Category: Power Pop Review

Galileo 7 and Grahame Steinberg

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The Galileo 7 “False Memory Lane”
The Galileo 7’s new album False Memory Lane is loaded with acid-tinged pop goodies across its 11 tracks. Lead by bassist-singer-songwriter Allan Crockford, he proudly displays his love of late sixties pop influences. The opener “Don’t Follow Me” demonstrates this with vintage Farfisa organ and fuzz guitar across a snappy melody. The slow building “My Cover is Blown” reminded me a bit of Schnauser’s psychedelic power pop. Each tune makes its mark, including “You’re Not Dreaming” with its catchy rhythms and “Nobody Told You” with its swinging “ba-ba-ba-da-ba” chorus.

The excellent “I’m Still Here” dials down the fuzz, with its Byrds meets Hollies chorus sure to stick in your head. “Don’t Want To Know” is another gem that soars with some excellent vocal/guitar interplay. Fans of The Creation and Dukes of The Stratosphere will dig the riff heavy “Little By Little.” Overall not a wasted note here and a very worthy addition to your retro music collection. Highly Recommended!

Amazon

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Grahame Steinberg “Grahame Steinberg 2”
The supremely talented Lane Steinberg and reclusive pop genius David Grahame delivered an amazing first album with indelible melodies. So what happened? Unlike their first effort, the lead vocals fall on Lane Steinberg, which isn’t a problem but the compositions are maddeningly inconsistent. This sounds like a collection of 23 demos and ideas polished up for release, most of them less than a minute and a half. Some of the songs work, but several fall very flat.

“Do Nothing Day” shambles along with discordant piano and guitar feedback. I guess that’s the song’s concept, but its not enjoyable. Better is Lane’s vocal styling of “Are You Inside,” almost like Stevie Wonder meets R. Stevie Moore. “Flash Flood” finds Lane doing his best Lou Reed, with a great combination of banjo and electric guitar. Highlights include “Evening Swim,” the soulful “Heirs To The Throne,” and “Interceding Hands.” I would have loved these songs to go longer than a single chorus, and eliminate crap like “Eternal Chicken.” There is enough here for me to recommend to fans of the duo, but I’d direct newcomers to the debut or Lane’s other collaboration, 8×8.

Exclusively at Dog Turner Records

Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab and Dropkick

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Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab “Ever Evolving Lounge”
Joe Kane (The Owsley Sunshine, Them Beatles) and Stu Kidd (BMX Bandits, Wellgreen) do a great job capturing the spirit and sound of late sixties bubblegum pop with Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab. Fans of The Monkees, The Ohio Express and The Strawberry Alarm Clock will really love this album. The duo faithfully re-creates the swinging sound, but the music itself is something wholly original, so you won’t be simply playing a game of “spot the influence.”

“A Sting In The Tale” has funky beat and a catchy, suggestive chorus perfect for go-go dancing. “Adopt A Rabbit” has plenty of vocal gymnastics and moog effects that one up Syd Barrett, then “Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?” chugs along like those Turtles hits with silly lyrics and key changes. You can break out the incense for the psychedelic “The Secret Of The Tibetan Grapefruit Is…?” And the fascinating “Trading Time” plays out like a lost High Llamas track. Overall, not a filler track to be found. Highly Recommended to all those with a healthy love of nostalgia and sunny melodies.

Amazon | Bandcamp


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Dropkick “Homeward”
Scotland’s Dropkick delivers their most polished effort to date with it’s strong compositions and heavenly harmonies, it will please fans of The Jayhawks, Wilco, and The Pernice Brothers. “Come Home” starts with simple strums and some steel pedal and sweet West Coast styled harmonies. “When It Starts” has a jarring discordant chord that gives way to brothers Andrew and Alastair Taylor’s sorrowful balladry.Then “Halfway Round Again” bounces in, with its hypnotic, rhythmic riff. The best tune here is the superb “Jump Start” with its soulful organ melody and rich layered sounds.

The remaining tracks on the second half are almost as memorable, the quality musicianship keeps your attention with “Style” the poppiest track on the album and the catchy percussive rhythm of “Wishing” brings a glimmer of optimism to a fairly melancholy album. The band puts its heart on its sleeve here, as one of those great sad albums you listen to in a darkened room.

Amazon | Bandcamp

Mike Barnett and Wesley Wolfe

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Mike Barnett “Everybody Gets to Dream”
Mike Barnett returns with a much stronger display of melodic prowess and Dylanesque lyrical skill. With some help from Salim Nourallah, and team of guest players, Barnett crafts a sweet non-glossy LP that reminded me of a low-fi Traveling Wilburys at times. “Who Loves You Blue” sets the stage with his soft delivery and Harrison-like slide guitar.

“I Could Fall” is the secret to his longevity, with some wonderful guitar work in the break – Mike will just “keep keeping on till who knows when.” And he gets positively Beatle-y on “It Must Be Love” with its slow tempo sparse arrangement. He quickens the tempo on “Heidi Surprise” and one of the best tunes here is the inspirational “Everybody Gets To Dream.” Another gem here is the Jeff Lynne like “Push Me Away.” It would’ve been nice to slip in more harmonies, but despite that its a solid effort that encourages repeat listens.

CD Baby | Amazon

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Wesley Wolfe “Numbskull”
North Carolina’s Wesley Wolfe is an artist you want to keep your eye on. The self-styled musical auteur combines a dazzling array of influences, from GBV, Beach Boys, Peter Gabriel and Weezer. The opener “Lost In My Daydreams” utilizes a strong percussive effect as well as a catchy chorus. And it gets even more impressive on the quick tempo of “Fragment of A Dream.”

And its more than the layered textures here, Wolfe has a mastery of indie pop melody, and like Robert Pollard he tosses off gems with ease, like “Read My Mind” and even the slower title track stays on course. The albums theme is about dealing with life’s big worries and coming to terms with it. “Jesus Eyes” is delicate mid-tempo ballad to a girl “innocent and beautiful to me.” No filler here, as this is one of the better indie rock albums I’ve heard so I’ll be checking out his prior work. Highly Recommended!

Amazon | Bandcamp

The Power Popaholic Interview: Phil Ajjarapu

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It’s an inspirational story of Phil almost dying to get this album made. I reviewed his album If It Makes You Feel Better back in March. And in case you forgot what it sounded like I embeded the favorite track below. But if you really want to know about Phil and this album… Here is his full story.

Album Previews: Skeleton Staff and The Dowling Pool

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It’s been a long wait, but we finally get a new track from Skeleton Staff. The main message is this: Stop worrying about imperfections we can’t change and just get on with enjoying life. Buy it on Bandcamp for a buck. Likely this is the first single to a new album on the way. I guess this can tide me over.

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I wondered what would become of Willie Dowling after the break-up of Jackdaw4, but I didn’t have to wait very long. The Dowling Poole is a new band formed by singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Willie Dowling (ex Honeycrack/Jackdaw4) and Jon Poole (ex Cardiacs). Influenced by pop masters such as XTC, Blur, 10CC, The Kinks, The Beatles and more, The Dowling Poole debut album Bleak Strategies will be released this summer. You can pre-order this one from Pledge Music.