Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Winter Singles, Freebies & EPs: The Nobility, Whelligan, Brad Marino, Rigbi, Bloody Norah, Ryan Allen, Jay Byham, You’re Among Friends, Rum Bar Records

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I waited long enough to restart all my singles reviews, so now it’s time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Nashville’s The Nobility has been leaking singles for nearly a year, so we have the newest share with “No Doubts” bringing to mind a western-themed 10cc, and London’s Whelligan and their single “In Our Name” is full of orchestral majesty and it also merits further study. Brad Marino fresh off his great 2021 LP, is back to banging out great power pop with “Girl, I Want You.” More appropriate to this bleak winter landscape is Rigbi’s emotional “I’m a Mess In Winter” as the sparse beginning opens up to a rich arrangement. Bloody Norah has a great reverb rock sound with harmonies on its single “Shooting Star,” so keep your eyes out for more, like the single “Joy.” Bloody damn good too.

As for EPs, the reliable Ryan Allen moves to a retro power-pop sound for I’m Not Mean, full of echoing vocals, and layered guitars; check out “Count With Me,” and the excellent “Cut Your Teeth.” Jay Byham is a Pennsylvania-based singer-songwriter with a bouncy acoustic “Tick Tock,” classic rocker “Just A Matter of Time,” and the gentle ballad “The Only One,” it’s a solid debut that deserves many repeats on your player.  As for Freebies; Cleveland, Ohio’s You’re Among Friends take a very laid back approach on this new release, “Here in the Middle of the Pack” is like a stoner Spin Doctors tune and the melodic funk of “You Know What You Want” will appeal to NRBQ fans. Rum Bar Records has a loaded sampler as a Freebie too, get a ton of bang for your buck and you’ll discover a rocker or two.

Singles




EPs and Freebies




Elvis Costello and Tom Curless

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Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello & The Imposters “The Boy Named If”

I was ready to count Elvis out after the mess that was Hey Clockface and Spanish Model– and thankfully I was wrong. This is a man with a mission, and with The Imposters, he delivers the goods. He looks back on his youth, as the title is really “The Boy Named If (And Other Children’s Stories)” and he sounds great here on the opener “Farwell, OK.” with a big call back to his early sound from the late ’70s. You will hear many callbacks to past works, and that’s part of the fun.

The tortured autobiographical title track is both melodic and biting emotion works over the haunting arrangements. Lots of highlights; “The Difference,” “Paint the Red Rose Blue,” “Magnificent Hurt,” and “Mistook Me For A Friend,” which references his big hit “Pump It Up.” Great storytelling, with jazz, funk, blues bits sprinkled all over. Many songs here require study and repeat listens to get the full story. I never put Costello in the power-pop category as an artist, but he’s had some really catchy hits in the past and this album relights that fuse. What a great comeback (IMO) and brilliant return to form.

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Tom Curless

Tom Curless “Person of Interest”

Tom Curless approaches this album differently, without supporting players and everything done himself (except the sweet mixing by Nick Bertling.) Starting with a very Foo Fighters-like “Scare Tactics” its full of crunch and angst, but things lighten up with the wonderful “Street Kids” a grooving power-pop melody full of overlapping harmonies.

The influences here are varied as “Something for Nothing” has Genesis meets The Police vibe, and the chorus is both catchy and inspiring. “Silent Partner” has a little David Gilmour, and there are plenty of great songs here; “Soar High,” “Call Time,” and “Take My Hand.” Curless always has a unique point of view and a knack for earworms, and this album has enough here to make it highly recommended.

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Ronnie D’addario and The Split Squad

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Another selection of late 2021 albums that prove the theory “better late than never”…

Ronnie D'addario

Ronnie D’addario “Egg Yolks and Artichokes”

Ronnie D’addario is a musician in the mold of Gilbert O’Sullivan and The Left Banke who’s got a sweet spot for baroque pop songs. “Out Of Sync” is a fine start with a harpsichord melody and sweet harmonies across the chorus. “Corners of The Mind” has that late 60’s DNA, with some Byrdisan guitar. That Byrds influence really comes out on “The House I Live In,” a patriotic song with lots of jangle and heart. One of my favorites here is the father-son chat set to the song “Turn It Around One Day,” and like Dana Countryman, Ronnie is a super skilled composer of classic melodic pop.

Another patriotic sing-along “For Better or For Worse,” would make a great theme for a new Schoolhouse Rock cartoon.  You can also hear the influence of  Tommy Makem(The Clancy Brothers) on the folkie “My Single Days Are Over.” At times the romantic balladry gets a bit corny (“Sweet On You”) and a few covers here feel like filler. But some songs are strong enough to compete with his earlier gems. And if you are a fan of those classic pop sounds, you don’t want to miss this LP. It deserves to be heard.

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The Split Squad

The Split Squad “Another Cinderella”

Billing themselves as “America’s least famous Supergroup!” Keith Streng (The Fleshtones), Eddie Munoz (The Plimsouls), Clem Burke (Blondie), Michael Giblin (Cherry Twister), and Josh Kantor (The Baseball Project) make big riffs and like to keep things simple. They roar out of the gate with “Hey DJ” and it feels like part Ramones and part Cheap Trick. This isn’t rocket science but simple rock and roll, and the title track “Another Cinderella” is a nice earworm of a song that keeps you hooked.

The heavier guitar tracks “Palpitation Blues” and “Bigger Than Heroin” are entertaining (if a bit over the top vocally). But the meat of the album delivers prime cut power-pop. Highlights include ” Taxi Cab”, “Showstopper” and the fun “Sinking Ship.” The band sounds like it’s having a ball here, and it’s infectious. The guest list in the studio includes faves Scott McCaughey (The Young Fresh Fellows) and Joe Adragna (The Junior League) Overall a great album that is very highly recommended.

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The Cheap Cassettes and Chris Church

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The Cheap Cassettes

The Cheap Cassettes “Ever Since Ever Since”

Seattle’s Cheap Cassettes starts the year right with a rocking release for 2022, “Ever Since Ever Since” and screams out of the gate with the catchy “She Ain’t Nothing Like You” and is followed by the riff-tastic “Malnutrition.” The band follows the blueprint laid by The Flamin’ Groovies, The Jam, and The Dwight Twilley Band.

This is an album you turn up in the car with the windows down. Lead singer-songwriter Charles Matthews is joined by Mike Isberg (Bass) and Kevin Parkhurst (Drums/Vocals) and they form a tight combo. The songs are quick and very repeatable.  They take the typical power pop riff structure and build original gems all around it. They take a cover of The Elevator’s “Your I’s Are Too Close Together” and make it their own. Most often the band hits with “Red Line Blue”, “Endless Summer,” and the massive crunch of “Wishing The Sun Away.” No filler here, even the 4 minute + “One Black Summer” flys by with its joyous ringing guitars. Very highly recommended.

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Chris Church

Chris Church “Darling Please”

Chris Church unearthed this early work and had it remastered by sonic guru Nick Bertling, with additional backing vocals by Lindsay Murray (Gretchen’s Wheel). Overall a very heavy-sounding album and the Matthew Sweet influence is unmistakable here. Church’s thick layered riffs are the dominant sound throughout, starting with the opener “History” and then the tempo speeds up a bit with “We’re Going Downtown” with its echoing grunge feel.

A big highlight here is “Pillar To Post” and the vocals and harmonies come through. The album’s songs deliver an intimate mood but the sound is very “stadium-sized,” a great example is “Never So Far Away” and “Bad Summer.” A great thing also is the consistency of Church’s sound here, with harmonies added at just the right moments. It gets a little ponderous towards the latter tracks, here “Nepenthean” is a standout with strong keyboard chords leading the way. This is a grower of an album, that gets better with multiple listens and is a welcome addition to the Chris Church catalog. Highly Recommended.

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The Easy Button and The Jimmy C

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Oh, how much was missed in 2021! As per the norm in January, I focus on bands I never got to review until it was too late, and the year was up. Luckily at least one of these bands made my top 25 list. Here’s a pair that deserve some extra attention.

 

The Easy Button

The Easy Button “Lost on Purpose”

The Easy Button, a Tampa, Florida band decided to get very productive during the lockdown last year. A massive collection of 22 songs made this initially a challenge, but the band has all the right influences (Beach Boys, Weezer, Fountains of Wayne) and sets up all the right hooks on “Fast Ones,” a power-pop description of what we all love about those quick tempo melodies. Band members Brian Jones (vocals, guitar), Rich Tiemann (guitar, vocals), Preston Jones (bass), and Cailun Seay (drums) keep the momentum moving from “Beach Singer Man” all the way to the last track “Mississippi.” The focus on nostalgia, rock and roll fantasies, and girls all play out through smart riff-driven melodies.

What drives this album above and beyond is the consistent quality of the songwriting. From the careful composition of “Up and Comer” to the heart-felt “Learning To Drive,” I could not find a single note of filler. The somber “ReRun” does have a different tone, closer to Ben Folds than the other influences, as it name-checks a ton of classic TV shows. It makes my top 25 list at #18 and is essential listening.

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Jimmy C

The Jimmy C “Ducking”

Melbourne’s Jamie Coghill (aka The Jimmy C) is a skilled rocker who plays to the cheap seats. Opening with a comical false opening (and ending), it settles into a light-hearted “Everything Is OK” as the reassuring whistle helps along with the bouncy rhythm. Coghill doesn’t stick to a specific style, but classic rock influences are easy to spot. “Dead Men Don’t Tango” is a sweet surf guitar instrumental, and psyche-folk ballad “The Holy Lie” has a powerful guitar solo akin to Jimmy Page. The random nature of the styles are part of the fun here, as some songs are quick mood snippets (“Blathering Heights”), pure power-pop (“Poor Boy”), or elegant folk-rock (“Rigmarole.”)

Some tunes are really funny, I mean on “Tommy Two-Balls-Minus-One” he finds a rhyme for “testicle,” while the fantastic instrumentation on “Someone Else’s Crown” and “Can’t Face The Girls” make the songs irresistible and repeatable. Created during the pandemic, Coghill’s impatience mirrors and entertains his audience. Highly Recommended.

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