Category: Power Pop Review

With their debut in 1997 “Soon”, The Lollipop Factory quickly establish themselves as disciples of 70’s-era rock. Guitarist/vocalist David Tweed and drummer/vocalist Bekah Manning sound a lot like a marriage of Queen, Jellyfish and T Rex. Almost ten years later the band has roared back with “Away In A Trailer.” The band has pretty much toned down the pop sound here and replaced it with more metal, albeit in a carnival atmosphere. “Song For Robert Schuller” is a glorious opener with the Freddie Mercury multi-layered vocal harmonies wrapped in a forceful guitar attack. As a metal-pop album, it will earn plenty of raves. Another standout is “Crashed and Crucified,” and the killer riff leading “JumpJet.” The Jellyfish influence comes through on the excellent “Objective Man” and the classic “Somewhere My Love.” Unfortunately the band seems to concentrate more on texture and tone than any hooks or melody. “Lovers Leap” and “Tore My Heart in Two” are both a metal mess and “State Of Distraction” is off-key to the point of near unlistenable. Thankfully there is enough here to bang your head to.

A new EP “Eat Cake” was released this year, and the songs are more pop oriented, like the ambitious title track, full of complex chord progressions. “Freeze Pop Holdup” has Bekah’s vocals up front and it sounds like a totally different band. “Rigor Mortis” adds a vaudeville-styled “eulogy” break, and is a ton of fun to listen to (fans of Bryan Scary take note). The band has been touring the midwest in support of the album and EP. Overall this a band going through a creative growth spurt – and we benefit musically. They just need more focus and consistency to sustain a full albums worth of tunes.

My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik 

Listen to “Song For Robert Schuller”

Rob Laufer “The Iron Age”
Rob Laufer is an L.A. session man who’s played with Frank Black, Fiona Apple, George Martin, Johnny Cash, Shawn Colvin and others. He’s also on his fourth album (see below) but The Iron Age really propelled him into the spotlight. Laufer has an uncanny melodic nature and the opener “Starstuff” compares well with Todd Rundgren. This is followed by the stunner “Did You See Her Dance,” a near perfect pop single lead by a solid guitar riff. Laufer’s approach is also a wistful acoustic pop similar to David Mead or The Finn Brothers on “Mr. Perry.” But the impressive high energy melodies are all over tracks like “Inside Story” and “Open” in between the slower tunes, like the easy listening gem “Backseat.” The double tracked guitar melodies in “Car Crash Boyfriend” is another highlight, and the Kinks-related “In the Frame” was tailor-made for an HP commercial that previously used Davies’ “Picture Book” as the theme. A really good album by an underrated musician, who deserves more attention.

My Space | CD Baby | Amazon

Rob Laufer “Excruciating Bliss”
On his latest disc, Laufer plays bit more somber here, with the psychedelic “Come On Sunshine” melody phasing in and out. The track “New Life” is like a  Beatles-styled blues pop with a wicked bridge and one of the album highlights. The emotional exasperation comes through on the McCartney-like “Faith.” The theme of frustration reaches it’s apex on “Falling Birds,” a sensitive ballad in the Harry Nilsson mold, sung with hushed whispers. With the exception of “Mary Entertaining” much of the remaining album is decidedly downbeat. The influences here are more Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Mark Knopfler and that’s just fine with me. There are some musical excursions here that aren’t that memorable, but the music doesn’t get stale either. “Tears of Home” is a winning example of a piano led song that is equally sad as it is compelling.

MySpace | CD Baby | Amazon

Another great song about a revered band brought to us by Corin Ashley – and his last album is another gem you shouldn’t forget about. This tune was recorded at Abbey Road, London in Studio 2 (lots of Beatles dust on all the gear). Featuring Ken Stringfellow (Posies, Big Star, Disciplines) on vocals, Martin Carr and Rob Cieka (Boo Radleys) vocals and drums, Ed Ball (The Times, TV Personalities) on piano. Dubbed the Chocolate Olivers the single is available on Itunes.

Miami-based indie pop band Ex Norwegian got reviewed on Virgin.com last week. The band has a dizzying array of influences and styles. Yet the songs are a catchy blend that doesn’t gets boring. Listen to “Add Vice” to see what I mean… Read my review of Ex Norwegian here.

Want to read more of my Virgin.com reviews? Check out my Virgin.com Review Archive

A favorite of this site, Jeff Litman continues to gain traction with last year’s “Postscript” album. His recent NYC shows and great music videos like this one really help spread the word. Oh Yeah!