Category: Power Pop Review

The Backroom started when long time friends Keith von Kaenel and Matt Greenfield met up with drummer, Matt Jankowiak and they started jamming in the “back room” of Keith’s garage. This is a quality release with a radio-friendly sound and smooth psyche-lite touches. The opener “Lost Without You” is really a good pop tune with clean harmonies and violin accents. The rhythm guitar leads the way with the mid-tempo “Flat Lined @ Zero” and has a Weezer-like quality. Much of the remaining tracks, although flawlessly produced don’t always hook you. The exceptions to this are “Loads Of Love” with a great dual vocal harmonic, excellent lyrics and “The World That Revolves Around Me” with a catchy chorus and piano that is similar to the group, Field Music. That dual harmonic of Keith and Matt is also present on “Deserve”,”One Night Stand” and “Better Time Than Now” – in most cases it works beautifully. This is a promising debut worth checking out. Enjoy it!

The Backroom Site | My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik | E-music

I seriously debated even reviewing this, but c’mon the guy was a Beatle and deserves some props for still popping out an album now and then. When stacked against his previous work, “Liverpool 8” is actually a very pleasant listen and compares favorably to anything done after 1992’s “Time takes Time.” Once again Mark Hudson surrounds Ringo with enough Beatlesque arrangements and references to keep it from being boring. However, he was booted in favor of former Eurythmic David A. Stewart who was hired to finish the album off. It’s slick enough to compete with former bandmate Paul’s last one. Both albums look at mortality, nostalgia and love – hell, what else are guys over 64 years old gonna sing about nowadays? For Beatles fans, it’s a passable time waster. For Ringo fans, it’s a joy most of you already own.

Itunes | Ringo’s Official Site

Yesterday I rolled out a widget (on the right) to sell some CDs from my old collection. None of them are promos — and all are gently used from my personal collection. I will post more eventually — including rare and out-of-print CDs that you will not find anywhere else (or at least not easily available). Just know these are power pop classics for the most part. Prices include shipping – so get them while they’re here – each album is limited to one copy for sale.

From Boise, Idaho comes a band that sparks excitment – Soft Gong. If Bon Jovi ever decided to start a Jellyfish inspired bar band, then it would sound like this. This band began as a team building whim for a marketing agency. The agency had some musically talented creative people and started this band together. Many songs were written by Bill Coffey and some here standout, an example being “Cover Band” with catchy choruses and consistent beats. A real winner here is also “Ninety-nine Percent” – a perfect power pop tune with great guitar riffs and a great melodic hook. “The Mirror is Lonely” is a cool 70’s styled rock tribute (more cowbell fellas!) that is easy on the ears. The band is definitely inspired by Cheap Trick as well, if you listen to “Break Me.” Unfortunately, it’s not without some weakness here. In the latter song and in a few others the backing vocals are just badly done. In some cases, the material isn’t better than your average cover band (“Night School Sweetheart”) trying a bit too hard to rock. Coffey has a great voice that can redeem most of the tracks though. It definitely is better than any other “creative group” turned rock band and worth a listen or two. They would easily blow away the competition here.

My Space | CD Baby | Itunes

Reviewed by Mike Z.
Let’s get this out of the way: the comparisons between Hammer No More the Fingers and either Presidents of the United States of America or Weezer are inevitable, and pretty much apt. But this band, especially after a few listens, brings even more to the table. That may be a bold statement for such a young act, but it’s difficult to disagree. To start, HNMTF not only rock but also know how to write a hook, which is a requisite for any good review. More importantly, they have a lyrical sensibility that deserves close inspection and reveals that they are a noteworthy notch above your typical college party band. Okay, no one’s going to confuse these guys with a latter day Baudelaire, but they strike an uncanny balance in their lyrics. There is a pronounced sense of humor to what they offer, and even though the lyrics are pro orgy, mushrooms, and vodka, they are not unapologetically so. So this is a party band with at least a little bit of a conscience. Use this as a litmus test and see if you agree: regarding said “Mushrooms,” lead vocalist Duncan Webster sings, “They’re pretty fucking tasty/Give them water, give them fertilizer, give them love/Just don’t give them to you kids.” Maybe that sort of wry parallel construction will go unnoticed by all but the English majors in the house, but when you factor in the well-crafted over-driven guitar licks, there really are the makings of something approaching great here.

HNMTF Site | My Space | Emusic | Itunes

Listen to “Listen to “O.R.G.Y.”