Category: Power Pop Review

Dylan Sires and Neighbors “No One”

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It’s not easy to pigeon-hole the Iowa based Dylan Sires and Neighbors. They definitely have a solid command of melody in the tradition of power pop, and are influenced by The Beatles, Vampire Weekend and 50’s styled balladry. The title track, “No One” is a bouncy piano melody with strong vocal harmonies and a Beatlesque beat. “In My Neighborhood” features a Harrison-like slide guitar and Dylan’s delicate crooning vocal. Quick tempo guitar riffs are main draw in “Save My Life,” and “Messenger” with its dense Rickenbacker textures similar to Mod-era Who. At points the instrumentation has a minimal lounge-like feel like on “Hold Me” and “Second Man.”

Another highlight is the Nilsson-like “Pictures of You” showing a vivid memory coming to life. “One Shot” is another compelling rocker, one thing for sure is that Sires has a unique sound combination and precise musicianship that will keep you interested all the way through. On Bandcamp is the follow-up Someone is ready as well. Both LPs are part of a three album trilogy titled No One/Someone/Everyone. Everyone will be released summer 2014.

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Someone has a highlights as well. “Good Ol’ Boy” is a catchy gem that features Dylan’s high crooning and “Someone Knows” has an infectious beat and guitar rhythm.

Not to be outdone this season, the band has its own Christmas single.

King Washington and Cleopatra Club

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King Washington “No One”
Last years album Gears made my year end list, this time L.A. based King Washington moves decidedly away from the anthem rich rock for something a bit more contemplative. The title track proves the band still has the rock chops and solid harmonies, clear influences from Queen and Extreme are heard. The next few tracks are gentle ballads that favor skilled guitar pop, both “Land Without  Age” and the delicate “Nowhere’s Journey” falls somewhere between America and Led Zeppelin. “Terrible Affection” is a great love song with a solid melody and surging chorus, one of the best tunes here.

The albums middle sags slightly. The rock guitars even return on “Don’t Expect My Love,” but that and a song about a feline (“You’re A Cat”) feel like filler. Thankfully the acoustic “Legend of Red Mahogany” resonates, and the finale “The Cinemas” has a grand epic hymnal feel, and the band hits its sweet spot here. It sounds like a lost hit record from The Eagles or Hollies, and this album is sure a grower – so pick it up.

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The Cleopatra Club “self-titled” EP
The Cleopatra Club is a pop band out of Northern New Jersey, that leads with a funky beat and Jess Kenny’s playful vocals. The new single “Gypsy” is a catchy danceable pop hit. “Runaway Train” is another soul influenced pop song that recalls the early Jackson Five with its “ahh ohh” chorus. “Fortune Teller” is a gem lead more by guitarist Matt Morgantini’s smoking riffs and “If Only For The Night” has more overt disco tendencies. Anyone who liked The Orion Experience I reviewed last week is sure to enjoy this one.

Free Music Monday Holiday Edition: Marvelous Beauhunks and Skoober

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Ho! Ho! Ho! Love this Rock Against B.S. Its all D.I.Y and doing it on your own terms, and this edition gives us some great Christmas music for FREE! Like them on Facebook and let the musicians know you care.

The Marvelous Beauhunks. These guys know how to rock – they have a raw garage sound with lots of spit and polish. Terrific!

Skoober. It’s been a long time since I heard Skoober, but they are back! The band has a more contemporary rock sound, like the Goo Goo Dolls or Matchbox 20 with a female lead. “Worst Case Scenario” is my favorite track. Enjoy!

Jimmy Haber and The Orion Experience

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Jimmy Haber “New Bondi Hippies”
Jimmy Haber was a founding member of the ’80s Punk band, Degenerates and is currently a member of the musical collective, Maladaptive Solution with Michael Carpenter. Haber’s locale Bondi Beach is a popular spot in the surrounding suburb in Sydney, Australia. Much of New Bondi Hippies is served up with a heavy dose late ’60’s influences and I’m a big fan of this retro approach, as long as the music is good.

Lucky for us, the music is great. “Wonderful Life” opens with its mid-period Beatlesque psychedelic overtones, full of swirling bass and its laid back vocal make it a very neo-hippy anthem. “Mexican Sun” has a dense composition full of soaring guitar riffs in the chorus.  Like The Grip Weeds, Haber also shares the gift of great drum intros on “My Girls Random” and the flowing solos are just amazing. We get a little rock ballad blues on “Liar” about the troubles of an unreliable bandmate. “Alegra” is another sun drenched mid-tempo tune. The gem “Chelsea” starts with a powerful strum a la John Cougar Mellencamp meets The Spongetones. And “Mercenary Kind Of Girl” is a cool Monkees styled tune. Not everything has a hook, but the majority of this album does and that makes it highly recommended.

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The Orion Experience “Children of The Stars”
The transformation is complete.  The Orion Experience started several years ago as a power pop band, led by singer Orion Simprini.  With crunchy guitars and the addition of vocalist Linda Horwatt it made them an “instant” party band. After some commercial success, and getting the notice of Perez Hilton and Maroon 5 producer Jon Kaplan, they’ve grown more commercial. The bands reputation continued to grow, moving closer to ELO styled disco-pop, and they’ve even turned their show into a Broadway-styled event.

Children of The Stars is a blend of electronic, pop and rock music. Thankfully, it offers more than its top-40 ready title track. “S.T.A.R. Child” combines the disco beats with pop smarts, and Horwatt really shines with the amazing melodies on “Made 4 You” and “Dandy.” Her powerful voice reminded me of Chrissie Hynde. Psychedelic sitars and tight vocal harmonies are featured on “Heart In My Pocket.” A hokey sci-fi Aquarius style narrative runs through the album often between songs and these poems are mercifully short (listen to Moody Blues much?). The ELO influence shows up again on “Win It All” and the idealistic “Love Saves The Day,” which is a perfect merging of genres (the only danceable guitar solo I ever heard). Overall a very good album that I dare say will please the most jaded listeners of all ages.

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DVD/Blu-ray Review: “Good Ol’ Freda”

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Good Ol Freda

Over the years nearly everyone remotely connected with the Beatles has offered up an opinion or experience about them and their music. The number of Beatle books listed on Amazon numbers more than 7,700. So it is very special that one of the few living connections to those early days of Beatlmania still has a story to tell that hasn’t been told. Freda Kelly, who became president of the Beatles’ official fan club as a teenager, and was soon after hired as manager Brian Epstein’s secretary, is the main subject of the documentary Good Ol’ Freda. Now a modest 60-ish grandmother, Freda has kept quiet all these years as part of the Beatles family, but here she details her story…
Read the entire review at Blog Critics
 

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