “Here I Go Again”). “The Walk” has a jangle and beat thats just irresistible, and “She Took Me By Surprise” gets the early mop-top songwriting and guitar innocence down perfectly. “There’s No Living Here Without You” updates the snappy Beatle ballad with a minor chords aplenty. Not every song is perfect, but with 14 tracks here, you’ll find more than enough Mersey-inspired gems to keep your toe tapping. As long as bands like this keep making music, I will happily listen.

My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey, co founders of the dB’s, and collaborators on “Mavericks” 14 years ago have reunited, and they still have that spark. On Here and Now, they fall into a comfortable role as pop’s most under rated duo. Opening with the Beatlesque “My Friend The Sun,” it is a shiny gem of melodic genius with subtle guitar interplay and Peter’s direct earnest vocals. This is adult contemporary rock in the best sense of the term. “Santa Monica” is a classic Stamey ballad full of dreamy sun-soaked guitar textures. “Bird on the Wing” comes closest to that old Mavericks sound, and the collaboration meshes the two artists perfectly. Appropriately, these “old” guys have made some real gems about approaching middle age. The album does tend to wander a bit, getting too reflective and could’ve used a few more upbeat songs. But tracks like “Here and Now”, “Some of the Parts”, and “Long Time Coming” are all great songs that you’ll want to play over and over. “Begin Again” is a somber ode to rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (with the great Branford Marsalis on sax). My favorite ballad here is “Long Time Coming,” about old friendships and it easily brings a lump to my throat. The emotional honesty here says more than tons of other musicians out there, and I would love to hear more from these two.

Holsapplestamey.com | emusic | Itunes

Holmes (aka Roy Shakked) has the ability to write melodic songs full of humor and meaning. After a very good debut, we have a self titled sophomore effort which collects all the tracks from the Basement Tapes EP and adds a few more. The new material is mainly guitar based blues ballads and pop, that evoke a bleak picture. “Let Go” is a Steely Dan styled pop dirge where “two jobs and broken wife” weigh on Roy’s mind. This is very timely recession era music and it’s an album highlight. “Unsatisfied” channels a Paul Simon mid-tempo ballad with a gentle synth keyboard. “Hurts So Bad” and “Not With You” are painfully poignant and depressing ballads that make Elliot Smith sound cheerful. The excellent “So Many Of You” strays into the sunlight a bit more and it’s got a masterful hook in the chorus. The older songs fit nicely here, with the exception of the Devo-ish “Go Computer.” And it’s always fun to hear the Bush bashing “Not A Political Song.” The haunting cover of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” round out the album. If you didn’t pick up Basement Tapes, this collection is worth the listening effort — it’s full of high quality musicianship and great timely songwriting.

My Space | Itunes | Holmes website

Fans of sunshine and baroque pop would do well to check out the latest album from Armstrong. Songs About The Weather is a sweet batch of light pop gems that will bring to mind Andrew Sandoval, William Pears, or The Pearlfishers. Opening with the light synths and gentle strum of “Break It In Two”lead singer Julian Pitt sets the albums pastoral tone. Next “Sunshine Feeling” has a Byrds/Beach Boys feel that makes for a perfect summer song. But there is definitely an undercurrent of sadness across the rest of the album. Starting with the break-up song “Perhaps It’s Time We Said Goodbye,” it’s a delicate song that looks back at love lost. Much of the remaining songs take this melancholy approach. And the lovely acoustic guitar work is an ever present backdrop to these dark songs like, “Picture of The Bay,” and “Rainfall” which reminds me of summer teen romance in a past memory. Thankfully a few up tempo songs are added, and “Summer Rain” and “Drowning in Self Belief” recall those Chad & Jeremy folk tinged pop classics. If you enjoy wistful ballads and sun-kissed melodies that are brimming with emotion you’ll want to listen to Armstrong.

My Space | Kool Kat Musik