Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Happy Record Store Day!

powerpopaholic

Saturday, April 18 marks the second annual “Record Store Day” at independent record stores throughout the US and the rest of the world, a day that retailers hope will draw loyal and new customers to celebrate the indie record store and all that it has to offer. Vendor sales are all over the place — so check them out.

Kool Kat Musik

  • 10% off our entire Power Pop/Alt Country Online Store CD catalog (Does NOT include April 20 New Releases)
  • 10% discount on vinyl, magazines, and DVDs
  • 25% off our entire “Used CD” inventory

CD Baby

The $5 Sale – Buy 3 of these, and they become $5 each. Normally these albums sell for full price if you buy them alone. But once you have at least three different “$5 specials” in your shopping cart at the same time, you will see their price drop to just $5 each. They did this so you could afford to experiment. Have fun! Get as many as you can!

Not Lame Recordings

Despite the leftover snow in Fort Collins, Colorado — there are 50+ new CDs on the site. Check it out! The favorites are on the home page, the home of power pop music distribution.

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

The Honeydogs "Sunshine Committee"

powerpopaholic

With all the bad news out there, it’s good to see some optimism from Adam Levy and his band The Honeydogs with their new mini-album, “Sunshine Committee.” While it’s not full of sugar, it does offer a less gloomy outlook than the previous effort “Amygdala.” Bassist Trent Norton contributes some great baselines to the opening title track and it works in tandem with Levy’s guitar. Add to this the rich horn section comprised of new members Matt Darling and Steven Kung that bring the group back to it’s rootsy sound. “Fiber Optic Paramour” is a cool story about how an online romance fails to fulfill happiness. The band channels Revolver-era Beatles perfectly on “Balaclava” and we get pretty funky a la Lenny Kravitz or Sly Stone on the laid back “Stash.” There are enough influences here to spread things around and Levy does a great job arranging the material with the assistance of his crew and if you want even more Levy you can check out his kids album Bunny Clogs on e-music. While not the revelation of “10,000 Years,” this album sort of falls short of a full length and is too long for an EP — either way it’s welcome news for pop fans.

My Space | Honeydogs site | Not Lame| Kool Kat Musik

Sunshine Committee – The Honey…
power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.

Valley Lodge "Semester at Sea"

powerpopaholic

Valley Lodge is the rock machine comprised of singer/guitar player, and world-class entertainer Dave Hill (Sons of Elvis, Uptown Sinclair, Cobra Verde); guitar player/singer John Kimbrough (Walt Mink), bass player/singer Phil Costello (Tragedy, Satanicide, Stynx, Children of the Unicorn), and drummer Rob Pfeiffer (Sense Field). In 2005, the debut album was one of the best power pop albums ever (in most critics top ten that year). Well the wait for a follow up is over and it kicks major butt. A sonic guitar attack worthy of Matthew Sweet opens up the album with “Break Your Heart” and the singalong chorus is instant ear candy. The album takes lots of late 70’s music cues, like “The Door” is a strutting combination of Slade, Sweet and Gary Glitter. The album gives no quarter as the sound gets smarter and the guitar work is just miles above other bands on tracks like “Baby, It’s A Shame” and “Barricade”. The energy here is similar to Sloan and Supergrass, and the Gene Simmons-like cocky attitude translates well to tracks like “If You Love Me” – where he tells his woman “if you love me come on down…” And the cover of Bob Welch’s hit “Sentimental Lady” is the only time the band slows down a bit, if you don’t count the acoustic ender “Lose Your Man” which sounds tacked on. But this does not take away from the amazing performances through most of the album. Although I’ve gushed on about Kimbrough and Hills’ guitar godliness, it’s also the strong songwriting and arrangements on every single tune that deserve equal tribute. Yes, power pop fans — this is a “must get” album.

My Space | CD Baby | Valley Lodge Music | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

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

Fastball "Little White Lies"

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Fastball was formed in 1994 by native Texans Joey Shuffield and Miles Zuniga along with So-Cal transplant Tony Scalzo. After “The Way” was released in 1998, Fastball moved to the big time and has been putting out quality albums ever since. After a four year break, Little White Lies is released today. One thing the band has kept up is the knack for coming up with great hooks that don’t leave your head. “All I Was Looking For Was You” is a textbook example of melodic rock with immediately accessible riffs and hand claps. The sweet harmonies are as tight as ever on “Always/Never” and showcases the bands mellower side. Another standout “The Malcontent (The Modern World)” is very reminiscent of “The Way” in song structure, and the lyrics are a scathing comment on the rock star life. The other tracks here are also fully engaging, including the title track “Little White Lies” and the European flavored “Angelie.” My favorite track here is the awesome instrumentation and arrangements on “Mono to Stereo” guaranteed to get your head moving to the beat. The approaches slightly change from track to track and keep things moving well, “She’s Got the Rain” is another gem, lead with a great piano rhythm. The band loosens up even more as the album moves forward, for example the part Stones, part Dylan-like “We’ll Always Have Paris” is rousing bar room guitar romp, with some nice harmony accents. This is a refreshing release that fans of Fastball will cherish, as well as newer fans that aren’t familiar with them. So yes, this is a highly enjoyable and recommended addition to your ipod playlist.

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

The Office "Mecca" FREE ALBUM DOWNLOAD

powerpopaholic 6 Comments

I’ve always been a fans of Chicago’s Office and it’s catchy indie pop sound. Band leader Scott Mason recently gave us pop fans a gift — their new album as a free download. And oh yes, it well worth the effort. Mecca has a steady rhythm and swaggering guitar riffs blended with a thick synth gloss. I like to think of them as Sparks meets The Shins. The songs start off on the Queen influenced “Sticky Dew” with a great chorus and it just gets better from there. You can’t beat the chiming genius of “Enter Me, Exit You,” where melodic multi tracking bliss and a big beat are just awesome ear candy. In Scott’s Blog he gives us the raw tracks on how he built this album’s signature song. This is a fascinating listen with all the parts broken out (so you musicians take note). The other songs are all really good too, (no filler here) and at this price I will not complain. This is a great follow up to the sound of “Q&A” from a few years ago, and Mason’s band just gets better the more I hear it. Fans of Queen, 10cc and  The Minus Five will simply go spastic over this manna from The Office. You have no reason NOT to get this one.

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