Category: Power Pop Review

Merseybeat aficionados will be on cloud nine with this new release. Using the classic instruments of the great Merseybeat era (6 and 12 string Rickenbacker guitars with some acoustic guitar in for flavoring) and utilizing classic Mersey recording styles (double tracked vocals, a clean guitar sound, two part harmonies, plenty of backround “oohs and aahs,” with echoing vocal effects). The brainchild of brothers, Joe and John Nowik and lead guitarist Hugh Murphy, “Real Pop” is chock full of catchy melodies, along the lines of The Wonders (from the movie “That Thing You Do”), The Rubinoos, and Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas. The songs are basic sixties teen angst about girls that remind me of those early Jan & Dean singles. For fans of those early-era Beatles bands (The Fore,  The Offbeat) this will be a welcome addition to your collection. The CD label even lists the facts: 100% Rickenbackers, Hooks & Melodies – 0% long guitar or drum solos. The issue I have here is the sound is a bit too derivative and with the massive amount of tracks (17), none of them really standout much. Tracks seem to blend together here, and the tinny production keeps every sound (vocals, guitars, drums) at a flat EQ curve. The music is also pretty much at the same fast tempo for every song as well. However, if you enjoy the pre–Spector British sound then this is right up your alley. And you have to give props to Joe Nowik and crew for period accuracy, so let your inner-Beatle fan enjoy this one. 

Boolevards | CD Baby | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

So I guess Jeremy isn’t the only label exec that can play a tune? Pink Hedgehog Records’ owner Simon Felton has his own debt out now. No stranger to this, he’s also the bass player for the band Garfields Birthday. Simon is assisted by both Anton Barbeau and Alan Strawbridge (Lucky Bishops/Cheese) and that’s considerable pop muscle! The album sounds a bit like The Spongetones “lite”, especially the opener “Mister Magic Eyes” with it’s jangley pop guitar strumming. Some of the songs have a slight psychedelic touch like “Paisley Man” and it reminds me a bit of Gerry and The Pacemakers. Another highlight is the warm and fuzzy “The Latest Thing” which is a subtle dig at newer bands lack of success, done in a Beatlesque style. Another fun observation is the song “(It’s Not) Rocket Science,” which opens with the line: “In the time it takes to sing this song/You could probably write a better one.” The entire album was recorded in six days on a very tight budget. You wouldn’t notice this as the musicianship is excellent, but the hooks aren’t as strong as they could be here. The slower ballads “Wait And See” and “Goodbye” are a bit too placid to be memorable either.  Compared with Garfield’s Birthday, the album is admittedly lightweight. But for fans of jangle pop and soft AM radio classics you will find plenty to like here.

Sometimes with Lane Steinberg, it’s a box of chocolates. You’re never really sure what you’ll get. On his third solo album “Passion and Faith”, you mix equal parts John Lennon, Adrian Belew, Anton Barbeau and Brazilian progressive. The juxtaposition of Lane’s pop songs and four covers of songs by the Clube da Esquina songwriters from 70’s era Minas Gerais, Brazil, all sung by Lane in their native Portuguese makes for a strange brew. At one point someone thought I had two different albums playing at once. The Brazilian songs aside, Lane’s echoing vocals and guitar in “What Do I Do With The Rest Of My Life?” works well as a light psyche pop song with strange effects (babies crying) in the background. The sweet sound of “Happy Holidaze” has a bit of hushed XTC anglo-pop, next “How Insensitive” plays like a psychedelic, droning Sisters of Mercy goth pop with a mash-up of two different rhythms. “Christmas In Peru” is a casual, Rundgren-like coffee house ditty. Then we travel to a British music hall in “Why Can’t People Just Talk about the Weather?” But the centerpiece of the album, however, is a 21-minute jam of the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star” with Lane playing all the instruments himself, recreating the Dead’s golden era with uncanny accuracy, yet in his own personal style. This will be a challenge to most listeners expecting clean, familiar power pop and although I appreciate much of the Brazilian songs, they don’t match up well against the anglo-pop stuff here. The parts here work better than the sum, but the musicianship is so absorbing, I wouldn’t pass this one up. 

After doing the entire “Meet the Beatles” cover album, The Smithereens decided to make a proper, all-out studio version of one of the albums that inspired their rock dreams of becoming a band in the first place for this 40th anniversary tribute. The Who’s unique sound will never be duplicated, but then again neither will The Smithereens’ sound that has made them enduring rock icons over the past 25 plus years. The result is part Who, part Smithereens. It sounds really good instrumentally as usual, and it works well. But Pat DiNizio’s vocal limitations are clear when compared to Roger Daltry (listen to “I’m Free” to see what I mean).

Listen to The Smithereens play The Who’s “Tommy”

Just finished a discussion about Power Pop on Blog Talk Radio. I was a bit nervous, but I had loads of fun talking about power pop groups, the Tinted Windows and whether The Jonas Brothers are power pop (they are not).