Category: Power Pop Review

The Hangabouts and The Bullet Proof Lovers

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The Hangabouts

The Hangabouts “Kits and Cats and Saxon Wives”

I really enjoyed The Hangabouts last LP The Illustrated Bird and its crisp opener “Roman Forum” is one of my favorite songs. Now the Detroit trio of John Lowry, Gregory Addington, and Chip Saam are back with the psychedelic sixties as their starting point. And it’s a real flashback in the title track with its looping bassline and groovy chorus, but it is more than a period-style exercise. While Anglophilic, “Cricket Time” is quite modern and the ballad “Sinking Feeling” is a lovely mid-tempo duet with Molly Felder (Swan Dive). The first great song here “Evelyn Wood,” is a soulful gem with a hook that won’t leave your head soon, and great double entendre lyrics.

As the album continues, the song compositions get more sophisticated. Think Bread meets Fountains of Wayne on “12 Songs” and the Lennonesque “Selling Out” with its terrific slide guitar. Other than the forgettable “Mrs. Kite,” each tune here hits the mark, oh so gently. Other highlights include the sad “Sensation Overnight” and “Follow The Sunshine.” All mastered by the master Andy Reed. Highly Recommended. FYI: Kool Kat Musik is offering a free download code to get a bonus track with purchase!

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The BulletProof Lovers

The Bullet Proof Lovers “Shot Through The Heart”

The Bullet Proof Lovers specialize in shredding big loud riffs, booming drums, and Kurt Bakers howling vocals. This sophomore LP has everything the debut had, but now the band has a bit more discipline when it comes to songcraft. “I am My Radio,” “Aint No Joke” and “Not Your Toy” are great punk pop that is meant to be cranked up to “11.”

The thundering gems “Knock Down The Door” recall labelmates Watts, and the retro-flavored  “One Last Night” slows the tempo just enough to catch your breath. But then it’s back to no-holds-barred rock and roll, “All I Want” being a typical example where Kurt states “I’m just so sick of feelin’ bad, baby!” Fans of The Buzzcocks, Cheap Trick, The Hives and The Strokes will enjoy this one. Highly Recommended.

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Detroit Autos and Ben Kenobi

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Autos Detroit

Autos Detroit “Second Best”

The Autos Detroit are a band from Barcelona, Spain with a love of American styled classic rock, and they deliver some impressive music. In the tradition of some great power pop, “Step On” is an understated opener with a strong lead vocal by Pedro Pasamontes, and its got some nice chord progressions and backing harmonies. “Just Before You Go” gathers more hooks than a fishing tackle box, and a terrific middle eight. The band also does quirky Anglo-pop on “Sunny Day” kind of like Ray Davies or the heavier psychedelic jam “Deception.”

Occasionally the vocals get very rough, like on “Moonglow,” where the grizzled lead is balanced by some nice group harmony. Added highlights include the Badfinger-ish “Lonesome” and “All Will Be Fine,” but honestly there isn’t a bad track here and its all sung in English with barely an accent. Considering Spain is a hotbed of great power pop artists, its no surprise I find a winner here. Highly Recommended.

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Ben Kenobi

Ben Kenobi “Women of Crenshaw”

Ben Kenobi is no Jedi Master, but he sure knows his way around a catchy guitar pop tune. He led the punk pop band Benzene in South Korea and moved to California in 2008. Eventually, he got around to collecting his songs into a solo album in 2015. Titled Women of Crenshaw, the songs range from folk to pop with influences from Dylan to The Beatles, but vocally he reminds me of Evan Dando (The Lemonheads.)

Opening with a guitar instrumental “Django Unchained” it is a bit hypnotic with a frenetic overlapping melody and rhythm. “Staring At the Star” is an introspective ballad about life in L.A. that resonates (kind of Ben Folds-like), and “Aspirin” is thinking out loud what to do with expired painkillers. Ben considers creative burnout on “Maple Leaves Don’t Fly” and does another instrumental this time in classical acoustic guitar on “Ben’s National Anthem.” We actually get a power pop song on “Ballad of McFly Jr.” And this year Kenobi has a new single out “Bury Me Down” and its closer to dance pop, bookended by more great instrumental work. Definitely, check it out or the force will not be with you (sorry.)

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The Wellingtons and Cait Brennan

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The Wellingtons

The Wellingtons “End of The Summer”

The Wellingtons are back, and I consider them one of the best Australian power pop groups when it comes to consistency of over the past 14 years. The densely layered melodies and strong guitar riffs on “Not Getting What I Want” opens this excellent album, with the happiest statement ever about the disappointment of not being a “rock star” in the Bon Jovi tradition. “Over and Done With” has the sharp duel vocals of Zac and Kate and the familiar subject of breaking up. Kate goes lead on the retro girl-bop “Please Be Nice” and “Making Faces in The Mirror,” and Zac brings the soaring power chords to “No Way Could Fail,” both style approaches are unmistakably fresh.

Each tune is distinctive, even the acoustic strums of the title track, a lovelorn ballad that plays like a split-screen musical number. What is especially satisfying is that the song quality doesn’t let up on the album’s second half. “1963” is a jangling gem and my favorite here the sunshine pop “She Rides The Bus” will just linger in your head for days. This is a great album that deserves your full attention, as it makes my year-end top ten list for 2017. Long live The Wellingtons!

Kool Kat Musik


Cait Brennan

Cait Brennan “Third”

Cait Brennan returns with her crew (and producer Fernando Perdomo) with a soulful croon and creates less of a power pop album but more of a rock-soul combination. “Bad At Apologies” and “Stack Overflow” could’ve been done by Tina Turner back in the day, although the overdubbed backing vocals are a bit much for me. The album title is a nod to Big Star (and Cait recorded it at Ardent Studios in Memphis with the same equipment Alex Chilton and Chris Bell used for those iconic albums.) The wonderful “He Knows Too Much” is a big highlight here, full of power and emotion so as the voice-over says “treat her with respect.”

Lyrically Cait has improved considerably, as the sophisticated “A Hard Man To Love” is both retro and modern with a good hook in the chorus. The Prince-Bowie influences come up on “Caitebots Don’t Cry” and the Ziggy-like “Benedict Cumberbatch” (pronounced “Cumber-bitch.”) Some tunes are catchy gems like “Shake Away,” but the album’s second half is a bit shaky – and tries too hard. However, it ends well with the Elton-like ballad “Goodbye Missamerica.” Overall a worthy follow-up to Cait’s debut.

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Brenyama and Braddock Station Garrison

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Brenyama Euphoria Love

Brenyama “Euphoria Love”

From the great music capital of Highland Park, NJ, Brenyama is Richard and Maki Brenner, who, through the capable hands of producer Kurt Reil (Gripweeds) have created a hybrid Japanese/American power pop sound. The title track is a catchy single with the duo singing over a great hook.

I have to admit, the songs with them together a more fun, as “Things That You Do” and “Perfect Kind Of Life” are great pop tunes with a retro bubblegum spin on it. In fact, “Get In The Groove” is a dead ringer for a Jackson Five “hit.” Maki’s solo vocal efforts like “Inhuman” and “Overflowing Magic” owe much to J-Pop and Debbie Harry. For some, this might seem a bit too sugary but as a debut, it is still very impressive. Check it out.

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Braddock Station Garrison

Braddock Station Garrison “Saint Stephanie and the Stones”

This Washington DC 4-piece band return and this is another milestone as the group sound even tighter. “Mayday” is pretty solid middle of the road rock, and lead vocalist Steve Schillinger does a great job on the epic “Citadel On The Plains” and  the too-shy guy’s theme song “Zero Confidence Level.”

At points, the band’s clear songwriting starts to resemble The Jayhawks with the title track. But the band can also turn up the fuzz guitar on “Hurry Up, Girl.” It runs out of steam past the mid-point, but this is still a band that deserves to be heard.

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Aimee Mann and Bill Popp

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Aimee Mann

Aimee Mann “Mental Illness”

Aimee Mann’s ninth LP is not exactly a pick-me-up type of pop record, in fact, it is quite the opposite as she told Rolling Stone that Mental Illness is the saddest record she’s ever recorded. It bluntly lays bare painful vignettes of heartache, anger, and remorse. Mann has amazing versatility, as her earlier albums were mostly power pop but recent history as placed her more in the chamber folk category.

The light playful rhythm of “Goose Snow Cone” is the opening track, and the breezy melody showcases the homesickness of a pet and how she’s got to “keep it together when your friends come by.” The restrained tension in Mann’s vocals is her specialty, and it recalls Joni Mitchell at her peak. “Stuck In The Past” is sly waltz of despair, and the darkness envelopes these tunes, like a sweetness with a sour aftertaste on “You Never Loved Me.” It takes a few listens to objectively hear the tragic stories that seem too real to be fiction; “Rollercoasters,” “Patient Zero” and “Lies Of Summer” are also standouts. Mann’s style showcases a sobering record that truly deserves attention.

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Bill Popp and The Tapes

Bill Popp and The Tapes “Popp Hits the 60’s”

Singer/songwriter Bill Popp is a veteran indie player on the New York City rock scene. He’s been performing live in NYC venues since the 1970s, and he has been leading his own band, Bill Popp & the Tapes, since 1981. Pop loves his classic 60’s rock influences and lets it show on Popp Hits The 60’s. This is a great EP that starts with the piano and guitar bounce of “ The World She Knows” and the very Badinger-ish ballad “In My Head” has a terrific slide guitar break toward the songs end.

And Popp doesn’t take himself too seriously either, as the hilarious kazoo-assisted “When I Was Stoned” is like a lost NRBQ track. Popp also has a new 2-song EP out called Popp’s Last Flush! which humorously chronicles his biography (and his day job) on “Flushing This Plumbing Job Down The Drain.”  Great fun!

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