Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Often artists come up with seasonal discs and The Brigadier is one of them. After the dazzling full length album this past May, we have two audio goodies to listen to. “Rhymes for Rainy Days” is group of reflective and fun songs about Autumn.  Opening with “To go on Holiday” it combines a 10cc sense of jovial cheer to the rhythmic synths, where he wants to “…get away from all the British people.” It provides some autumn chuckles. “Guy Fawkes” is whimsical instrumental that leads us to the somber “The Same Old Sunday,” sung in a near whisper.  The very pastoral imagery and cool vocal of “What happened to Autumn?” combines the provincial XTC sound with Lou Reed’s “Wild Side.” The other songs are quiet reflections (“No One’s Ever Here”) and don’t have as much punch, but are highly compelling to listen to.

I love a good Christmas album and “Six Christmas Tales” with The Brigadier (Matt Williams) plays like an intimate concert in your living room. The album has just enough Ray Davies’ English humour and lounge theatrics to make this a nice holiday album. “Santa Claus” is a soft shoe ballad to the jolly one himself, full of hope and corny sentiment (the stuff that Ringo used to do so well). “Christmas Ain’t Just for Kids” has a richer instrumentation and is very much like an XTC single with Brian May guitars in the background, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to. The fun of shopping is part of “The Christmas List” with it’s cheesy lyrical schedule of shopping “to-do” items and a solid guitar solo. There’s loads of talent Mr. Williams has displayed here. Thank goodness we have original holiday music here without the same old boring holiday chestnuts (Silver Bells, anyone?). Even though it’s low key and understated, it suits the weather and makes me look forward to the holidays.

Brigadier Website | MySpace | CD Baby (Rhymes for Rainy Days) | CD Baby (6 Christmas Tales)

The Very Most opens with the upbeat, perky “Good Fight Fighting” where both the vocals float like The Beach Boys meets Belle and Sebastian – not since The Davenports or The Heavy Blinkers have I heard a such a wonderful light pop approach. The Very Most are an indie-pop band from Boise, Idaho. As an indie band with the help of a small group of musicians they carefully constructs layers upon layers of guitar, bass, drums, synths, percussion, piano, synths, bells and sound effects. Their music is dense, catchy, and has a decidedly positive, lyrical viewpoint. “Sod Off” is another sweet mid tempo synth and guitar song with Kris Doty’s sweet vocal. Another standout “Polygraph” uses modern indie pop elements, but retains the wonderful pop melody and has a great hook (even using castanets!). The follow up, “Neuron” has a slow yearning vocal, similar to the Smiths, but also great percussion work and a touch of child-like simplicity and innocence. “Bleess” is a very Colin Moulding (XTC) sounding song, with a guitar strum that hooks your brain immediately. Another gem, “Spilt, Spilt Milk” recalls those early REM ballads in a way with a sweet female harmonic chorus. “Profoundly Imperfect” has an even more REM-like tone and actually rocks the hardest on this album.  It’s hard to find a bad track here, although a few tracks wander on a bit long (“Love At Home”) – this album will grow on you in a very good way. Even the ending track “Congratulations” ends on a very positive note with a not so hidden track called “Hidden Track” that is a very Brian Wilsonesque piano tune. Fans of The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, The Heavy Blinkers will not want to miss this one.

The Very Most Website | MySpace | CD Baby

This took me by complete surprise, a plain white album cover, reveals an amazing power pop album inside. Armed with a relentless work ethic, and a natural gift for crafting pop hooks, the upstate NY songwriting partnership of Tawni Bates and Andy Weaver quickly evolved into the power-pop/rock band Skoober in early 2006. Skoober got on the map by first composing the closing theme for Adam Waltermire’s Pop Garden Radio Show. The duo, supported by various other talented musicians during live shows, spent the majority of that year recording demos and honing their skills. Boy, did it pay off here. With a sound that effortlessly mixed classic pop hooks and a modern power pop sound SKooBER really delivers the goods on this debut. Tawni Bates vocals are clear and crisp, like a modern mix of both Marykate O’Neil and Natalie Merchant in places. The opening track “Now What Do We Do?” is a stunner, Weaver’s guitar is similar to Queen, Cheap Trick and Rooney in sound and slickness. It gets even louder in “Make A Liar Out Of Me” and Tawni’s full range vocal soars above the buzzing guitar riffs. “Second Chances” sounds like a lost Cheap Trick track (“Dream Police” era). The album’s triumph here is the Jellyfish-inspired title track,”Say!” with those mind bending chords, guitar accents and an inspiring vocal performance. The Beatlesque flute, and gentle tone for “Your Heart” downshifts from the power, to a pure pop delight. The album stays in sophisticated pop on “Pinch Me” with more concentration on Tawni’s beautiful voice. It includes two bonus tracks done with acoustic guitar. Right alongside Vibeke, this album exceeds expectations and is one of the best power pop albums I’ve heard with a female vocal. Super Recommended here! Already booked for IPO in Youngstown, OH on Nov.14

SKooBER Website (streaming tracks) | MySpace | CD Baby

The Jellybricks are power pop veterans and I welcome the fourth release with open ears. Produced by Saul Zonana and three years in the making, it doesn’t disappoint. Fans of IKE, Matthew Sweet and The Tories, who enjoy a heavier produced guitar sound will enjoy it for sure. “Ruin Us” is just an example of great shimmering melodic guitar pop. The Jellybricks’ maturing songwriting skills and musical prowess continue to impress with “Broken Record” and the opener “Eyes Wide” could easily be a radio-ready single if people gave them the chance. That said, compared to The Jellybricks earlier efforts, it may be a bit too slick in places (think Rooney) without being as memorable. But some tunes are just great standouts, like “Nobody Else” which almost sounds like a Squeeze-penned TV show theme song, and the band spreads the vocal performances around toward the albums end. These last few songs sound a bit scatter shot (like “Put it Down”), but the strong ender “Up To You” has enough strong energy to hit the mark and the wonderful ballad “Heartache Begins” with flowing harmonic chorus and slow drum beat bring the effort to a fitting fade out. Overall, no tracks here are poor and this has some excellent music that should not be missed.

Jellybricks’ Site | My Space | CD Baby | Emusic | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik