Category: Power Pop Review

Nathan Eiesland and Alissa Ritchie weave some great indie pop tunes with a coolness similar to early Radiohead and John Mayer. With “The Most Beautiful Song” he weaves harmonies and modern rock backdrop, and it’s an impressive start. The next song “Cigarettes” is a great light pop confessional that pulls straight from the Paul Simon songbook. It’s here that Scatteredtrees really shines. The album has a mellow vibe along the lines of Eric Matthews as the next song “Where We’ve Already Gone’ shows. That song and the follow up “Duet” are just beautiful acoustic coffeehouse styled music. And like a hot cup on a cold night, the melodies will warm your insides when you hear it. The tempo picks up on “Hero’s Welcome” and like John Mayer music, it does it’s best to seduce. It’s jarring to have the electric guitar suddenly emerge on “Springtime Proposal.” Both “Springtime Proposal” and “I Would or I Should” try to add the uptempo nodern rock stylings, but Nathan works best with the ballad. The album gets a bit dodgy at the mid point, with the demo “Poor Man’s Suit” – but comes back nicely with the great ballad “Eyes From A Distance.” If you have an emusic account this is a nice addition to your downloads this month.

The Scatteredtrees | My Space | E Music | Itunes

Listen to “Eyes From Distance”

Dan Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) has passed away. To me he was always the king of the sentimental ballad. Every single Christian pop folkie followed his template for years, and never came close. They don’t write ballads like this anymore. He will be sorely missed.

A cheeky Brit named Jon Paul Allen has done some serious study into why lots of electric guitar and beats should rock your world. He goes under the moniker of the Slingsby Horents and fans of Glam, T-Rex and Queen will find his brand of rock most appealing. As evidenced by the wild “I love that sound” Jon Paul oozes cool and talent. Using lots of neat pop-psyche effects it sounds like an updated version of Sweet. The opener “The Man from Yesterday” has a bit of Jellyfish meets Dream Syndicate, but lay off the cymbals man! My ears are ringing, really. My favorite here “Stop the Rain” is a great mid-tempo number that almost sounds like The Pillbugs and I only wish Jon’s vocals weren’t always masked by studio enhancements so much. The guitar work here very similar to Queen’s Brian May is a joy to listen to throughout.The beauty here is the originals on the album, but there are four covers here ranging from The Knack (“My Sharona”) to The Osmonds (“Crazy Horses”). They all get the very over-glammed treatment here, including a superior version of Klaatu’s “Calling Occupants.” Any shortcomings, are tempered by Jon’s love of this music and his energetic performance. You’ll have lots of fun with this release. Now where is a good Freddie Mercury clone when you really want him!

Slingsby Hornets Page | My Space | Kool Kat Musik | CD Baby | Itunes

This is a really cool viral video that looks to be even more popular than Adam Sandler’s “Channukah Song” – it’s called “Chinese Food on Christmas” created by Brandon Walker. It’s a really funny satire and it’s catchy too! Enjoy the Holidays.

Brandon’s Site | My Space

Brainy indie pop is the name of the game with The Motion Sick. Lead singer, Mike Epstein weaves social commentary with big musical themes. Similar to Milton and The Devil’s Party, the combination of sweetness and bitterness is all over opening “Jean-Paul.” Then a do-wop styled indie musical number shows up in “30 lives” referring to love and video game companionship. This is really fun and catchy (see the video below) and the upbeat tempo continues with the next track “Walk on Water.” The song has an alt-country drum and bass driven, toe-tapping melody. Similar in approach to The Decemberists, The Motion Sick have lyrical stories of a life on the edge of reason. It carries this theme through several brilliant tracks like “Losing Altitude” and “The Owls Are Not What They.” My favorite track though is the thick nihilism of “Tiny Dog (Nobody Cries).”  With lyrics like “nobody listens/ nobody cares/ nobody stalks you/ or blogs your affairs,” its the perfect theme song for a burnt-out celebrity (Lindsay Lohan are you listening?) After this, the group coasts on the last two tracks, including a cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” There is also a Dance Mix of the song “30 Lives” that some people will enjoy more than the original, see the video of that version here. Overall a really good album worth your ears.

The Motion Sick Site | My Space | Itunes | CD Baby

Listen to “30 Lives”