Category: Power Pop Review

Lo Tom and Any Version Of Me

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Andy Oliveri and the Mountaineers

Lo Tom “Lo Tom”

David Bazan and his Seattle band Pedro The Lion teamed up with members of Starflyer 59 to form the supergroup, Lo Tom. It’s Bazan and friends TW Walsh, Jason Martin and drummer Trey Many. The low-pressure setting delivers a memorable, well crafted LP, starting with the driving “Covered Wagon” led by the smooth dual guitar rhythms of Walsh and Martin.

Like indie rocker Robert Pollard(Guided By Voices,) Bazan’s melodies stick with repeated plays and the guitar work of Walsh and Martin are refreshingly effective. Missing are Bazan’s religious overtones and songs like “Overboard” and “Bad Luck Charm” are more abstract in the messages sent. “Find The Shrine” mines an AC/DC styled riff throughout the song, but the album’s second half runs out of steam. Worth checking out even if you’re not a big Pedro fan.

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Any Version Of Me

Any Version Of Me “VI (Side One)”

Parisian Guillaume Lepine is back with his retro flavored British pop on VI (Side One). “New Year” opens with a Kinks-styled dance hall tune and continues to stay in the late 60’s era and recreates the sound flawlessly. He goes back to Beatlesque well on “Two Days” which borrows liberally from “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”

The sunshine pop of “Some Saturday Morning” is another highlight with its Beach Boys styled harmonies and layered keyboards move seamlessly into the slide guitar of “Four Walls.”  Then it goes psychedelic with “Little Girl Lost” and acid-dripped riffs of “Thanks Ronnie.” It’s like finding a lost bin of old nuggets and the music is considerably better produced than previous AVOM releases. Best of all, this is a FREE download, with the promise of Side Two coming later this year. For fans of 60’s rock and pop, this is highly recommended.

Saturday Singles: Nezrok, Jared Lekites, Tommy Lorente

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Nezrok “Andy Please”
The short story: At a New Jersey Record Show guitarist Chris Korzen found a cassette of what he thought were previously unheard Big Star songs. The music was actually written by a friend of the band – Van Duren. Van had been doing some writing with Jody Stephens, and in 1975, recorded these demos with legendary producer Andrew Loog Oldham. Chris connected with Van and long-time friend Chris Bolger, who suggested recording one of the songs “Andy, Please.” They were joined by keyboardist Dave Amels, guitarist Joe Howell and Smithereen’s drummer Dennis Diken. An amazing lost piece of Big Star history is now available.

Jared Lekites “Freebird” 
Jared Lekites is dropping the last of his solo tracks while he gears up with this band on the next Lunar Laugh album. “Freebird” is another catchy tune with sweet rhythm. This is followed by a trio of not-so-obvious covers, including Paul McCartney’s “Temporary Secretary,” the Beach Boys “I’d Love Just Once To See You”  and Coke Belda‘s “Hold Me Tight.” A great find here.

Tommy Lorente “Sexe Luxe Etc.”
The coolest power pop artist in France, Tommy Lorente is back. As he readies his sophomore album, listen to this new single “Sex Luxe Etc.,” and this is how you do power pop in French – roughly translated as “She loves me no doubt, a little more than you.” Looking forward to the new album, this track is a FREE download.

Heirs Of Fortune and Trip Wire

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Heirs Of Fortune

Heirs Of Fortune “Circus of Mirth”

Terry Carolan’s (Blue Cartoon/True Hearts) latest project is a tribute to his friend and supporter Gary Littleton. The band Heirs Of Fortune include Ralph Smith and Robert Watkins (Amnesia), and Robert Woodrich (Just Boys.) After a toy piano pop intro “Invited,” it leads to the polished guitar and mid-tempo “Aster Street Days,” a nostalgic look back to the past. In fact, the focus on wistful longing is the main theme overall, and musically Carolan’s soothing vocal harmonies and simple melodies are comparable to the recent work of Terry Draper.

The multi-tracked jangling guitar strums of “How Can I Resist” and “From Where I Am” suit the band’s melodic approach well. The Beatlesque piano and guitar flourishes of “Face The Light” utilize strings for extra emotional punch. Terry’s mild vocals don’t quite fit the song “Crazy” which calls for a wilder guttural approach. You wish that the band added a bit more muscle or bass fuzz on several tracks.

But the bevy of catchy melodies and memorable choruses here is proof of Carolan’s talent with the brilliant love song “(It Only Took) Forever”and the rare fast paced “Shine.” My favorite here is the gorgeous “Goodbye My Friend,” with its George Harrison styled slide guitar that stands as his final words to the dearly departed. The title track seems to be Gary’s answer back to his friend, and a faithful cover of Big Star’s Chris Bell’s “I Am The Cosmos” fits nicely here. Fans of Big Star, Pilot, Badfinger and Klaatu will really enjoy this heart-felt album.

Kool Kat Musik | Amazon


Trip Wire “Cold Gas Giants”

Not to be confused with The Tripwires, these well traveled local San Francisco music veterans are Marty Schneider (The Campbell Apartment), Bill Hunt, Stu Shader and Jeff Shelton (Spinning Jennies, The Well Wishers). The album opens with the commanding guitars of “Long Days Gone,” a catchy riff-centered anthem with a densely composed wall of guitars. Both “I’m Not The Enemy” and “Growing Old” are lead by Shelton, and recalls his work with The Well Wishers. More standouts are the jangling Rickenbacker guitar of “These Are The Days” and on “Winter Days” the band adds violins and a sweet bass line.

The band’s hybrid of jangle pop and rock dictates the album as it sways from one style to another, but it also manages to go in another direction on “Saturn V” with its space-themed indie fuzz pop. Virtually no filler here makes this album an audio treat, and a highly recommended addition to my power pop collection.

Timmy Sean and The Dirty Truckers

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Timmy Sean

Timmy Sean “Weeks”

In 2015 Timmy Sean was one a few artists with a goal of producing a song each week. Subscribers got the first crack at these, and after all was said and done, you have a massive 21 tracks. Sean moves around the pop and rock landscape, the most commercial tune of the bunch “Everything I Want” sounds like a top 40 hit, but I like the exuberant piano theme “Seventeen,” a look back at youth; “We never know the best times” he sings. Sean takes liberally from classic rock styles, and it enhances his songs. “One Dimensional Man” heads into ELO territory and both “Way Too Long” and “Gimme Everything” are like a Lenny Kravitz outtakes. You even get Elvis influence on “Baby, She’s Better Than You” and a Smokey Robinson doo wop on “Til You’ll Be Mine.”

And it’s not all power pop, “Western Rodeo” and “Hold It Strong” are ballads with country, and contemporary pop approaches. A few tracks were recorded at Abbey Road Studios (“Lately Lacey”) and these are musically dense arrangements. Its hard to find to fault with any of the music, Sean’s careful “singles” approach make each tune a pleasant surprise. If anything there is too much to absorb in a single listen. Overall a highly recommended double album. Plus the limited edition two CD version contains a bonus disc of covers (including 8 Beatles classics) through Bandcamp.

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The Dirty Truckers

The Dirty Truckers “Tiger Stripes” EP

I enjoyed the new Tom Baker and The Snakes album earlier this year, so I looked into his past and found a gem I missed. Tom was in a Boston band called The Dirty Truckers a few years back. As lead guitarist Baker growls through a half dozen songs starting with the barroom rocker “Stranger in Disguise,” but tone shifts slightly to the more refined “Human Contact.” This song is reminiscent of Lannie Flowers with its driving rhythm and catchy chorus.

Overall this band’s riff-centric approach is consistent with “Feedback” and “Arms Length” led by the dual guitar attack of Baker and John Brookhouse. It closes out the EP with a roots rocker “Just Run Away” which is closer to classic Wilco. If you enjoyed Baker’s new band, you will definitely like his old one.

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Todd Rundgren “White Knight”

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Todd Rundgren

Todd Rundgren “White Knight”

If there is one thing Todd Rundgren can be counted on, it’s that he will do his own thing (good or not) without a thought toward commercial success or his fan base. After what I like to think of as his “golden” musical period ending in the early ’90s, he then emerged as a techno-futurist, with experiments in EMD, ambient, and rap music. Although ahead of his time and putting off many fans, Rundgren has continued breaking musical taboos and deconstructing his own work (and other artists’ music as well). He persisted in making music with techno beats and synth textures but proved his guitar prowess again on 2008’s Arena.

By the time we got to 2013’s State and 2015’s Global, Rundgren’s music had become slightly more accessible. His satiric voice and natural melodic abilities came bubbling up from all that thick custom-made production gloss. That all leads us to White Knight.

This is more like Rundgren’s version of Duets (sort of). He teams up with a variety of artists from assorted genres on a variety of songs and even has three solo tunes. While he remains a master of atmospherics on the opener “Come,” the collaborations are a mixed bag. The dream pairing here is with Daryl Hall and Bobby Strickland on “Chance for Us,” with the best Philly soul vocal duo asking, “Is there still a chance for us?/Or does the music die?” Wow. Why did it take so long to get these guys together?

The humorous commentary is always a part of Mr. Rundgren’s arsenal, as on the anti-Trump gem “Tin Foil Hat,” which is aided by Donald Fagen (Steely Dan). The sweet ballad “That Could Have Been Me” with lead vocals by Robyn is another keeper. It’s a case of Rundgren getting the best elements from his collaborators to enhance his songs. With the rock/pop genre, he is a master of this – but when he goes outside his element, like electro-disco on “Naked & Afraid,” it sounds contrived and overly commercial.

The biggest smile crossed my face when I heard “Let’s Do This,” a power pop duet with Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness). Another interesting pairing is with Joe Walsh on “Sleep,” with its plucked guitar chords, strings, and soothing chorus. There is another worthy tune, “Buy My T,” which sounds like a Prince parody, but damn it’s catchy.

Simply put, this is the best Todd Rundgren album in a very long time. Just these tracks I mentioned make up for the rest, which are either overindulgent vanity pieces or simply boring songs. After decades in the music business, veteran musicians tend to either coast on their reputation (like Stevie Wonder) or indulge in personal projects that their fans barely tolerate. It’s rare for that music legend, already venerated, to produce something new that can appeal to the existing fan base (like Ian Hunter). So for you Rundgren fans, it is a definite must buy. Others may want to stick to his various greatest hits packages.

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