Category: Power Pop Review

Rob Stuart is a man with a mission. Also known as Broken Promise Keeper, he wants to deliver some “ice cold pop” to your ears. If I had to make a direct comparison, Broken Promise Keeper sounds very much like cult pop favorite Anton Barbeau. It’s fair to say Ice Cold Pop begins with a confident bounce and jangle filled riffs of “Directions.” The song has some elements of mid eighties production, similar to early REM or The Shoes sound, so fans of this style will be sure to enjoy it. The driving piano chords of “Worship From Afar” sparks a great song with beautiful cascading harmonies in the chorus. The tracks here are full of rich effortless hooks, especially on my favorite track, “Kristine.” The next song “I Blame James” is a interesting lament on how all his childhood heroes (James Dean, James Bond, etc.) are setting an example that he can’t follow. The quick bass and rhythm guitars of “Look Out Hollywood” recall early Joe Jackson quite a bit. Stuarts vocal is serviceable when the songwriting and arrangements are clicking, but at certain points, the DIY nature of the production poke through (“Fake It”). Some tracks seem to be workman efforts, like “Amusement Park Lover” and “Once” but don’t quite have strong enough hooks. The album ends strongly with the gentle acoustic gems “Secret” and “Goodbye.” For most pop fans this one is worth the effort to track down and listen to.

Philadelphia’s Spinning Lucy got me hooked with the dramatic melody of the opener “Star Sign” and it shows the debut of a tight rock band with great talent. Vocalist Will Roberts leads the band from track to track without sounding cliche or having the tracks wallow in self pity. The bands sound is comparable to the Gin Blossoms meet The Rembrandts with a touch of Jimmy Eat World. The songs are all well performed with a matter-of-fact upbeat approach despite the dark subject matter. It took a few listens to see the themes of death and regret in songs like “Digging Up Bones” and “Hello.” The serious lyrics and wonderfully crisp hooks make “Lions” a real winner here. The band’s take on love to loss and back again in “Crowning” and “Ghost In You” puts them a step above most catchy rock bands. The latter songs lyrics speak of acceptance with lines like, “If you forgive the monsters in me/then I’ll forgive the ghosts in you.” The adventurous story in “Goldilocks” doesn’t seem to keep pace with the melody, although the guitar break is really nice here. The arrangements are a little too even handed in places without giving the listener a hook to hang to on “Letting You Down” and the faux orchestral “Flavor Of The Weak” can get a bit pretentious, but the hidden instrumental track at the end is a nice finish. With a little more concentration on hooks, this band should continue to prosper. Keep your eyes on these guys, as they could break out big time with this album.

Guitarists Todd Borsch and Dan McKenzie hooked up with David Krieger assuming bass guitar duties and veteran drummer Scott Pellican and formed The Gilligans – a British Invasion influenced garage band that came out with “Snoring With An Accent” in 2007. This new album finds the group spreading it’s wings a little bit. The music is split between sugary sweet pop and Cavern Club-era rock. “Wanna Wear Your Sunshine” is a good example of the band’s gritty guitar energy. On the other side of the coin, a text book example of power pop music, “She’s A Boomerang” recalls The Rubinoos and Curt Bochetter. “I Want To Be Your Loving Man” is a true gem that brings to mind both The Hollies and Southern Culture On The Skids. “In A Flash” is a lead by a tight fuzz amped guitar and sweet vocals that brings these contrasting influences together. The songs are all pretty good, no duds here — although the harmonies on a few songs disappear into the background, with such a prominent lead guitar. And sometimes the effort to get psychedelic, gets a little carried away with the vocal phasing (“This All Starts With You”) and I remind myself this is not a Pillbugs album. Overall, a very good album (no sophomore slump here) that’s worth plenty of repeat listens and a few coconuts. 

The Respectables Nick Piunti’s new video created by his 10 year old daughter. Now that’s just cute…

Superdrag – John Davis, Brandon Fisher, Tom Pappas and Don Coffey, Knoxville’s perennial underdogs of power pop, have reformed after a 5 year breakup, and after what many thought was a troubled history with both the labels and thier own personal demons. And they sound pissed. In fact the opening raw punk rant “Slow to speak, slow to anger” is anything but. Like the band’s full-length debut Regretfully Yours, the bands energy level is high. Davis screams much of the hyperactive lyrics here, but on a few songs like “Live and Breathe”and “Try” we actually get a melody with the tube-amp distortion from the band’s dual guitar attack. “I Only Want A Place To Stay” is a welcome return to form as well, with rich textured guitar balancing out Davis. Unfortunately, the distortion on “Everything’ll Be Made Right” overtakes the vocals and “Cheap Poltergeists” puts bassist Tom Pappas out front for an Alice Cooper impersonation. “Ready To Go” recovers things, with a Replacements-like structure and great vocals with the lines “we’ve been waiting for so long.” And they sound like they mean it — it’s the best song on the album. The harder sound will sit well with fans of Sevendust and Taking Back Sunday, and turn off some fans of their earlier work like, Head Trip In Every Key. In some sense the band has left it’s melodic comfort zone for a “younger” demographic here and that’s okay, but for me it’s not as memorable or catchy. Still for Superdrag fans, there is enough talent on display here to listen to and appreciate this reunion.

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