Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Power Popaholic Top 25 albums of 2022 + More

powerpopaholic

This was a difficult year, as the flow of good music increased exponentially from 2021. All those COVID themes (lockdowns, isolation, etc) continued, but artists had more time to produce more material, and make it sound even better. I could’ve easily made a top 100 this year, but I’ll stop at 50 (after my traditional 25). A lot of notables came in late this year, and many others I listened to earlier in the year didn’t stick in my head as much. Note, a few of these did not get an official review but I will do a mini-review of these. In addition, I also removed a few big major label artists (i.e. Elvis Costello) that really came through because they already get plenty of promotion, and I’ll post on that very soon.

  1. Amoeba Teen
  2. The Airport 77s
  3. Dungeon of Skeletons
  4. John Larson & The Silver Fields
  5. Dave Scarbrough
  6. Sloan
  7. Extra Arms
  8. Emperor Penguin
  9. Maple Mars
  10. The Well Wishers
  11. The Speedways
  12. Uni Boys
  13. The Happy Fits
  14. Nick Piunti
  15. Bird Streets
  16. Tamar Berk
  17. Lannie Flowers
  18. Fuzzbubble
  19. Chris Lund
  20. Eytan Mirsky
  21. Dot Dash
  22. The Cheap Cassettes
  23. Dave Cope and the Sass
  24. Seth Swirsky
  25. The Split Squad[su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#c5112c”]
  26. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard
  27. Shake Some Action
  28. Crossword Smiles
  29. More Kicks
  30. The Nervous Eaters
  31. Kai Danzberg
  32. Chris Church
  33. Tom Curless
  34. Phil Angotti
  35. Dowling Poole
  36. The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness 
  37. Young Guv
  38. The Bye Bye Blackbirds
  39. Phil Thornalley
  40. Dan Isreal
  41. Gymnasium
  42. The Mike Bell Cartell
  43. Goodman
  44. Action City
  45. Self-Cut Bangs
  46. Geoff Palmer
  47. Phil Yates & The Affiliates
  48. The Cleaners From Venus
  49. Cheap Star
  50. Speedfossil

Ho-ho-holiday music: More presents under the tree for y’all

powerpopaholic

More brand new Christmas music. Love the collaboration by Coke Belda & El Inquieto Roque here, more traditional goodies from Dropkick, and Riverboat Gamblers, We have the youth vote with The Linda Lindas, and the sexy “Hey Santa” by Cindy Lawson. The Light Music Company is Mr. Martin Newell (The Cleaners From Venus) of Essex and Ms. Rachel Love of Sussex, whose combined talents have concocted this small oeuvre of their compositions to help facilitate your enjoyment of the festive season. Before we get too dignified, The Stompers gives us what we really want for Christmas, and punk princesses The Dollyrots do the “Chipmunk Song” — OK? A last-minute addition is Kai Danzberg‘s “Last Christmas” with a different melody.

 

While not a Christmas tune, this is a rare one by Jamie Hoover (Spongetones) hosted by fellow blogger Richard Rossi. Lots of fun!

Dot Dash and The Nervous Eaters

powerpopaholic
Dot Dash

Dot Dash “Madman in the Rain”

This may be Dot Dash’s seventh album, but Madman in the Rain almost feels like a debut. Remember the thrill of late 80’s alternative rock? R.E.M, The Connells, The Windbreakers? You get that giddy feeling with the jangling opener “Forever Far Out” and its breezy follow-up “Space Junk, Satellites.” “You Gotta Have A Heart, To have a Heart Attack!”  is the melodic phrase on “Tense & Nervous”  that jumps out at you in celebration.

Additional highlights include “Airwaves,” and “Everything = Dust,” and while not everything here sticks, most songs do. Guitarist/vocalist Terry Banks and bassist Hunter Bennett are joined by drummer Danny Ingram on this terrific album. It’s both immediate and engaging. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Nervous Eaters

The Nervous Eaters “Monsters + Angels”

The Boston-based punk rock band The Nervous Eaters may be old geezers, but they play a mean mix of garage rock, with grizzled bravado and energy. I mean, Mick Jagger is 79, and Neil Young is 77, so you’re still allowed to rock the house.

While more guitar pop than punk, Monsters + Angels is a superb showcase for songwriter Steve Cataldo’s thoughts on aging and other reactions to a world in crisis. An early standout here is “Superman’s Hands” with its jangling verses and forceful hook. “Hop Sing Said” is another chugging rhythm about the city, and “Chad” is a dramatic rocker about the ingenue that got away. Overall a very, very good album without a hint of filler, even the slower “Evilynn (Zombies and Sapphires)” recalls Procol Harum at points. A terrific comeback for a band that never should have left. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Dowling Poole and Brad Marino

powerpopaholic
Dowling Poole

Dowling Poole “Refuse”

The duo known as Dowling Poole delivers selections from a few previously released EPs, and other digital sources. Willie Dowling and Jon Poole injected more politics into the subject matter for these tunes, and they remain very effective. “The Strawman” is a magnificent opener about political corruption, and in direct contrast is “Miles Checks Out” with its breezy verses and carnival-style cadence.

The band goes out of its way to avoid the typical verse-chorus structure, like on “Bright Spark” and gives us both elegance and whimsy on “Push Repeat.” Over the years the influence of XTC has waned and Sparks has increased with this band. That may be a challenge for some, so if you’re looking for simple melodies, go elsewhere. Otherwise, highly recommended.

Amazon

Brad Marino

Brad Marino “Basement Beat”

Brad Marino (The Connection) has a new obsession with The Ramones. He’s composed an entire album of music that sounds like The Ramones. The music is simple three-chord manna, under 2 minutes each, and when it works it’s a lot of fun. Songs like “Communist Creep” and “Spy for the BBI” have enough of a hook to get you boppin’ your head.

However, some songs just sound way too similar, or songs with all verse-no-chorus like “Dream Last Night.” While I appreciate the love, this only made me want to listen to Rocket To Russia. Recommended for Brad Marino fans, others may want to start with Even The Score.

Amazon

Kai Danzberg is offering VINYL for you audiophiles

powerpopaholic

One of my long-covered artists here at Power Popaholic is Kai Danzberg. He put out his latest album Satellite earlier this year and is very much a fan of the Jellyfish, ELO, and Beatles pop styles. He even got Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. (Jellyfish) to be part of it. It is still available on Bandcamp. But he is now trying to build demand for those looking to buy a 10″ vinyl.

So Kai has started this crowd-funded project. This can only be achieved if 100 people order the record. You will only be charged at the end of the project. If the amount of money was not reached by that time, no one will be charged.

Order the Vinyl Record