Merry Christmas from Power Popaholic!

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Scott McCaughey delivers a sack load of great Christmas music with his group, The Minus 5, a rotating line-up of musician friends. Tons of guest stars; Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Peter Buck, Mike Mills, The Posies, Colin Meloy (The Decemberists), Chuck Prophet, M. Ward, Tammy Ealom (Dressy Bessy), to name a few.

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Looking for something a little less traditional? Justin & The Cosmics gives us a Christmas doo-wop that reminded me of Zappa meeting up with Mojo Nixon for an egg nog.

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One of my favorites, Spirit Kid has a song about the jolly fellow in red. This isn’t new, but it is still a FREE download.

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Pop Etc. is a young band (formerly The Morning Benders) originally from Berkeley, California, later based in Brooklyn, New York. They have a great sound, perfect harmonies and best of all this EP is a FREE download

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Comedy legend/banjo player Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers deliver this funny holiday single “Strangest Christmas Yet.” I sure hope it replaces this worn out tune I constantly hear at the shopping mall.
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Holiday Gift Guide: Cheap Trick and The Searchers

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Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick “Christmas Christmas”

Like an Energizer bunny, Cheap Trick has been firing on all cylinders this year with a new album and now it’s first ever Christmas album! Needless to say, this one is a real holiday gem with a combination of new and old songs. Robin Zander can belt it out unlike anyone else on  “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.”

As with most things CT, you get ringing guitars and a full production. A good mix of slower numbers (“Please Come Home For Christmas”) balance out the hard rocking crowd-pleasers (“Run Run Rudolph”). The only missteps are an odd remake of The Kinks “Father Christmas,” (the slower tempo just doesn’t work) and “Our Father Of Life” which sounded like filler. Otherwise a great soundtrack for your holiday.

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The Searchers

The Searchers “Another Night: The Sire Recordings 1979-1981”

During the British Invasion, there was another Liverpool band topping the charts not named The Beatles. The Searchers had 11 Top 40 hits between 1963 and 1966 in the UK, with “Needles And Pins,” “Sweets For My Sweet,” “Don’t Throw Our Love Away”  and the US hit “Love Potion No. 9.” By the end of the decade, they toured Europe but never faded away. The band continued to develop musically, change personnel and eventually signed with Sire Records in 1979 for a revival. This was a rare case of an “oldies” band re-tooling to a new generation successfully.

“Hearts in Her Eyes,” (written by The Records’ Will Birch and John Wicks) was a vibrant new sound that still maintained the Searchers trademark harmonies. The band showcased this sound on the Sire recordings, as they covered many great bands (Big Star, Duck Deluxe, Tom Petty) and originals. “Feeling Fine,” is a lost link between those Merseybeat days and 80’s power pop, with its jangling chords, harmonies and catchy as hell chorus. Fans of supergroup Rockpile (with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe) will really enjoy this collection, as the guitar work and even vocals make The Searchers very comparable. The music has no filler either, as most of the songs have a timeless quality with little of the cliched overproduction from the era. Fans of 80’s power pop will love this and its highly recommended. Thanks for the Christmas gift, Omnivore Records!

Amazon

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Holiday Music Bonanza: The Weeklings, Michael Carpenter, Vista Blue, and more!

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The first Rockin’ Christmas tune from The Weeklings is a mix of The Beatles “Revolution” and “Winter Wonderland”
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Power pop favorite from the land down under, Michael Carpenter delivers a real gem here about “Another” Christmas song!

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Vista Blue is back with another punk-pop Christmas. Fans of The Ramones will love this, especially Gimme! (Garfield’s Christmas Theme) and its a big FREE download for your stocking!

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More gifts! Futureman Records has a FREE holiday sampler with great artists like Chris Richards and The Subtractions, The Hangabouts, Nick Bertling and many more.

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The Pengwins also have a free gift for you, courtesy of SpyderPop Records – it’s Christmas Again!
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Remington Super 60 is a indie-pop project from Fredrikstad Norway, founded by composer & producer Christoffer Schou. This shares a title with Mr. Carpenter’s song but is very different. Think, warm fireplace and hot cocoa!

Felsen and Howie Payne

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Felsen

Felsen “Blood Orange Moon”

Felsen’s fifth LP was written while frontman, (and cancer survivor) Andrew Griffin hit a rough patch due to ongoing health issues. “I needed more surgery and kinda dropped off the face of the earth for a few months.” he mentioned, “after I was out of the hospital I started to amass new little song embryos on my computer. Play guitar, stare at screen. Eventually, the words and the music meet.”

The opener “Vultures On Your Bones” is a haunting tune that recalls Big Star’s Third mixed with a David Gilmour styled guitar wail. Most of the album contains thought-provoking songs with slower tempos and quieter low vocals. A little like Leonard Cohen with more guitars, the themes are of profound loss and intimacy. The fuzz crunch of instrumentals “Kung Fu Medallion” and “Spanish Jam Sandwich” inject some needed life into the album, and standouts emerge like the ultra-cool textured chorus of “White Denim Jeans” and stealthy “Unemployed In Chicago.” Overall, this is a grower, with songs that will stick and resonate on repeat plays.

Amazon


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Howie Payne

Howie Payne “Mountain”

Liverpool based Howie Payne (the Stands) is a singer-songwriter that has a delivery that can be called both soulful melancholy and immediately catchy. It opens with the somber “Quick As The Moon,” a slow-building ballad and Howie’s clear and high timbre vocal is similar to Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) here. The music is very introspective, although it breaks into the shuffling “Some Believer, Sweet Dreamer,” which recalls mid-1970’s melodic pop.

“The Brightest Star” increases the tempo and adds layered harmonies of “Yeah, yeah, yeah” make it one of the most accessible tunes here.  Another gem is the mellow “Thoughts On Thoughts” with its call and response chorus, subtle bass and acoustic guitar. There is a West Coast feel to most of the music,  but it really stands out most on the last two tracks “High Times” and “Evangeline (Los Angeles)” with its Crosby Stills Nash atmosphere. Overall a satisfying little album that seems made for a rainy day. It’s music that deserves to be heard.

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RIP: Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens

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Pat DiNizio, the lead singer and songwriter of The Smithereens, died on Tuesday December 12, 2017. He was 62. On The Smithereen’s website, his bandmates wrote, “Today we mourn the loss of our friend, brother and bandmate Pat DiNizio. Pat had the magic touch. He channeled the essence of joy and heartbreak into hook-laden three minute pop songs infused with a lifelong passion for rock & roll. Our journey with Pat was long, storied and a hell of a lot of fun. We grew up together.”

DiNizio formed The Smithereens in 1980 with Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike Mesaros. When bassist Mesaros left the band in 2006, he was replaced by Severo Jornacion. The band was inducted into The Power Pop Hall of Fame last year.

I was lucky enough to meet Pat in 2015 at a small show in Glen Cove where he told his life story and sprinkled in some Smithereens songs with an acoustic guitar. He held the audience spellbound for the entire show. We talked before the show a little, and he was very friendly and approachable. He was suffering from health issues and was very self-conscious about his weight, to the point where he did not want photos taken except in “close up.” Here I am doing a selfie at a terrible angle, but Pat took it in stride. He seemed to be active in many outside projects, politics, and still played solo and with The Smithereens regularly. It’s like he didn’t want to slow down, but go out swinging. God bless, Pat — you lived the dream.

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