Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

The Golden Needles, Rob Fetters and John Dunbar

powerpopaholic
The Gold Needles

The Gold Needles “What’s Tomorrow Ever Done for You?”

UK band The Gold Needles gets ambitious with this new release. The title track is a fantastic start with its earworm chorus and country rhythm. The band’s sound is akin to The Grass Roots, Sweet and late-era Moody Blues updated to today’s era. “I Get The Pressure” is another gem with its neat bassline and spacey synths. The band takes the Hollies “Have You Ever Loved Somebody?” and owns it, nearly outdoing the original. The band proves its rock creds with “Dead Man’s Hand” and “Susie Is Sorted (She Doesn’t Care).” While the chugging rocker “Billy Liar” references the classic British flick, I was really impressed with “Realm Of The Black Dog,” an awesome psych-pop gem about depression that sinks into your soul. Overall, not a single note of filler here and highly recommended. Don’t miss it!

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Rob Fetters

Rob Fetters “Ship Shake”

Rob Fetters is an immense talent and although it came out last year, it’s always a welcome addition to your playlist. “Turn This Ship Around” is all about changing your destiny and making your own luck. It’s a great message and richly delivered – very much in the Tom Petty mode. “Artichoke” is another impressive song, with its sweeping synth and guitar lines that bring to mind late-era Genesis. From here Fetters gets a little esoteric on songs like “Prophets” and “Me & Eve.” But there is the kick-ass single “Can’t Take It Back” with a riff that grabs you right away. You also get weirdness with “Dog Is God” and a few near misses like the self-pitying “Nobody Now.” Greatness pokes through again with “Queer Year,” likely the best song about gay acceptance I’ve heard. Definitely check this album out, it deserves to be heard.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

John Dunbar

John Dunbar “Oh Wellness”

Another late 2020 album I missed that deserves your attention. Dunbar’s music has evolved over the years to become more melodic and catchy, and Oh Wellness does a great job of mixing his cynical style with a simple hook. “Born To Bore” is a sweet mid-tempo gem all about the clueless friend who just won’t shut up. Dunbar has several personal irritants set to music, like the lack of appreciation for punctuality on “The Problem With Being On Time” and job insecurity on “Easy to Replace.” The songwriting is great throughout, and John keeps these songs simple and to the point. Subjects like dating and relationships are all part of “The Girl Who’s Heard It All Before” and the excellent gem, “A Sentimental Heart And A Skeptical Mind” and it makes this LP a great listen. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness and Aaron Lee Tasjan

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The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness

The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness “Songs From Another Life”

Andrew Taylor has been doubling his output since this past summer, not only with his main band Dropkick, but his side project with Gonzalo Marcos aka The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness. Like the highly-rated debut, this new BWPN album is a continuation of catchy jangle-filled themes. It’s loaded with sticky pop hooks akin to Teenage Fanclub.

Opening with “I Don’t Mind” is a great start with a strong flowing tempo that ends just as you get into a groove, but even better is the Byrdsian guitar signature in “Play (On My Mind).” Each song is a gem, but some of my favorites include the sweet look back on “Rose Tinted Glass,” “Summer,” and “Lethargy.” Although many of the songs share a similar tempo (my only pet peeve here) there is enough distinction to prevent them from blending together.  Highly Recommended and a contender for my top 10 in 2021 list.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Aaron Lee Tasjan

Aaron Lee Tasjan “Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!”

Nashville singer-songwriter Aaron Lee Tasjan is hard to pin down, and he likes it that way. “Sunday Women” is a deceptively simple song, a phrase repeated over and over, like a daydream. Then “Computer of Love” establishes an easy-going feeling before it launches into the catchy chorus “My little avatar/I’ll never know who you really are” all about casual dating and friendships on the internet. Echoes of Tom Petty are on “Up All Night” and Tasjan’s guitar actually emulates the sound of synths on “Don’t Overthink It.”

“Another Lonely Day” and “Feminine Walk” in some ways remind me of Bleu McAuley, with its acoustic bounce, and a multi-harmonic vocal. The melodic qualities and songwriting are top-notch. “Now You Know” is a confessional that just draws you in with just a vocal and bass line. A superb album that’s very inviting, and reveals more with every listen. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Ryan Allen and Teen Creeps

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Emperor Penguin

Ryan Allen “What A Rip!”

Detroit’s Ryan Allen is back without his band Extra Arms, and his power-pop tendencies are more accentuated here. Starting with “Get To The Gig” it’s a rocking good time akin to The Velvet Crush and Sloan. “Already Gone” keeps the energy flowing with a rock and blues approach and “Feeling You Feeling Me” eases into a jangling rhythm, and those late sixties influences start to leak in. “On My Mind” is the catchy follow-up with an infectious hook that gets you right away and before you know it we are at the halfway mark.

Next, we have a slower tempo palette cleanser, “Election Night” which is highlighted with acoustic and electric overlapping leads. His love of ’70s rock (“VTO”) and late-era Beatles (“Only Son”) are also evident in the baroque “Shannon Cake” which has lots of sweet backing harmonies, minor chords, and quirky poetic lyrics. Although Ryan tries several styles, each song is carefully constructed. Overall a lot of stuff to love here, and that makes it a highly recommended album.

Amazon

Emperor Penguin

Teen Creeps “Forever”

Belgian trio Teen Creeps channel the late ’90s grunge and indie-rock effectively. Fans of Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, and Pavement will enjoy the pleasing fuzzy guitar textures here.  “Seeing Shapes” starts us off with a strong lead and percussive combination. The vocals are buried under this, but the energy is effective. “Signal Dream” is a little more laidback, with a compelling chorus.

While there are requisite punk tunes (“Fall Out” and “Tourist”) it doesn’t take over the album, and the grungy drones of “Brothers” are more commonly heard. “Hideaway” brings to mind The Replacements, and “Toughen Up” combines the mellow and adds in a strong chorus to make it a highlight. The title track follows a similar formula, making this an album that deserves to be heard.

Amazon

Emperor Penguin, The Vapour Trails and The Hard Way

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Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin “Corporation Pop!”

While this collection was created and released over the months of 2020, it’s a great selection of music to have complete in one album. “Talk To Me” the bouncy pop single (with Orbis Max) has echoes of the late ’80s in the rhythm. Another great collaboration is “Tuesday’s World” with the queen of power pop Lisa Mychols, featuring interwoven male-female harmonies in each verse. They bump up the tempo on the Star Trek inspired “Planet of Love.”

Emperor Penguin has proven to be a formidable talent, with a stylistic bend towards the ’60s psych-pop in many cases, like the jangling “Maserati” or the gentle harmonies in the wonderfully melodic “Hell in a Handcart.” Other than a lite synth track at the end, there isn’t a note of filler here and it’s a highly recommended album.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Vapour Trails

The Vapour Trails “Underneath Tomorrow” EP

Aberdeen-based psych-pop band The Vapour Trails are a talented group of musicians whose style emulates The Byrds, The Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield. The first few songs of this EP are loaded with hooks, “Tommy’s Tune” is just an infectious melody that sticks very quickly. “Underneath Tomorrow” and “That’ll Do It” has excellent guitar work, and fans of The Grip Weeds and Outrageous Cherry will love it. “Autumn & Spring” and “Good Morning Maudlin Town” have a lighter pop touch, all produced, mixed, and mastered by Nick Bertling. Fans of retro pop should check this out. Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp only

The Hard Way

The Hard Way “New to You” EP

Matt Wilczynski’s musical collective (aka The Hard Way) is made up of Matt on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums with a rotating cast of musicians and friends to round out the sound – which takes influences from The Beatles, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and The Doobie Brothers.

It’s the meticulous craftsmanship and production that you will notice right away. The opener “Walls & Bridges” starts with a slide guitar intro and Matt’s soulful vocal, then the Beatlesque harmonies in the chorus hit you. The guitar solo is Duane Allman-like in approach and simply great. “Note To Self” adds a smooth backing vocal chorus with a piano verse, and some impressive songwriting. “Open Cage” and the instrumental “Worm Underground” adds some of that Joe Perry-styled hard rock sound, and with the latter track, it’s got some funky keys and horns. “Sunshine” is an acoustic blend in the Doobie Brothers tradition and I’m proud to list this as a top ten EP for 2021. It was even reviewed by Ben Folds! In his words “Excellence everywhere…” Super Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Stan Laurels and Rich Arithmetic

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The Stan Laurels

The Stan Laurels “There is No Light Without the Dark”

John Lathrop (aka The Stan Laurels) has taken the next leap forward in his musical vision. The band always had strong melodic songs, but the garage elements are toned down and the overall soundscape feels bigger. “Florida Man” relies on strong guitar riffs and John’s resonant vocals, while “Tomorrow” has a strong jangling rhythm, reminiscent of  The Ocean Blue with its heavily textured sound.

Next, the brilliant “Lost & Found” is both catchy and full of musical subtleties. This combination of heavy chords and gentle vocal performance, similar to Teenage Fanclub is also notable on “On Paper” and “Mo Collins.” While other songs don’t approach this level of greatness, they fit right in. Definitely highly recommended.

Big Stir Records | Kool Kat Musik

The Stan Laurels

Rich Arithmetic “Shiftingears”

Rich Arithmetic was an oddity in the Not Lame catalog way back in 1995 with Sleep In A Wigwam. The band fronted by Richard Horton is back with a potpourri of styles heavily influenced by the ’60s pop and folk. Opening with “In Our Time (Ode for The E-Types)” is an earnest tribute to a beloved one-hit-wonder of a band and it continues with a cover of the tune “She Moves Me.”  The fond look at musical nostalgia continues with the bright harmonies on “Do You Remember?” and “Haley.”

The next few songs are eclectic in style but mostly unmemorable. The psych-pop pastiche “Waiting For Isaac” and baroque pop of “Before For The First Slice” full of echoing vocals and strings are compelling distractions. “He’s A Good Man” is another standout here, with a piano pop melody full of bounce, very much in the XTC style. Overall an interesting release worth checking out.

Kool Kat Musik

https://youtu.be/NiU2cVJFjPg