Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Looking toward 2022

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We’ve got a lot of great music to look forward to in 2022. The group Walcot was formed in Chicago several years back and band leader Asher George is now based in Charlotte, NC. The debut single “Dreamin’ Away” is from the upcoming Songs for the Disenfranchised EP. The timeless hook draws you into its easy-going melody.

Maple Mars teases us with “Goodbye California” an upcoming single from the new 2022 album coming from Big Stir Records.

Speaking of Big Stir — they are now the dominant label in this genre, and they offer a huge FREE download of music from this past year in a worthy retrospective.

Rum Bar Records also is giving us a preview of 2022 with The Dirty Truckers. The blue-collar rockers return to the bar for another round with their highly anticipated brand new full-length in 2022. But here is a three-shot sampler EP.

Any way you look at it 2022 looks to be an even bigger year for power pop and rock n’ roll.

Lovebreakers, Ryan Hamilton, The Armoires

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Lovebreakers “Primary Colours”

The debut album of Lovebreakers is a rare positive social commentary on 2021, and its opener “Eye Roller” is a brilliant slice of Brit-pop. Like a more power-pop version of Oasis, this Birmingham, UK group has a lot going for it. Lead singer/guitarist Jack Perry wrote “Family Man” written about one of his best friends who just started his own family. Overall a lot of fun, danceable rock like “I Will Love Life” and the title track are perfect examples of this optimistic vibe. While it could’ve had more stylistic variety, this is an above-average debut. Highly Recommended.

Apple Music

Ryan Hamilton

Ryan Hamilton “1221”

I was a bit subdued when I heard the first song here was a cover of The Spin Doctors “How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me)?”  Fortunately, Ryan goes back to the power-pop approach of his debut, with lots of fine originals like “Deja Vu I Love You” and “Satellite.” The catchy verses of “Shots Fired” and “Big Man” will stick in your head, and his bittersweet look at the younger generation with “Babies” is just as memorable. Nearly every song hits the mark and the LP will get consideration for the top ten list for sure. Super Highly Recommended.

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The Armoires

The Armoires “Incognito”

The Armoires are a collective of musicians anchored by the duo of Christina Bulbenko and Rex Broome. And this album was the most challenging album I’ve had the pleasure to listen to all year. It started as a “secret project” where the band released a series of singles under fictitious band names but culminated as an 18 track juggernaut. The diverse direction of styles and covers made this an unexpected joy to dig into.

The compelling cover of John Cale’s “Paris 1919,”  sounds like a combination of The Move and ABBA. The quirky nature of “I Say We Take Off And Nuke The Site From Orbit” is a prog melody with nice violin touches, and then it becomes a country hoedown on “Bagfoot Run,” before the epic folk ballad “Homebound” describes the need to move. A huge standout is 20/20’s cover “The Night I Heard a Scream” with killer harmonies akin to Fleetwood Mac. But after the covers, the originals are just as compelling. “Ohma, Bring Your Light Into This Place,” “Magenta Moon,” and “Great Distances” are the real gems here. Normally several covers would disqualify an album from reaching my top ten, but there are always exceptions. This is one of them. Super Highly Recommended.

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Power Pop Christmas Party continues: The Poppermost, Dan Markell, The Easy Button, Jack Rugan

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There is nothing better than relaxing by the fireplace with some Christmas tunes… and it looks like The Poppermost left us a big FREEBIE gift under the tree! Dan Markell keeps the spirit festive, reminds me of Andrew Gold a bit. The Easy Button is a new discovery (full LP review next week) but here is the Christmas EP. Finally, as the holiday fades, I love to listen to original instrumentals by Jack Rugan. Merry Christmas everyone.

Más Power Pop español: Octubre, Coke Belda, Javier Miramontes, The Starkwells, George Harrison

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Since my last Spanish power pop post, a few notable new releases still needed to be highlighted. Octubre from Madrid, Spain has been a local favorite, and a few called it the best pop album of the year, and the opening track “Todo se lo lleva el viento” (translates to “Everything is carried away by the wind”) compares well to Teenage Fanclub. The grand jangle of “No sé qué hacer” is another standout track with plenty more. The sound is just mesmerizing! Get on Amazon

Coke Belda (a long-time fave here) is back with a tribute album to the legendary Beatlesque band Los Brincos. The four-piece Spanish rock band from the 1960s was often compared with The Fab Four, and Belda takes the classic sound and updates it with modern studio polish. Fans of the classic power pop style will simply love it. Don’t miss it! Get on Amazon

Javier Miramontes (aka Howdy) and his previous band, The Starkwells pay tribute to Big Star here with an original and a cover.

Not Spanish, but in case you missed it… a Celeb-filled “My Sweet Lord” video in celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Harrison‘s classic solo album, All Things Must Pass. 

 

It’s Karma It’s Cool and The Laissez Fairs

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It's Karma It's Cool

It’s Karma It’s Cool “Homesick for our Future Destinations”

James Styring and his Lincoln, UK band take on a more subdued approach with their latest album. The low-key instrumental “Homesick” leads to “All Branches Break In Time,” a slow-building song with a jangling atmosphere and guitar dramatics at its peak. Unlike past work, the atmosphere is key as opposed to melody, and a song like “Wild Fire Flames,” is a good example, with its complex rhythm. The spacey “Absent Transient” is another highlight with echoing textures and riffs.

Overall it incorporates more psych-pop and prog influences than past works. That’s not to say the singles don’t stand out. “She Slept With The Radio On” is fantastic, and the big guitar hooks of “Coffee Cup Circles” are true highlights. A good combination of the melodic and atmospheric is “Guest on a TV Talk Show,” and most of the songs go past the four-minute mark, so you will need a few spins to appreciate this. A very good album that deserves to be heard.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Laissez Fairs

The Laissez Fairs “Curiosity Killed The Laissez Fairs”

God bless John Fallon and his band of electric acid dandies!  The retro-fuzzed guitars and Farfisa organs recall the golden age of late 60s psych-pop mixed with the Paisley Underground of the mid-80s across 11 tracks. The musical structure of each song is densely composed, sometimes crowding out the vocals — but the spirit and skill of these musicians cannot be denied. Listening to the opener “Image” and Joe Lawless guitar jangle is all you need to get a perfect mashup of The Byrds, Stones, and The Who.

“Sunshine Tuff” is a garage-laden mod rocker loaded with the kitchen sink, and “Tell You What It Means” is very much like The Small Faces. “Somewhere Man” and “Two Sides of The Same Coin” are also highlighted with bits of The Move and The Rain Parade in their DNA.  Almost every song hits its mark, with the album’s end track “Upside Downer” a stoner meditation. Turn off the lights and stare at some blacklight posters while listening to this. Highly Recommended.

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