Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Brent Windler and Scott Warren

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Brent Windler

Brent Windler “New Morning Howl”

Kansas City musician Brent Windler (Sons of Great Dane) explores an expansive sound in his new solo album. With a nod to alt-country influences and Brian Wilson-styled harmonies, this is an atmospheric slice of Americana that sounds great. Most impressive is the opener “Around The Bend,” a shimmering melody that immediately sticks to your head, and it’s the album’s shining high point. The follow-up “My Josephine” is a sweet mid-tempo ballad that features echoing slide guitar notes across elegant strings that build to a dense wall-of-sound coda. Brent gets even more intimate with cascading harmonies over acoustics on “Spanish Jasmine.” And that expansive lushness is also shown on the instrumental “Can You Sleep Tonight Under Lightning Bug Skies.”

The strings, harmonies, and atmospheric textures on the title track, and a few others make for pleasant listening, but the lack of hooks on the album’s second half is concerning. A comparison to the Beach Boys Sunflower-era is the strumming majesty of “Empathy and Those Forgotten Victories” and the final song “In My Daze” puts it all together with another epic track. Overall enough here to get a high recommendation. Listen with nice noise-canceling headphones for the best results.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik | Goldstar Recordings (Bandwear)

Scott Warren

Scott Warren “Shadow Bands”

Is that Colorado singer-songwriter Scott Warren or is it Liam Gallagher? Adding a touch of Beatle-influenced psychedelia, the opener “Press Reset On The World” blends a little “I Am The Walrus,” a little Oasis strut, and thickly layered rhythm section into a bold statement that really rocks. Warren is joined by Brian Young and Mark Crozer (The Jesus and Mary Chain) who support Scott’s perfectly fuzzy riffs. The upbeat “Left Out Of The Joke” has an almost glam feel, with the chugging riff and laid-back vibe.

Warren slows the pace on “Bury It Down” about the pain of Covid isolation, “I don’t look so bad, but I feel run down” with a sunny refrain, it’s another gem. The mood gradually sours even more on “Regret” punctuated by smooth guitar riffs. And those riffs take the lead on “Chemical Trails” with a trippy lyric and psych-pop rhythm. “In The Devil’s Key” slowly marches with menace and brilliantly grooves along with dissonant chords. The ballads are contemplative and emotional, “She Walked Away From It” being the better example. No real duds here, even the acoustic instrumental “Winter Spring” is like peeling back an onion. Overall, a terrific album that gets better with each listen. It makes my top ten list for 2021. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

August Singles: Ex-Norwegian, Ezrat, The Dowling Poole, Bagful of Beez, Tommy Lorente, Mo Troper, I Was King

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Summer is slowly fading, but we have plenty of good music. Ex-Norwegian is back with an eclectic single “Thot Patrol” which combines so many sounds, it defies categorization. Ezrat presents a light indie-pop that floats on by a bed of synths. The Dowling Poole lays it all down with a bombastic rocker backed by lush orchestral strings about fiddling through the apocalypse. Getting tripper is the melodic stylings of Bagful of Bees “Syco” which brings to mind XTC and I’ll be happy to hear the rest of this LP soon. French rocker Tommy Lorente finds a sweet guitar hook in the sparse reggae beat on “A Mes Yeux.” Mo Troper still has some acoustic demos from Natural Beauty and it sounds great, so check it out. We started with an “Ex,” so let’s end with a real Norwegian band I Was A King, who sounds damn good with those jangling pop hooks, hear “happy.”

Bleu and Pseudonym

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Bleu

Bleu “Six Tape”

Bleu McAuley returns with another much-anticipated studio album. Of course, Bleu remains inspired by ELO, Prince, Dire Straits, and Carl Carlton(!) but ever since 2013’s “To Hell With You,” he’s gravitated more towards hip hop and disco influences than power pop. That mentioned, the album is a full on mash-up of styles, and Bleu approaches it with the same enthusiasm and skilled production work as past albums.

The fun begins with the single “I Wanna Write You a Symphony,” a great self-deprecating ballad that goes down a winding musical path. “A Crazy Life” is bold hip-hop-influenced tune with a deep beat and a catchy chorus. But where is the power pop? Well, Bleu can still rock better than most with the fantastic “Baby By Your Side” guaranteed to give goosebumps with its ELO-styled bridge. Also the enthusiastic “Love You So” blends old and new pop to great effect.

Included is the acoustic gem “Kid Someday” and “Snakes” piano melody channels Randy Newman. Not everything here works, but enough does to merit highly recommended status. One thing Bleu does well, he offers lots of bonuses and collectibles for fans, but this is a pricey album at $27, so newcomers may want to start with earlier efforts.

Bandcamp

Pseudonym

Pseudonym “Before The Monsters Came”

San Franciscan Paul Desjarlais continues his journey of trippy pop with Pseudonym. While it starts slowly, Pseudonym ramps up and crafts a psych-pop gem comparable with Elephant 6 bands, like Olivia Tremor Control. Recorded during the pandemic lockdown, Paul is helped by a crew known by their pseudonyms; Cliff Notes, Waylan Solo, Gil Gulible, and Dr. Rhythm.

“Anonymous Sources” weaves vocal harmonies and buzzing guitar riffs, across a layered chorus. “Tell Me” is another brilliant tune about confiding in losing out. While it gets trippy beats on “Shadows in the Rain,” Paul is at his best when the hooks take hold like on “Astronaut” where the dry lyric “having a space heater doesn’t make you an astronaut” sticks in your brain. The textures on “Stare Down” and “Thought you would know” are both fuzzier than a peach and work well with the compositions. Overall, a highly recommended album, that’s also at a “name-your-price” point. So get it now!

Bandcamp

Smash Palace and Geoff Palmer

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Smash Palace

Smash Palace “21”

The Butler brothers Stephen and Brian are back for “21” and once again it’s a stellar example of pop musicianship. With the aid of Cliff Hillis (Starbelly), David Uosikkinen (The Hooters), Greg Maragos (Quickstep John), and Wally Smith, they help give the band a fresh, crisp sound.

“Then She Disappeared” opens with tight harmonies and an easy-going chorus with a fantastic baseline leading the way. The mid-tempo rocker “Travel Into Light” brings to mind classic CSN with its memorable hook and soulful guitar break. The songs are allowed to grow organically, so less of the quick three-minute pop gems that the band is famous for, although the layered “Dart in My Heart” with its slide guitar flourishes do just fine. The band still mines from the Beatles/Kinks book of influences as the dream-like “Upside Down World” and “Mr. Maybe” are pure delights. The richer, lush rock sound is part of “Enjoy The View,” a well-written call to seize the day while you can. Overall a highly recommended album by a veteran band that is similar to expensive whiskey. Smooth and satisfying.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Geoff Palmer

Geoff Palmer “Charts & Graphs”

Geoff Palmer (The Connection) continues his evolution after the fantastic Pulling Out All The Stops. The punk-pop of “Many More Drugs” and “Don’t Be” are fun tunes with a wry sense of humor akin to Bowling For Soup or Green Day. Geoff carves out an even better track with “This Monkey,” a catchy gem that seems both pensive and apprehensive simultaneously.  “Tomorrow” is a more reflective tune, that looks back on a wild youth, and it’s another winner.

After a brief respite of mid-tempo rockers, it bounces to the catchy “Jammed Up” which has a terrific harmonic-guitar break midway through. The speedy tempo returns on the foibles of being a musician on “A Hard Day’s Life” which riffs on Dylan lyrically (“The answer ain’t blowin’ in the wind”) and the Western-themed plea “What Would Paul Westerberg Do?” The entire album breezes by and deserves multiple spins to really appreciate. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Sorrows and Lucas Aaron

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The Sorrows

Sorrows “Love Too Late …the real album”

Sorrows were formed by guitarist and singer Arthur Alexander in 1977  after the breakup of his influential power pop band The Poppees. With the initial excitement over their debut ‘Teenage Heartbreak‘ (later re-released in 2010 as ‘Bad Times Good Times‘) the band expected to pick up momentum on their sophomore LP.  But working with famed producer Shel Talmy (The Who, The Kinks) proved to be a disaster. After four decades and a protracted legal battle, the original band members Alexander, Joey Cola, and Ricky Street won the right to release their “real” version of ‘Love Too Late.’

With modern mastering, the sound is truly amazing on the opener “Christabelle,” with sharp guitar riffs chopping away. The vocals are wonderfully realized with a perfect pop bounce to each verse. The title track is the party song it deserves to be, with some nice bass and drum work (Thanks Ricky!) It also keeps you on your toes with “Crying Time,” a deceptively charming song with a reggae beat that takes off at the bridge. Each song here resonates, and some epic moments just transcend like “Breaking My Heart (Over You).” Even a simple cover of The Kinks “Tired Of Waiting For You” is made unique through its slow build and strong harmonies. This is a pure lost classic that’s been given new life and should not be missed by power pop fans, young and old. Makes my top ten of 2021 this year! Super duper highly recommended.

Amazon | Big Stir Records

Thanks to Big Stir Records, we have a full documentary about the band and the album.

The Peppermint Kicks

Lucas Aaron “Domino”

California psych-pop musician Luke Aaron delivers a fully fleshed-out debut, that owes much to late ’60s psychedelics and garage rockers. Similar to compatriots Diamond Hands, Lucas takes his love of that style and makes it his own, although it takes a little bit to get used to his nasal vocal performance. Instrumentally, he’s spot on with the opener “8th & Downtown” and “Ghost” recalls early Dylan and the Lemon Pipers. The jangle is heavy on “Tomorrow’s Yesterday” with a rhythm straight outta the Beatles “She’s Got A Ticket Ride.”

All good, but not as big an impression until midway through the LP, Lucas adopts a Lou Reed-like cool on “Hanging Around Again.”  From this point, he’s firing on all cylinders, and gems like “Toy” and the blues-influenced “Walking” are simply great. Lucas also does a Lennonesque turn on the closer “Need Some Love.” Overall a very good debut, especially in the second half. Check it out.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik