Category: Power Pop Review

Ari Shine has racked up plenty of miles on the road, opening for artists like Rhett Miller, John Doe, Hugh Cornwell of the Stranglers, Redd Kross, Silversun Pickups, the Donnas, Liam Finn and many others. Ari’s new album is  a product of this experience. “All I’ve Got Is Love” is polished single that incorporates a a strong melody line with power chords aplenty. “Against The Night” and “It’s A Go” are also well produced and slick, but don’t resonate as well as the opener. It gets better with the slow building “Here With Me” as he clearly states “…Everything I need is here with me.” Another standout here is the thrilling “One Silver Morning” with it’s energetic beat akin to Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” But here it’s updated with Shine’s earthy vocals and swirling guitar riffs.

Little touches on “Better Any day” and “Refuge In You” pull it above standard material here, however the remaining songs fail to approach the intensity of “One Silver Morning.” Overall a good album, but you get the sense that Ari maybe tries too hard on some of the more commercial sounding tracks. Where he shines is on openly melodic stuff like the bonus track “Ship In A Bottle.”

In honor of the 4th annual Record Store Day, Steven Wilson (of Plasticsoul) and Brandon Schott perform a cover version of the Big Star classic “THANK YOU FRIENDS.” This download is limited to 200 units only, so get it quick!

The Honey Pies “Think Of England”
From Australia comes this vintage sounding 60’s fuzz rock band that’s a lot like a Starburst sour and sweet chew. It’s got a hard punk rock shell with a sweet chewy melodic center.

“Sex Wax” opens things up with blistering guitar rhythms and Freakbeat drumming. “Hair of The Dog” continues the manic pace until we get to the melodic “Get It Right” with it’s perfect blend of echoing vocals and harmonies, it’s a real highlight. You’ll also get some garage do-wop similar to early Kinks in tracks like “Don’t Mention The War” and “Diving Bell.” It’s all good stuff here, the band even manages to throw in some Merseybeat with “She Don’t Love You.” Stylistically it never is quite clean cut, and sometimes it goes for the throat with the punk rants “DQYDJB” and “Bossanova.” One of the most versatile bands I’ve heard this year, it will appeal to fans of both The Beatles and The Sex Pistols simultaneously.

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Tiny Animals “Our Own Time”
New York City power-pop trio (husband & wife, Chris & Rita Howerton, on guitar & drums respectively, and bassist Anton Kriesi) have already been veterans of TV music (like MTV’s Jersey Shore and The Real World) so it’s no surprise Our Own Time is a decent example of modern power pop.

Themes of love and breakup aren’t new, but the melodies here are non-threatening and several times you get enough smart hooks to draw you in, like on the great opener “Fight or Flight” and the bombastic “You Let The Whole World Down” full of heavy guitar riffs and floating backing vocals that weaves together a blanket of sound. “Wait For Me” has a nice dance beat with the chorus and a few more standouts have some really nice production like “I Don’t Need This Love” and “The Moment.” The band does veer into the mainstream a bit too much on  “I Can’t Cry Forever” and “Nah Nah Nah” which seem like demos for some Disney ingenue. Hopefully Tiny Animals will do well enough to leave the formulaic behind in future releases.

The NYC trio of Stuart Klinger, Steve Wickins and Yianni Naslas create hook heavy gems in this sophomore release. Vocals recall Rhett Miller in spots, and really work magic on tracks like “For The Best” and “The Things I’ve Done,” the latter track has a great riff that sound like Fountains of Wayne and Old 97’s combined. “Running Away” rocks a bit more, with a nice bridge to the chorus and it makes up for the occasional misfire (“World”).

The band has some creative song composition and smart lyrics, but at times the vocals don’t always click. But there is plenty here to recommend. Fans of Sloan will enjoy the heavier sounds “Timeline” and “Uhm” near the album’s end and fans of jangle pop will be thrilled with “Oh No.”I would definitely say this is a solid effort that fans of indie rock will really enjoy.

CD Baby | Amazon

Hurtsmile is a new project by Extreme/Van Halen frontman Gary Cherone and his brother Mark. Fans of Extreme will find similarities in theme and tone with his previous band’s masterwork “III Sides To Every Story.” The band straddles the line from brilliant hard rock (“Just War Theory”) to unlistenable tripe (“Jesus Would You Meet Me”). Mark Cherone is an excellent guitarist as evidenced on “Stillborn.” The riff work on “Kaffur (Infidel)” is so good it overshadows Gary’s vocals and even the melody line. The best rocker is “Love Thy Neighbor” both Cherones are equally represented here. But what is surprising is the amount of mellow ballads and eclectic experiments. The best of this style is the soulful “Beyond The Garden/Kicking against The Goads.”

Overall a solid mixed bag here. Even Mark’s skills and Gary’s impressive vocals cannot save a horrible song like “Just War Reprise.” Fans should pick through this release for the goodies hidden here.