Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic Archives - Page 338 of 358

The Incredible Vickers Brothers "Gallimaufry"

May 30, 2008July 7, 2024 powerpopaholic

“Gallimaufry” is defined by the dictionary as “a hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.” This is an odd assortment of twee pop gems from Bob Vickers produced by fellow Orange Peels alum Allen Clapp. The other Vickers brother, Rob is the alter ego of Bob, but hey I won’t frown on this case of schizophrenia as long as it delivers music like this. The title sure is appropriate here, as it mixes all those great power pop influences in a stew that gives you totally unique sound. The opener “Blues For Frankie Valli” is a sweet bluegrass ballad in tribute to the legend. “What She Does” is a jangle and twang guitar twister of a pop song, with a smooth echoed chorus. “Things Slowly Change” is the best Harry Nilsson track he never wrote. Next comes “We’re Gonna Get Along Fine” – a Dylanesque vocal and guitar strum lead this wonderful track, and of course, a harmonica joins in. “English Rose” and “Top of The Stairs” are very similar to the Orange Peels work, with great guitar jangle and hummable hooks. Another gem is the piano ballad “Magic Like That” which is an awesome mix of Brian Wilson and Randy Newman-like lyrics. The end track “Record Collection Blues” is a cute Vaudeville ukulele which lists Vickers entire music library – all on an old mono Victrola. The melange of melodies are performed and engineered to perfection. No bad tracks here – if you think you’ve heard it all, get The Vickers Bros. and listen with headphones! Only at Kool Kat Musik and Parasol so far.

Amazon

The Brigadier "The Rise and Fall of Responsibility"

May 29, 2008December 4, 2024 powerpopaholic

Matt (The Brigadier) Williams is sure to garner attention this year. His latest, “The Rise and Fall…” is a highly addictive and intelligent pop album. The narrative pop style is rooted in the work of McCartney and Ray Davies, but with soft gentle vocals closer in sound to Sean O’Hagen of The High Llamas. If you enjoy a burst of pop creativity, you’ll flip over the opening track “Growing Up is Hard to Do Part 1” which compares favorably to Bryan Scary. It shoots out a bouncy beat and handclaps to the lyric “One day I’m playin‘ with computer games… watchin‘ your youth go up in flames, so do you say no surrender?” This is an excellent beginning and leads to the dream-like mid tempo love song “When Will I be with You” which evokes a mix of Roger Waters and Aztec Camera with acoustic guitar strum and piano. “The Language of Love” is quirky piano number with a breathy vocal and rich chorus. The theatrical bend to the album not only compares well with Bryan Scary piano work, but also Genesis’ Steve Hackett guitar arrangements. The songs flow easily from the slow heavy organ depression of “Envy” to the music hall style of “Une Soiree” — it’s mesmerizing and the entire album will demand repeat listens. The utterly amazing “This, is why…” has a catchy hook, with a 70s era style similar to early Elton John. “The Box in the back of My Mind” gets in touch with it’s inner Raspberries and is my favorite track. The ending “Growing Up is Hard To Do Part 2” has a Kinks meets Beach Boys vibe. Don’t miss this brilliant album, as I will now want to examine The Brigadier’s past albums. It makes my top ten list too – lots of great pop this year!

The Brigadier site | My Space | CD Baby

The Krayolas "La Conquistadora"

May 25, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

At the beginning of the year I reviewed The Krayola comeback album “Best Riffs Only”. A excellent album in it’s own right, Hector Saldana and the group break away from the Beatles mold a bit in this new album. The opening track “Alex” reminds us that The Krayolas are still Tex-Mex version of The Spongetones, with the catchy chorus and clean guitar riffs. The title track has elements of Dire Straits and The Kinks running through it. “We’ve got a Secret” is another great song that resembles a classic Dave Clark Five track with the ever present harmonica accents. There is more experimenting here too, like “Yakety Song” takes on a bar room blues tone and “Nolan Street Bridge” sounds like a Joe Jackson mid-tempo number. The ballads here do a great job too, like on “Deceiver” with it’s creeping rhythm and smooth vocal harmonies. The classic Krayolas’ song “Little Fox” is here sung in Spanish with the reliable Augie Meyers on Farfisa organ and accordion. Even the secondary tracks here like “Statue Of Love” and “What You Gonna Do For Love” shine with a sparkling pop effort and quality. The album exceeds expectations by branching out it’s sound and style, without forgetting those guitar hooks and melodies that fans have come to enjoy. The album has also gotten rave reviews from rock critic, Dave Marsh on his Sirius radio show. Expect more raves from Texas Monthly and Harper’s magazine. But overall this is a most worthy addition to your music collection and I give it high marks and a nod to the top ten of 2008. Viva los Krayolas!

My Space | Emusic | Itunes | Kool Kat Musik

Listen to “La Conquistadora“

Garfield’s Birthday "Let Them Eat Cake"

May 19, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

Garfield’s Birthday has nothing to do with a fat orange cat, but a prime example of british power pop. The album “Let Them Eat Cake” starts with the excellent single “Molly’s Eyes” complete with reverb and melodic hooks that remind me of early Teenage Fanclub with Belle and Sebastian doing vocals. The group was formed by brothers Shane and Simon Felton, who have slowly been gaining acclaim over the years from Wales to Liverpool. The pop stylings also recall a bit of The Shoes and The Cosmic Rough Riders. The excellent “Take A Ride” is a nice Hollies-styled tune updated for the times. This is followed by the Byrds-Beatles combo of “We Know Your Name.” Lots of classic Rickenbacker guitar sounds surround this release. “You Should Know Better By Now” has lovely gentle harmonies of the boys that compare nicely to The Everly Brothers. Every track here is pretty good and the album picks up tempo at the end with the funky psyche-pop of “Sugar Pop.” A wonderful album any way you slice it.

Garfield’s Birthday web site | My Space | Kool Kat Musik

Craig Marshall "Point of View"

May 19, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

Austin, TX singer/songwriter Craig Marshall has put forth his third album “Point of View” and it’s a pure delight to those who like pop similar to Marshall Crenshaw, Richard X. Heyman or P. Hux. Marshall’s deep perspective on life and melodic gifts can best compare him to Badfinger’s late Pete Ham. Carefully arranged songs with a dynamic chorus are par for the course here and the opener “Difficult” is a good example. Then the next track,” I Know What it’s Like” is a bouncy Beatlesque melody with a dynamic catchy chorus and beautiful middle break. Pop Culture Press has called Craig, “Austin’s best-kept power pop secret, and has been quietly releasing records of true melodic grandeur in recent years.” The adult themes match the achingly poignant melody in the ballad “Paper Cut” and the jangle-tambourine goodness of “Radio Girl” are exactly what you expect and can enjoy from this album. Some songs add blissful layered harmonies like in “When You Come Back Down” or mine the Mersey-beat guitar play of “One Face in The Crowd” to perfection. With all these great songs it’s easy to recommend this album, or even give his past albums a second listen.

Craig’s web site | My Space | CDBaby | Not Lame