Chris Richards & The Subtractions and Vamos

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Chris Richards & The Subtractions

Chris Richards & The Subtractions “Peaks and Valleys”

Chris Richards and The Subtractions take the next step in musical evolution. Newly added guitarist Andy Reed, who also works with Richards in their other band The Legal Matters adds his formidable skills. Regulars Todd Holmes(bass) and Larry Grodsky(drums and percussion) round out The Subtractions. And the band’s sound has shifted to be more in line with The Legal Matters crisp melodic style.

Opening with “Half Asleep” it balances the call-and-response guitars with a layer of harmonies and rich chord shifts that puts the band on a new level. “Just Another Season” is a mellower melody with some nice guitar subtleties, but it kicks back in gear with “The Coast Is Clear,” a west coast feel is all over those jangling guitar rhythms. The “hits” keep coming, with the music flowing in high energy peaks (“In A Sense”) and slower tempo valleys (“Wrapped In A Riddle”) throughout. After the album’s midpoint, it settles in a bit with some nicely written songs like “The End of Me” and “Maybe That’s All.” Fans of Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, and Matthew Sweet will enjoy the entire album and the cover of Big Star’s “Thirteen” and Sweet’s “Someone To Pull The Trigger” fit well here too. It’s all highly recommended and fits into my yearly top ten list for 2018.


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Vamos

Vamos “1-2-3”

Chicago garage-punks Vamos is different from what I usually review but they have a raw sound that is impossible to ignore. Vamos (Ryan Murphy-guitar/vocals, Will Wood-bass, Josh Lambert-drums) formed during Chicago’s epic blizzard of 2011 and began playing the city’s thriving DIY scene.  It took a while but the band finally delivers. Murphy describes 1-2-3 as “a controlled descent into madness and mayhem [where] ghostly echoes and reverberations chase edgy, unforgettable melodies.”

I have to agree with that on the big opener “Force of Nature.” The punk buzzsaw anthems “2Ded4Lyfe” and “Do Wanna” both have Ramones-like energy. “Outsiders” is a damn catchy power pop gem. There is a little bit of filler here, but the good stuff definitely makes up for it. Other great cuts include “I Don’t Care,” “Creeper,” and “I Feel Righteous” which reminded me of early Sweet mixed with Love and Rockets. Highly Recommended.

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Bart & The Bedazzled and Adrian Whitehead

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Bart Davenport

Bart & The Bedazzled “Blue Motel”

Bart Davenport is back with his new band The Bedazzled, featuring Jessica Espeleta (bass, backing vocals), Wayne Faler (guitar), and Andres Renteria (drums). They seem to float through their new pop album Blue Motel. It’s best described as a mix of ‘80s English pop and West Coast yacht rock. The title track features light jangling rhythms and synths, with Bart’s crooning vocals above it all.

A highlight for me was the subtle minimalist melody of “Halloween By The Sea,” with its lyrical lament on American decline. “What’s Your Secret (Cleo)” lifts the mood a little more with its playful bass line. However much of the album’s tone is slow tempo soulful musings and this makes the album drag a bit. On the rare occasion, like “Grownups” the jangling melody is upbeat – a little like The Ocean Blue. Fans of Prefab Sprout and Aztec Camera might enjoy this album. Check it Out.

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Adrian Whitehead

Adrian Whitehead “Nerd From The Suburbs”

It’s been over ten years since Adrian’s been heard, and while his first album was fairly Beatlesque, his latest is little closer to Elton John meets Crowded House on the opener “Folie a Deux.” It’s a great song that drives home the chorus over its guitar strummed melody, and the follow-up is the bluesy progression “Blaming The Snake,” full of colorful lyrics and jazzy brass accents.

That hushed acoustic “Sigmund Freud” is very much in the mold of the late, great Elliot Smith circa XO. Adrian stays in this folk-pop style for the next few tracks. “The Gilded Cage” is a big highlight that mines some wonderful chord progressions and sweet lyrics about friendship, and even a George Harrison-like electric guitar break. The title track is another winner, with an autobiographic spin. The production is top notch and it will grow on you after a few listens. Highly Recommended.

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Saturday Night Singles: Ken Sharp, Geoff Palmer, Brad Marino, Thrift Store Halo

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Ken Sharp was given a challenge by producer Fernando Perdomo. Write a song with the title, “She Hates the Beatles!” Since Ken is a huge Beatle fan, it wasn’t easy but he did it. I mean, who in their right mind could hate the Beatles, right?

Geoff Palmer is having a friendly rivalry with his bandmate Brad Marino. Both guys play for The Connection and both put out solo singles this week. Fans of the band,  Tommy and the Rockets or New Trocaderos will love it. Which one do you choose? You don’t have to! Get’em both!


Thrift Store Halo is working on a follow up to last year’s LP. This single is a great start. It’s classic Power Pop calling to mind Elvis Costello, Paul Weller, and Nick Lowe.

The Power Popaholic Interview: Sloan

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Jay Ferguson of Sloan

Sloan is one of the most consistently great and longest lasting power pop bands around. Of the four guys who founded Sloan — Jay Ferguson (guitar and vocals), Patrick Pentland (guitar and vocals), Chris Murphy (bass and vocals), and Andrew Scott (drums and vocals) — I got Jay (he’s the one in the hat) to talk to me about the band a little, in promotion for the new album, 12.

How often do the four of you meet to discuss music?

Jay: I would say that never occurs. We got together at our rehearsal space to play each other our individual home demos to see what people had been working on, or perhaps look for enthusiasm one way or another for particular songs to pursue.

Has the songwriting process changed a lot since you started as a band? Was it always so democratic?

Jay: Not so much. Before Sloan, we all played in different bands where we wrote or contributed songs and sang….so it made sense to continue on that path when Sloan started. Andrew doesn’t really sing lead on our first LP, Smeared, but he contributed by writing music to a couple songs. There’s an outtake of Andrew singing lead vocals on “Median Strip”, a song he wrote the music and lyrics for…but Chris ended up singing it on the LP. By our second album, Twice Removed, we all were taking turns singing lead on at least 2 songs.

Do you challenge each other? Can someone say, “We should do it this way”?

Jay: Sometimes someone might offer an option if someone is stuck on how to perform or record a track…but generally, it’s down to the songwriter on how the song should be done.

Does anyone have “veto power” when picking a song for the album?

Jay: I’m not sure what you mean. Some of us will take thoughts from other members but mostly, you get to choose your own tracks you’d like to pursue. Sometimes one is persuaded by others to pursue a track they like.

Were you inspired at all by Nirvana for “All of The Voices?”

Jay: Let me ask Patrick….he says he’s aware it sounds like Nirvana production-wise, but he wasn’t necessarily aiming for that…but wasn’t steering clear of it either.

Tell me your biggest musical influences.

Jay: Impossible to choose one. For me personally, I’d say I’m influenced by The Beatles (together & solo), The Smiths, The Velvet Underground, The Bee Gees, Nilsson…but I’m inspired by lots of stuff. There’s a bit of a Diana Ross solo nod on one of my songs on the new LP….but I’m only speaking for myself.

Is performing still vital to the band’s promotion, or is it looked at as just an opportunity to connect with your fans?

Jay: Both. It’s definitely an opportunity to connect with fans, but also it’s where we make our bread and butter. Once upon a time, equal income could be generated from record/CD/cassette sales, but in the musical climate over the past many years, touring generates the lion’s share of the income that keeps our business model running. 

Tell me the differences between your Canadian and American fans.

Jay: In Canada, depending on the city, we play to more people…and amongst those people, due to having had actual radio hits or being more well known, there’s a chance some folks may only know your big 5 or 6 songs. Of course there’s also still the big fans who know the deep album cuts etc. In the USA, because we never really had massive hits…the average Sloan fan is more likely have gotten into our band via LPs as opposed to radio play, so they may generally regard a popular song (i.e. “Everything You’ve Done Wrong”) with the same enthusiasm as an LP cut (ie. “Suppose They Close The Door”). That’s the primary difference I tend to see.

Any planned projects after this latest (12) album tour?

Jay: In 2012 and 2016, we created and toured behind box set reissue versions of our Twice Removed and One Chord To Another albums respectively. The next project after the 12 campaign will likely be a box set reissue of our 1998 Navy Blues album and a tour following where we’d play the entire LP front to back. That’s probably not until autumn 2019 at the earliest.

Thanks, Jay. We look forward to seeing you in concert soon!

 

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Secret Friend and Nick Frater

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Secret Friend

Secret Friend “The Divorce Album”

Songwriter Steven Fox is back as the enigmatic Secret Friend with a new series of songs split into two sides and sung by a variety of artists, including some power pop favorites. Side One is six new songs produced by Secret Friend. Side Two has the exact same six songs produced by other artists. The sides do compete with each other, so you could mix your own perfect EP here. Fox is a talented songwriter and knows how to create ambiance. All the performances are good, but some tracks stand out more than others.

The opener “Castaway” sung by Taylor Locke (Rooney) is an amazing song with layer upon layers of harmonies and makes good use of the double meaning of the song title. And while Roger J. Manning Jr. (Jellyfish) does a great job on “Undeniably Blue,” it drags on for over 7 minutes. Jimm McIver’s “Difficult” is more in keeping with the theme, and the chorus is catchy here. The band Perfectly Violent Dream does a great job with their version of “All The Things We Had.” I also liked Wyatt Funderburk’s version of “Over Now,” from the guy’s POV. Overall, a good album to pick through.

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Secret Friend

Nick Frater “Goodbye Kayfabe” EP

Nick Frater is a multi-instrumentalist from Croydon, UK. He starts out with an impressive opener “Built To Last,” one of the best retro-Raspberries singles I’ve heard this year. It’s almost impossible to top, but “Paperchase” leads with a nice tropical beat and a solid chorus.

“More Than This” is another strong melody that is like a mix of Squeeze and Andrew Gold. The bouncy “Remoaner” is another winner that sounds like BBC sitcom theme with a little Jeff Lynne in its DNA. Overall not a bad track, and one of the better EPs I’ve heard this year. Highly Recommended.

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