Category: Power Pop Review

Scott Miller passes away

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Sadly, Scott Miller passed away on April 15, 2013.  Scott Miller has released more than a dozen albums with his bands Game Theory and the Loud Family, and his music has been described as “a cross between Alex Chilton, James Joyce, and the Electric Prunes” (Stereo Review) and “smart, funny, and instantly memorable” (Rolling Stone). Miller was a brilliant songwriter who’s biggest impact was during the 80’s, mixing both powerpop and new wave to craft a memorable catalog of albums. Some of these are being made public on the Loud Family website.

In addition to being a musician, Scott was an author of an insightful book Music: What Happened? In the sample chapter he describes how he found Seth Swirsky’s “Watercolor Day” –

“Certainly the Internet has changed how people find out about music, and one novelty there for my methods is what I’ll call canon triangulation. Searching around for the best new songs, I’ll do a web search on several songs that I consider indicators of good ears, and see what else is on those people’s list, and so on. I found “Watercolor Day” that way, I think on a site I want to credit with being associated with Audities, though I see I’m not able to repeat the search today.”

I can only hope that he was talking about Powerpopaholic.com — but aside from that I hope people honor Scott by playing his music today. I know I will.

Bleu “To Hell With You”

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Bleu has produced top-selling pop acts like Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, and Demi Lovato. And like Jay-Z, he’s taken all the techniques he’s done for them and added it into his own album. To Hell With You is basically a modern pop “statement” successfully funded by Pledgemusic. Those of us who heard the sunny pop “Bleusical” commercial advertising this album may be somewhat disappointed that Bleu appears to have ditched his traditional power pop roots. But he mentions at the outset that he’s exploring his boundaries musically, so get ready for a bumpy ride.

Where Four was a love letter to his childhood, To Hell With You is a more personal statement of musicial nihilism. It starts with a positively Danny Elfman-like “Overture,” and then the title track’s electronic synths and beats start. Similar to a Depeche Mode/ELO mix with a dance club chorus, it fades into the melody of “All Downhill from Here,” a nightmare sung as a sweet lullaby – it’s the best track here that gets his point across. Next is an honestly bitter rant, “In My Own Little World,” it is the most cynical (and catchy) song I’ve ever heard from Bleu, where “in real life people suck, and there is no such thing as love.” This theme is continued on “Merry-Go-Round” which is similar to Katy Perry’s “Firework.” There are several bright spots musically, “It’s Not Over” is a strong bluesy tune and the desperate “Grasping At Straws” both boasting amazing vocals.

“The Bottom Of My Heart” adds Alexz Johnson’s vocal for Bleu to duel with, and then “Endwell” gives us a rap with Justin Tranter (ugh) and Auto-Tuned crap on “Odd Future” (double ugh). At least we end with a great ballad, “Won’t Make It Out Alive,” and it almost makes up for the earlier indulgences. Almost. The “hidden” track is very good too and there is definitely enough here to please the hard-core Bleu fan, but others may not want to wade through the other genre experiments. It will release traditionally in May, but for now its only available through PledgeMusic as a download.

Jim Camacho and Chris Price

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Jim Camacho “Everywhere” EP
 Once again the talented Camacho gives us a bright shiny pop with flamenco styled jangle on “Big Little World.” His insight lyrically is like a power pop version of Jackson Browne, on “Hold On Ariel.” Next “Everywhere” has a big hook with an expansive chorus, then slows the tempo down for a the next two tunes. Highly Recommended.

Itunes | Amazon
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Chris Price “Homesick”
Los Angeles singer/songwriter Chris Price is proof you don’t need Auto-Tune or even a recording studio to craft perfect power pop. Chris downloaded a four-track app on his iphone and like One Like Son, created a sophisticated vintage sounding LP. It also helps that the melodies are darn near perfect, similar to Mike Viola on the title track, and “Suicide” is a fast paced gem with jangling riffs. The ballad “For All We Know” is a lot like Big Star’s “Thirteen.” The gorgeously crafted “That’s Your Boyfriend” and “Up In Flames” are more timeless baroque compositions. I wish I found this last year, it would definitely make my 2012 top ten for sure. Get it now.

Itunes | Bandcamp

The Popdogs and The Sharp Things

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The Popdogs “Cool Cats for Pop Dogs”
The Popdogs are one of the bands scheduled to play IPO Liverpool at The Cavern Club this year, and the debut LP is due out in May. From Lincoln, UK the band mines the jangly side of power pop goodness with influences clearly from REM, The Records and even The Smiths. Lead singer and songwriter James Styring and guitarist Tim McKeating are at the bands’ core and have great talent for power pop. “Kelly’s On” bounces along a hook filled chorus, leading to the angular guitar riffs of “Honest Guy.” Several songs are just classic, accessible gems like “High Time.” This is a signature tune with a repeating jangle rhythm and my favorite. Also recommended are “Ocean Blue,” and the awesome guitar riffs on “Kissin Alicia.” This is a terrific find and worth the wait.

Amazon (Pre-Order) | Kool Kat Musik (May 13) | Facebook

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The Sharp Things “Green Is Good”
The Sharp Things is a Brooklyn-based, pop and rock collective with eclectic influences including Mark Eitzel, Scott Walker, Jimmy Webb, David Bowie, Radiohead, and Joe Cocker. This album is a shout out to those who supported the “Occupy” movement out there, especially the opener “Blame The Bankers” playing out like a Bowie tune. The styles vary wildly. Some songs work, and others don’t. My faves here include “Flowers For My Girl” which sounds like a Foundations outtake, and the catchy “Goodbye To Golders Green,” with its ominous minor chords. Check it out, it’s a FREE download.

 

The Left Behind and The Taters

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The Left Behind “Volume One: We’re Already Gone” EP
From Marshalls Creek, PA comes a musician/producer named Tim O’Grady. His new project The Left Behind will appeal to fans of The Secret Powers, especially the opening track “She’s Had Enough Of Us.” The strong vocals, hand claps and dense melody of “I Don’t Want To Go Home” is another standout, along with the follow up “Is It Because?” Each song has a solid hook, even with a catchy organ bridge (similar to Smashmouth) on “I Won’t Regret A Single Thing.” I’m not sure if it was done on purpose, but the sound compression is fairly distracting – the backing vocals and rhythm often fuzzing into oblivion, especially on the last track “There You Go.” Also not sure if the music has anything to do with the popular Apocalyptic book series, but thank the Lord – this is a FREE download on Facebook!

Bandcamp | Facebook FREE download

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The Taters “Taters Party”
The Taters are an eclectic mix of roots-rock, power-pop, with country and bluegrass tendencies. The band loves the old 60’s era pop influences and decided to get together a “live” show in the spirit of The Beach Boys Party LP. The good news is the album is an enjoyable one, boasting a colorful combination of covers and originals. “Pageboy” sets the casual tone, with guitars and bongos and the cover of Ringo’s “Photograph” is also very well arranged and performed. But the highlight of the disc came next; the catchy “New Girlfriend” and jazzy bounce of “Thingamajig.” But they get too ambitious, and Squeeze’s “Goodbye Girl” is sung like a Mariachi band. Worse, “Help Me Rhonda” makes it painfully obvious they can’t sing in perfect 4-part harmonies. Thankfully, the band gets back on track with a cool mash-up “Smoke on Route 66” and closes strong with the brilliant bluegrass styled “Titanic.” Perfect fun if you like a rockin’ Prairie Home Companion.

Amazon | CD Baby