Category: Power Pop Review

“Jupiter Falls”
The Pinder’s debut is a sweet affair with a bit of modern mid-tempo pop with “Goodbye Say Hello” and playful lyrics and innocent harmonies bringing the listener along for the ride. The space themed follow up “Jupiter Falls” you hear the falsetto in the chorus and great potential. “Hang on Tight” closely resembles a Rembrandts song and has a pretty good hook too. Another shining example on this album is “Nicolina” which is great first crush-type love song that resembles Toad the Wet Sprocket’s mellow, melodic folk-pop. “First Kiss Goodnight” is a ballad where the falsetto takes off and other than the overly sappy lyric (“Somthing in your bright blue eyes says sex is overrated”) is a wonderful song. The ender here, “Sunflower” is a delicate and inspirational ballad that is a strong finish here.

CD Baby

“Ordinary Man”
The follow up album gets a bit stronger with “Dear Diane,” a mainstream adult pop single. There is more electric guitar in this album, although the sweet California-style melodies continue to inspire, like in the next song “Hold Me Tonight.” The feel and chord changes of “Waves Crash” is very much like Tim Finn, and my favorite Pinder Brothers song so far. The lyrical content is more mature as well, “Inside Me” is evidence of this with a song about faith in oneself. I miss the high falsetto taking center stage, but all the songs reflect thoughtful songwriters having something meaningful to say with guitars, great lyrics, and lush harmonies.

CD Baby

Like other brothers (Nelson comes to mind for some reason) – both Matt Pinder and Mike Lee Pinder have pop music running through their veins. Actually, the closest sound the Pinders have is to The Rembrandts. This is smooth easy going pop full of romantic subtext. Not every song has a good hook, but the ones that do are true gems here. Both albums here are recommended.

My Space| Pinder Brothers Website

The Attorneys have changed their name to Flying Machines and gotten some good airplay on the USA show “Psych” — they have also bulked up from a three piece to a four, adding a new bass player as well. Keep these guys on your radar for impressive music.

I almost missed this one. This trio from New Zealand have a clean indie pop hook with the catchy single “Neil of Diamonds.” This is a bona fide radio hit with the easy going lyric “When I go out tonight, I’m gonna get myself some drinks, I’m gonna listen to the Stones, get some rock and roll, forget about my conscience, I’m only twenty-three, you know I am…” The follow up “Beautiful Punk” is filled with tight guitar riffs and Steven Tait’s distorted vocals. Spa takes a page from Weezer’s book in the tune “Growing Up” and the next big song “Yale” struts a bit like Lou Reed meeting Radiohead. “Rollerskater Girl” is relaxing simple tune, but like the remaining songs,  it doesn’t reach the lofty highs on the first half of the album. But nothing here is really bad and as an e-music selection, it’s a worthy download. Keep your eye on them for a follow up.

My Space | E-music

Listen to “Neil of Diamonds”

I hope you are downloading the FREE popcasts hosted by James Deem and Rob Reber (Ed James has taken some time off). The show has been introducing me to great local bands that will appear in the PopFest in July. The latest one (#11) features “Analog Daze” and actually thanks this site at about the 7 minute mark. Thanks for the props, guys! You can download them on their Charlotte Pop Fest My Space page or through Itunes. I will be reviewing a few of the bands featured in the coming week ahead.

This is a Norwich UK group that have an unapologetic, commercial American sound and a not-so-good name. The Unremakables have a bit of Coldplay meets The Goo Goo Dolls in them as the guitar strums lead the song to a sticky chorus in “In The Water (Part One).” Next comes the song “Back Stabbing” – a mainstreamed slice of alt rock with a blistering guitar solo at the end. “Everlast” and “The Only One” are the height of radio ready adult alternative style, with a pleasant mid-tempo guitar that is so generic it could be classified as a pop-lite. Things get much better with the highlight here “The Gift” where the rougher, punchy riffs match better with the James Oakleys inspired vocals. Another highlight is the memorable “Satellite Town” which laments a childhood, where a once vibrant town is in decay – the song has a real sticky chorus and is sure to linger. “Cruel Summer” has a bit of a paisley pop feel, and is full of vigor and emotion similar to The Crayons or The Gin Blossoms. Some of the other songs here suffer from a lack of “hook” but this shouldn’t put you off listening to the album. Unlike their namesake, it’s most remarkable and will have you repeating your favorite tracks in no time at all.

My Space | E-music | Itunes