Category: Power Pop Review

Another long awaited return comes from musician Howard Herrick, who’s New Jersey band Minster Hill just released their sophomore album. The album really moves away from the pastoral XTC and Supertramp-like touch points into a more commercial pop sound. The opening track “Everything” is a glossy, yet melodic tune about a significant other who holds a grudge. For those missing the wry lyric and cool chord progressions, “Harder than Hard” will please fans of the debut, it actually reminds me a little of Bourgeois Tagg. Many songs are inspired by Howard’s experience on the west coast doing the My One and Only film soundtrack. “It’s Beyond Me” is a guitar filled rant about some one who fails to keep commitments and blows thing off. Similarly “Beg You Back” is full of strong guitar riffs with a strong vocal by Herrick. “Outerbody” and “Feeling Lonely” are fast moving rock and roll songs, however the lyrics seem to lend themselves more to ballads. And there are none here. “Help Me” is has a decent hook and goes through the story how he motivates himself to keep going on. So as I mentioned, fans of ringing guitar will find a lot to like, although many songs sounded too similar and tend to blend together. Thankfully, “Waiting For The Perfect Day” has some nice free form guitar breaks in a more psychedelic composition. For fans of adult oriented rock it’s definitely worth a listen.

CD Baby | MySpace | Not Lame | Kool Kast Musik

Andy Lehman & The Night Moves “Low Country”

Andy Lehman’s debut “Landline” showed a lot of promise, and his development continues here. With help from his new band, The Night Moves, he’s left the harder guitar sound to a softer, glossier approach. An excellent single is the emotional “An Arrow Flew” where the strings build to an exuberant chorus. The production has a wide open sound that works well on ballads “I Smelled You On The Breeze” where it conveys brilliant pop longing, I’ve not heard since George Michael. Unfortunately it doesn’t help on lighter pop like “Million To One” where a catchy song drowns in echo-filled instrumentation. On “Wolf’s In Sheep’s Clothing” Andy sounds a little like family friendly alt rockers The Fray or Train here. Songs like this and “All Along The Roads We Walked” sound too commercial to me, but they are good quality songs. For me, the gorgeous ballads like “Missing At The Docks” and “Moving With You” make up for this. Give it a try, you can get a FREE sampler on Andy’s site.

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Ray Mason “Like Bugs Chewing On Paper”

Americana rocker Ray Mason is an amalgam of The Barenaked Ladies and Tom Petty, where you can hear a song about almost anything, like an earnest tune about your “Lunch Box.” Mason with his trademark Silvertone guitar has been pumping out music albums since 1996, and it’s an acquired taste. The slow tempo of “Shooting Over The Head” gives way to a full upbeat rocker, with tempo shifts and strings for emphasis. All this is pretty melodic, even the title track, with goofy lyrics about aliens/bugs… “what’s it about a desert in outer space, don’t these creatures like any other place.” Mason has a speaking/singing approach on most of the album that contrasts with his brilliant musicianship. But after albums mid point, it really takes off. My favorite here is “Tourist In Town” – like Stew (Passing Strange) or Todd Rundgren, it’s a funky mix of rock and storytelling through a stream of consciousness narrative. Another highlight is the fun “Everything Worked” with Ray’s best vocal performance. When you hear “Ceiling” you will wonder, Ray could probably write an ode to a lawn sprinkler and you’d love to hear it.

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Tim Butler has a gentle pop sensibility, not far from his friend Cliff Hillis who plays guitar on “That’s The Way You Want Me To Be.” There is a personal honesty reflected in the lyrics as well, and the catchy, “Special Plan” is like Black Crowes lite, with a perfect blend of guitar and vocal melody. Tim’s vocal often carries the tune with a minimum of flash, just a simple clean production. The wonderful “Christine” is another mid-tempo pop gem that features an ascending bass line. Some nice vocal textures are brought out on “Tryin” with a Hillis guitar solo in the middle of the song. “Building Me Up” has more good musicianship but the hooks here are lacking til we get to the heavier guitar sound on “Every Little Thing.” As a light pop record, it succeeds but the addition of three acoustic guitar songs here makes the whole thing even lighter and less memorable. These songs are even more confessional, to the point where on “One More Try” I’m thinking… Okay Tim, I get it. You are a sensitive soul spilling it for your significant other. While it makes for an intimate live performance — you lose some of that feeling on CD. With repeated listens it does compare well with the guitar pop of The Rembrandts, and if you like that style go for it.

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The Beat Rats “A Cellar Full Of Rats”

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The Sunny Boys “Beach Sounds”

In the cold of winter, it’s best to listen to music that’s warm and reminds me of those summer nights. And that’s exactly what this Italian Beach Boys tribute band is. They started their surfin’ safari at the end of 2003 when the long time hardcore fan Gianluca Leone (aka Brian The Captain) finally got the opportunity to form the band. All the dedication pays off, as even Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson’s band) gave high praise for the song “Mahalo“. Beach Sounds aren’t straight covers but original songs with it’s own style, and includes pitch perfect harmonies and huge hooks. The arrangements are notable on the ballad “She’s My Summer Dream” where it weaves the vocals together seamlessly. It’s so gorgeous it goes above and beyond the typical tribute band. If you’re not listening carefully for the accents you’d swear this was a lost Beach Boys album circa 1964. It’s essential listening for fans of this style of pop. Eccellente!

Sunny Boys Site | MySpace | CD Baby