The Jigsaw Seen and Thorcraft Cobra

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The Jigsaw Seen

The Jigsaw Seen “For The Discriminating Completist”

For The Jigsaw Seen, this career-spanning retrospective encompasses tracks originally released over their entire career that was previously unavailable. Out of the gate is the fuzz guitar version of Sinatra’s “The Best Is Yet To Come,” sure to please. The catchy gem “Celebrity Interview” has a great riff in the chorus, and the dense instrumentation on a cover of the Bee Gees “Melody Fair” make these songs stick in your head.

While not everything is a gem, there are enough unique melodies here, from the psyche-pop of “When You’re Pretty” to the twisted guitar lead on Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk” to make this a “must hear” collection. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | KoolKat Musik

Thorcraft Cobra

Thorcraft Cobra “The Distance”

Despite the colorful name (after a vintage amp), this band is the songwriting duo Billy Zimmer (Brown Eyed Susans) and Tammy Glover (Sparks). No surprise here, the songwriting is excellent and the openers “Carolina” and “Uncoupling” have a mellow start but build to pop perfection with great chords.

“Killing Time” is comparable to a next-generation Fleetwood Mac song, and “No One Believes Her” has a great classic rock energy. It takes a bit more patience for the four-minute-plus songs like “Fade To White” and “It’s OK” but they are infused with a sincerity and thoughtfulness many other artists lack. Check these guys out and you won’t regret it.

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Owen Sartori and John Holk & The Sequins

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Owen Sartori

Owen Sartori “Nobody Gives A Damn”

Nine years ago I reviewed Owen Sartori’s debut Another Beautiful Day In The Cube, and completely missed his follow up. Luckily, Owen has kept busy working as a music producer – and his sophomore LP still holds all the emotion and catchiness of his earlier work. After a moody instrumental intro, we get the Jellyfish-like “Cool” full of pop culture references and a great hook in the chorus.

The dramatic ballads “Banking On It” and “All Of This Rain” recall Ben Folds (without the keyboards) with plenty of punch. Another gem shines out with “Digging On You” as the joyful melody sticks in your head. The more aggressive rockers like the title track and “Let It Go” feel a bit forced here, but overall this a neat little album that deserves to be heard.

Amazon | CD Baby


John Holk

John Holk & The Sequins “Where You Going”

Another band coming back is John Holk & The Sequins. It’s rare that a country artist finds a review here, but Holk’s brand of country jangle pop and power pop keeps me coming back. “Walkin Talkin” is an irresistible opener with its fast tempo and harmonies. “First Man Fall” is a sweet ballad with guitar effects rounding out the atmosphere. The title track and “She Don’t Remember” are pure pop midtempo charmers that sound like a different band altogether. “See” gets absolutely psychedelic with Isabel Mervak’s vocal harmonies floating above the fuzz guitars.

But eventually, the country sound creeps back on “Firelight” and the honky tonk “Another Glass of Wine.” Like Wilco or The Jayhawks, Holk shows lots of range, and the band can effortlessly cross between the genres. While this can be jarring for some, the music is consistently excellent and it makes the variety work. Highly Recommended.

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Sadler Vaden and Keegan

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Sadler Vaden

Sadler Vaden “Sadler Vaden”

Sadler Vaden is mostly known as the guitarist for Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit and Drivin’ N Cryin’ but this LP is sure to put his own name on the map. Vaden’s music is a trove of anthems that recall the late 70’s Zeppelin and 80’s heyday of Southern-rock.  The brilliant riffs and soaring harmonies of “You Can’t Have it All” and “Get You High,” will hook you immediately.

Influences of Tom Petty, the Black Crowes and Neil Young permeate most of the album, as “Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore” has a rich jangle and expert delivery. The production is also very polished on the album’s first half, as it continues on to the more acoustic led second half, you get little treats like the Eagles-like chorus on “Into The Woods” or the slide guitar solo on “Broken Home.” Highly Recommended.

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Keegan

Keegan “Famous Last Words”

Keegan is a true international band with a British singer, German guitarist, French bass player and Austrian drummer – based in the multicultural surroundings of Cologne, Germany. Famous Last Words gives us a very straight on rock album, with a heavier rhythm guitar than expected, “Cross” has a decent hook, falling somewhere in between REM’s “Monster” era and Extreme’s metal pop tendencies.

Unfortunately this band fails to break past the conventional, and with 16 tracks could’ve used an edit. However at the mid-point there are some good power pop tunes shown in “End Of The Century,” “Poison”, “Tongue Tied” and the solid “Go Down In Flames.” 

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Twelve String High and One Way Ticket

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Twelve String High

Assorted Artists “Twelve String High”

There are few instruments that have a more recognizable sound and evoke the heyday of folk rock more than the 12 string guitar. Its the primary “jangle” in jangle pop and the Rickenbacker 12 string has the distinct riffs that made The Byrds music legends. This compilation by You are The Cosmos label is chockfull of 23 jangling tunes.

The wide variety of artists and 12-string styles are different enough to prevent predictability in the playlist. Standouts include Erik Voeks (“She Loved Her Jangle Pop,”) The Jangle Band (“Love You Too,”)The Sensitive Drunks (“There She Goes,”) and The Bellowers (“She Reappears.”) And there is no filler here, making this another highly recommended collection for jangle and power pop fans.

Amazon | You are The Cosmos

Twelve String High

One Way Ticket “And Life Just Simply Moves Along”

Recently finishing a tour with Paul Collins, this French power pop band from Besançon has a combination of late 80’s influences; The Jam, Buzzcocks, and of course, The Beat. Most of these songs started as singles, but are now compiled to form the debut LP.

This was also out late in 2016, but worth exploring as the dramatic energy on the opener “In The Upper World” demands attention with its forceful riffs. The follow-up “All Change” has a bigger hook and a great jangling rhythm. Although the lead singer’s accent is thick, they don’t distract from the music as the mix favors the rhythm and lead guitars. “Miss Grievous” and “Beside You” are solid gems with plenty of swagger. You will definitely want to check this band out.

Bandcamp | Vinyl only

Guilt by Association and Bongo Boy Records

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Guilt By Association

Various Artists “Guilt by Association 4”

On 11L Radio NY International they had a special show on a pivotal year in music — 1966. I don’t often listen to cover complications, but this was a an exceptional collection. It starts with Chris Collingwood and Potty Mouth doing a faithful version of  The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer In The City.” The artists don’t wildly go off style on the songs, but each artist is able to stand out. Lucy Woodward brings a garage feel to The Yardbirds “Shape of Things,” and Mike Viola adds synths and echo to make “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” his own haunting soundtrack. About half the tracks are ballads and they also picked two Beatles songs and a Monkees tune (“Sweet Young Thing.”) Highly Recommended.

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Bongo Boy Records

Bongo Boy Records “Out of the Garage, Vol. 2”

We reviewed Volume 1, but didn’t get to this compilation until recently. A few of those Bongo Boy artists are back, starting with the ageless Mark Lindsay on the rocking “Show Me The Love,” and the wild cover of “Boys” by Cheap Perfume. The funny, catchy  “Kill A Clown (No, Not Really)” by Mike Daly & The Planets makes a perfect soundtrack to this old movie. Highlights include Mia Moravis “A Spy For Love” and The Accelerators do their best Ramones imitation on “Sun Surf and Sand.” Check out this newest collection of tunes!

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