Category: Power Pop Review

Richard Snow and The In-Laws “Am I Really That Boring?”

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From Nottingham England, Richard Snow is known for his jangle fueled guitar and impressive melodies, evidenced in past releases. Richard formed his band The Inlaws in 2005 so he could bring his music to a live stage, and now includes the band in his third release. Opening with the gorgeous “Stop Your Crying?” is the kind of ballad that combines The Byrds jangle and Steve Winwood styled harmonies. The updated merseybeat is more pronounced on “Middle Class Girl” and the acoustic sadness of “If You Don’t Rescue Me” is a sweet folk diversion, with a nice choral coda.

The album’s centerpiece “21st Century” is another gem with some Mod backing vocal touches, and its retro theme, “It’s modern life I fear… the 21st Century sucks.” Another impressive ear-worm “Take Me Back Home” with its multi-tracked chorus is both simple and very catchy. Occasionally the rhythms on songs can get predictable but it’s performed with such skill, it’s hard to complain. Every song here is good, without any filler to be found – and a special treat is the title track with it’s wicked riff that builds and its obsessive-compulsive lyric “Am I really that boring? Yes I am, and I don’t care.” Fans of jangle rock  and smooth harmonies will love this album. Highly Recommended.

CD Baby | Amazon

Tony Cox and The Title Tracks

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Tony Cox “On The Way” 
Tony Cox is joined once again by Nigel Clark (Dodgy) on vocals, keyboards & bass and Darren Finlan on drums & percussion for this sophomore album. Unlike the previous effort, this set of tunes is more oriented to the early 70’s with it’s retro approach. The opener “We’ll Get High” is similar to The Climax Blues Band with its soulful riffs and steady beat. “Hold Me Angeline” and “Alicia” both harken back to The Hollies, and it’s a great showcase for Clark’s great vocal harmonies. “The Way” has a bit of Lennon in the chorus with an open cavernous sound. One of the best tunes here is “Feel The Ride” a Beach Boys styled song that lingers long after the chorus finishes. The power ballads also do well with “Curse of Love,” a Zombies styled gem with flowing strings under the guitar melody. For those who enjoy the retro styled pop of decades past, this is a rare find that you shouldn’t miss.

MySpace | CD Baby | Amazon

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The Title Tracks “In Blank”
Washington DC musicians John Davis, Andrew Black and Michael Cotterman perform as The Title Tracks, and the fast-paced power pop style emulates early Elvis Costello and Squeeze back when they flirted with a punk pop sound. The pounding rhythms and frenetic riffs sound garage-style, but seem to lack the spontaneity of true punk. “Shaking Hands” and the tracks that follow don’t let up the pace, and as a result nothing really stands out till we get to the guitar play of “Light Sleepers” and  “I Can’t Hide” where the poppier side takes over with some decent harmonies emerging. “Forget The Ghost” is another standout with a shadowy organ melody that resembles The Smithereens slightly. The melodies are good – and even great in some tunes. For example “It’s Wrong” could be a lost Rockpile song, but the lo-fi mono production often left me flat. Davis is a talent worth nurturing, but he needs to refine things a bit.

The Tonighters FREE downloads

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The Tonighters are a studio project developed by Billy Gilbert (Chelsea, Penetration, The Lurkers, Hang Ups, The Surrenders) with a long background in punk and pop rock genres. The band got a chance to impress the crowd at IPO Liverpool this past year and Billy decided to make a series of EPs available FREE for music fans. So you’ve got three to enjoy right now…. Closet Classics – Volume 1, Closet Classics – Volume 2 and Trivia Melodies. Each EP displays classic pop mastery, Volume 1 has a distinct new wave influence, with its angular guitar progressions on “Sad Forever.” Volume 2 and Trivia Melodies both feature excellent jangle pop with “Man In The Room That Time Forgot” and “Finish What You Started.” Overall an excellent value (you can’t get better than free) and it primes the pump for a future Tonighters full length release.

Free downloads on Bandcamp | Facebook

Dan Hubbard and Sally Crewe

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Dan Hubbard and The Humadors “The Love Show”
Dan Hubbard’s approach is unadulterated roots rock without all the showy excess of today’s major label acts. Hubbard and his band the Humadors are a blend of pop rock with some Americana thrown in, as evidenced in the opener “Don’t Take Me Now.” Lead vocalist Hubbard works a good harmony with Kyle Yap on “Stay Away” with a touch of blues guitar here. Fans of the recent Gerry Beckley or Jeff Larson album with be thrilled with the light piano and guitar on “This Is Your Life” with its heart-felt lyrical truths about life’s unexpected moments (It’s my favorite tune here). Things are pretty easy going until “Beautiful Bar” brings back more rock guitars, but out of left field comes the slow ballad “Half Vampires,” a pretty if disturbing story of loving a vampire, from the Van Helsing point of view. It ends on a high note, with “The Last Time You See Me,” a fast paced swan song to those long haired rock and roll dreams. The band is chugging on all cylinders here, and I wish this energy was shown earlier on. Maybe we’ll get more consistency on the next album, but that’s me nitpicking — this is a solid album worth your time.

CD Baby | Amazon

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Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves “Transmit/Receive”EP
Even power pop legend Tommy Keene compared Sally Crewe to female rockers Chrissie Hynde and Polly Harvey. The comparison is quite accurate, as her vocals are powerful and very melodic, and the opener “Make Me Stay” is a riff heavy classic. Crewe is based in Austin, but she grew up in Yorkshire and her influences cling to the classic guitar bands of the 80’s. A real standout here is “Punk Rock Kid” with it’s layered chords and punchy beat. You will also hear a little Pat Benatar or The Motels in compositions like “Living Like You’ve Got Forever.” No filler tunes in this short 5 song EP, and it shows Sally can rock with the big boys with the big riffs. I look forward to visiting her debut album Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You for further enjoyment.

Bandcamp | SallyCrewe.com

Bye Bye Blackbirds and The Toms

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Bye Bye Blackbirds “Fixed Hearts”
Rainbow Quartz recent pick up is this Oakland band we reviewed way back, and they sound better than ever. “Elizabeth Park” sounds like Tom Petty playing with The Spongetones, it’s a snappy jangle filled melody that impresses.  The followup. “Open A Light” continues the warm feeling, with some sweet guitar chord shifts on this mid-tempo gem. The country beat makes “Jack Frost” a bit like Gary Louris (Jayhawks) with a Beatlesque twist – its my favorite track here. Another good song is “Every Night At Noon” with a Nilsson-like break between the chorus. Almost every song is decent here, but some just are flat out great like “Through The Clouds” with its harmonies and California rhythms. Overall a highly enjoyable album, listen to it streaming over at the band’s website.

 Amazon | Bye Bye Blackbirds Site

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The Toms “s/t”
This release was previously a true rarity and lost classic that commanded sky high prices on ebay. The album was lost in 1979, and faded away to the cut-out bins in New Jersey record stores. Rediscovered by the power pop crowd later on it got instant fame and acclaim as a cult musical nugget. In an effort to get his old music out, Tom Marolda (aka The Toms) released this album as a download on CD Baby, but if you prefer a hard copy Amazon has a few. For those who don’t know, Marolda made this album in DIY fashion (recording in the basement) using old reel-to-reel equipment. The songs are fun, infectious and some sound like old lost Beatle tunes (“The Door“) for the 70’s New Wave crowd. Not Lame carried this CD for a few years and it would sell out pretty fast, so if you never got it – here it is.

CD Baby | Amazon