I wish you all a good 2016.Here is a new song by The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club to close out 2015 and its a FREE download. After going through a pile of lists from other sites, I have a few LPs to review that I missed last year. Then its on to new music for January! BTW, this your last chance to enter our FREE CD Giveaway. Winner gets picked tomorrow.
The big stars of rock/indie (some with power pop leanings) have come out of the woodwork this year and here are mini-reviews of some that I follow. If you missed it check out Part 1 of this.
Ben Folds “So There” – Ben has slowly made his journey from piano popster to orchestral composer. He addresses this change on the poignant “Not A Fan.” But he still can make thrilling pop music buried under all those strings. Some good songs, but he eventually he goes to the full Concerto. At least Danny Elfman did it on separate albums. Listen to: “Phone in A Pool”, “Yes Man” Get it here.
The Fratellis “Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied” – Huge shift in sound for the band; if you’re looking for another “Chelsea Dagger” go elsewhere. The grander, more dramatic “Me and The Devil” and “Baby Don’t Lie To Me” sound a little like Supergrass. “Thief” is another standout here, and the funk bass on the circus-like “Dogtown” keeps it interesting. Unfortunately, it doesn’t consistently hit the mark. A good album, but it needed editing to make it great. Get it here.
Bryan Adams “Get Up” – The amazing Jeff Lynne does for Adams what he did for Roy Orbison; making him relevant to audiences again. Adams gets the full Wilbury treatment here with great catchy singles like “Go Down Rockin” and “That’s Rock and Roll.” Plus amazing ballads like “We Did It All” takes advantage of Adams sandpaper-vocal delivery. Its easy to see why Absolute Power Pop blog added this to his top ten. Proof Lynne always has the magic touch (with other artists.) Get it here.
Sleater-Kinney “No Cities To Love” – Legendary punk all-girl band returns. It’s a little more structured, less grungy, a decent reunion that delivers plenty of radio friendly songs that will appeal to the indie pop crowd. Bitching about the state of affairs on “Price Tag”,”Surface Envy,” and the catchy “A New Wave” are highlights. Old fans will note it doesn’t reach the highs of 2008’s The Woods, but that’s okay – it’s a great starting point for new fans. Get it here.
The big stars of rock/indie (with power pop leanings) have come out of the woodwork this year and although a rare few made my Top 25 list (Tommy Keene, Chris Stamey almost made it) most have been putting out exceptional music:
Wilco “Star Wars” – The band continues to pave its own course (a free download!), mixing the influences from newer (Radiohead) and older (Lou Reed, Beatles) bands. Plays like a stripped down rehearsal in spots, with little studio gloss. Solid release stands nicely alongside its post-2008 albums. Listen to: “More”
Get it here.
Squeeze “Cradle to The Grave” – The Tilbrook-Difford songwriting partnership continues to dazzle. While not as good as the 1980-90’s era, its damn close. A welcome return to form, and some real sweet gems here. Listen to: “Nirvana”, “Happy Days”
Get it here.
Jeff Lynne’s ELO “Alone In The Universe” – This was hyped up quite a bit and even though I love Jeff and the ELO sound, it just didn’t impress me. Maybe he shouldn’t have re-hashed “Showdown” into “Love & Rain,” it sounds like ELO on autopilot. Oh well. Listen to: “Dirty To The Bone”, “Ain’t It A Drag”
Get it here.
Joe Jackson “Fast Forward” – Leave it to Joe to deliver excellent musicianship and great songwriting that sounds like a mature artist. No this isn’t rock or the early ’80s and the brilliant title track makes it clear. While a bit long and with a few jazzy filler tunes, this is still a good album for JJ fans. Listen to: “If It Wasn’t For You”, “Junkie Diva” Get it here.
Enjoy this new Green Day holiday song!
Open your present! It’s Close to the Hedge, a collection of new and/or previously unreleased songs donated by the artists and friends of Pink Hedgehog Records. It’s a FREE download!
Enjoy this new Dent May holiday song!
Just one more week of reviews for 2015 – next week is our long-awaited year end “Best of” list!
Kansas City jangle pop junkies, Mike Penner, Scott Christensen, Bill Ryan and Peter Cook are Honeywagen. I mentioned them in my review of IPO #18, but I wanted to hear the full album Jamboree. Reminds me a bit of Midwestern roots band with Beatlesque flair, starting with “Angel” it has some barroom swing to go with those guitars. Plenty of Byrdsian jangle on “Another Hour,” although the vocals are a bit understated, there are lots of favorite influences here. “Five Point Oh” plays like an old Beach Boys car song and “Good Luck Tonight” is a little bit Big Star and Dwight Twilley combined. Recommended tracks include the high energy “Lose My Mind,” self loathing ballad “Loser,” and the Monkees-like “She Wants.” It was hard to find a bad song, which is a good sign of any highly recommended album. Check it out!
An astute powerpopaholic reader alerted me to this gem. Hooten Tennis Club combines arty noise-pop and power pop into something like Pavement meets Teenage Fanclub. Band leader Ryan Murphy, guitarist James Madden, bassist Callum McFadden and drummer Harry Chalmers formed the band in 2013, recording a cover of The Rolling Stones “19th Nervous Breakdown,” (hmm, this sounds familiar) then signed with Heavenly Records.
The sound is full of bright pop hooks and dense guitars on “Up In The Air” and jaunty catchy chorus of “P.O.W.E.R.F.U.L .P.I.E.R.R.E.” proves this band is more than just a messy impressionist pop band. Early singles “Jasper” and “Kathleen Sat On The Arm of Her Favorite Chair” are solid slices of life set to fuzz riffs, recalling the best pop of the ’90s. Not a single wasted note here, even the long four minute plus “Always Coming Back 2 You” held my attention. Brilliant indie pop that is highly recommended.
Amazon