The Posies and ReadyMade Breakup

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The Posies

The Posies “Solid States”

The Posies prove they are survivors, as both Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow have dealt with major blows over the last few years – the death of drummer Darius Minwalla last year, and former bassist Joe Skyward passing away this past March from cancer. The duo has soldiered on, and have “modernized” their sound a bit in the process.

The opener “We R Power” is a defiant anthem that builds the guitar riffs with each chorus, like The Posies of old it fits in nicely with the bands catalog. The follow ups; the understated “Unlikely Places” and “Scattered” retains that signature melodic power, with the duos harmonies in full bloom coming from a genuine longing. “Titanic” and “Rollercoaster Zen” are where the band starts to veer into a sound thats more like Animal Collective or Grizzly Bear. It still works due to the bands knack for catchy rhythmic skills, and Stringfellow’s vocals are just hypnotic. But it just doesn’t work for me with on the synth pop of “M Doll” and “The Definition.”  Still there are great songs to be mined here; “Squirrel vs Snake” is one of them, with its tuneful metaphors. The bands trauma leaves scars, and in the healing process allowed them to takes risks, so fans should be open to exploring the new sound. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Lojinx

Love in October

Readymade Breakup “Live With It” EP

Asbury Park’s best kept secret has been in semi-retired mode, living adult lives until recently, the band decided to come back with a live recording. Opening with the best song Iggy Pop or Lou Reed never wrote, “Kiss My Ring” is a great single with swagger to spare. “Adolescent Fantasy” and “Low Life Creep” are fuzz guitar punk gems in the spirit of The Jam and The Ramones.

After these high energy singles, it seems the band comes back to earth on “Everything is Crumbling” as the lead singer Paul Rosevear states “My mind is fried…” Thankfully its back to the snarling on “Whiskey & Jellybeans,” and the whole minute and a half song  is about losing your teeth, “They were white/then yellow/then loose… then fell out.” It would be funny if it didn’t sound so angry. What is also unique about this release is you get it bundled with a neat-o tee shirt!

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Younghusband and Carousels

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Younghusband

Younghusband “Dissolver”

One of the young bands I found scouring SXSW’s performers list was British quartet Younghusband. Like other neo-pyschedelic artists (Jacco Gardener or The Junipers comes to mind) lead vocalist-guitarist Euan Hinshelwood does a good job with melodic guitar lines framed by catchy rhythms. Opening with “Waverly Street” its a light harmony with fluid guitars underneath, similar to early Apples in Stereo, but the slower plodding followup “Heavy Expectations” has more of a Velvet Underground aesthetic.

Its the upbeat gems that will win you over like the catchy “She Lies Awake” and the densely packed gem “Blonde Bending” with its sweetly layered chorus. Sometimes a very simple arrangement like “Better Times” grows into a winner with its unexpected chord shifts. While not every song hits the melodic mark, enough do to make this a worthy investment of your time. I look forward to this young bands continued development.

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The Carousels

The Carousels “Love Changes Like the Seasons”

2014 debut release from this eight-member Scottish band delivers impressive psychedelic folk/country songs with captivating vocal harmonies. The use of chiming 12-string guitar chords is the main accompaniment here. “(I Hope I Never) Get You Off My Back” will appeal to fans of Paul Starling and the audiophile will hear an echo of The Beatles “Please Please Me” in “Call Along The Coast.” The music is lovely and stylistically consistent but the drawback to this is that no single track stands out and it makes for homogeneous listening.  The slide guitar on “Deep Mid Winter” and the Pet Sounds-like production techniques on songs like “Drifting Back” distinguish it a little better than the rest. Still its worth exploring if you love group harmonies like The Hollies, Byrds or The High Dials.

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The Dowling Poole and Bill Lloyd

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Dowling Poole

Dowling Poole “One Hyde Park”

The Dowling Poole takes the whimsy and stagecraft of the first album, Bleak Strategies and turns the knob up to “11.” Willie Dowling (Jackdaw 4) and Jon Poole (Cardiacs) have made quirky XTC styled pop with even more layered narrative elements, as the brilliant opener “Rebecca Receiving” is gloomy song about aging played to a bouncy march in a world “shattered and torn.” The manic tempo continues on “Fight, Fight, Fight” with a twisted organ chiming in on the melodic joy of horns, guitars and “ba-ba” harmonies.

“When She Knows, She Knows” is another example of psychedelic Brit madness and “Vox Pops” is full of high melodic sarcasm, with a nice Brian May-like guitar break midway through. The next several track play out like late-era 10cc with “Hope and Glory” and “Bring Back The Glory” having a dream-like quality. “Whatever” actually goes off into a prog-rock trip, before we circle back to the epic title track, with its swelling chorus of “Barbed Wire On The Chelsea Bridge…” Overall no filler, but its also not as immediately catchy as the first album. After repeat listens, you’ll appreciate every “ba-ba” and pop culture witticism. Highly Recommended.

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Bill Lloyd

Bill Lloyd “Lloyd-ering”

We all love comfort food. That’s what country-power pop veteran Bill Lloyd released on Lloyd-ering.  The goal of a covers album is to introduce the music to those who aren’t familiar with the original and/or make it there own. Lloyd definitely accomplishes this with a very eclectic selection of pop tunes.

The joyful update on the Bobby Fuller Four “Let Her Dance” turns into a much needed Lloyd gem. The key here is Lloyd picks songs that are less familiar to the average listener. Excellent covers of the Byrds “The World Turns Around Her,”  The Hollies “Step Inside” and Badfinger’s “Lonely You” are simply perfection. And the instrumental prowess on The Raspberries “Goin’ Nowhere Tonight” begs to be played at full volume. On the ballads, its less so, as both Lennon’s “Across The Universe” and Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Coconut Grove” are songs where the original vocals are more distinctive. Otherwise, this is a sweet collection while we await Lloyd’s next LP full of originals. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Listen & buy on Syderpop Records website

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhxMp3GKyQY

Hey, Hey It’s The Monkees Again!

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The new Monkees album Good Times! is due in stores May 27th and it celebrates the group’s 50th anniversary. Shortly after the death of Davy Jones in 2012, Mike Nesmith played a series of tours with surviving members Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork in honor of their fallen comrade. He contributes a song here and plays guitar on the new LP.

But the bigger news is that a bunch of closet Monkee fans are making big contributions to the album. “She Makes Me Laugh,” was written by Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo and other songs have been written by Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard,  XTC’s Andy Partridge, as well as Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller. There are also tunes written by Neil Diamond and Carole King in the 1960s that the group never got around to releasing. The album was produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne. If you ask me this is a classic case of power pop giants given an excuse to lovingly look back at that past pop era we love.

Mark Roebuck and The Subterraneans

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Mark Roebuck “The World and All Within”

Mark Roebuck has a pretty impressive history in power pop, even if he isn’t quiet a household name. Mark’s 1980’s power pop band, the Deal; was at one time signed to Bearsville/Warner Brothers Records, and eventually carried by Not Lame Records where his anthology “Goodbye September,” was a top seller. After several collaborations with several bands, and partners (including Dave Matthews) he took some time off.

Now reunited with former Deal drummer Michael Clarke, he delivers a powerful CD of harmonic, driving rock. Mark’s style vocally is very similar to Cat Stevens, and I’m sure you’ll hear similarities in the ballads. “After Day After” is a Badfingerish tune with a great ear worm chorus that really sticks, while “Billboard Blue” boasts a solid guitar riff and is like a mix of Bob Mould and The Byrds. More standouts include “God Is A Gun” and “Gratitude.” The slow “King William County Is The Place” is an earnest ballad, that uses a fuzz guitar riff in the chorus that transforms seamlessly to a rocker. Highly Recommended.

CD Baby | Amazon

The Subterraneans

The Subterraneans “Lost”

Another late 90s band is back; The Subterraneans led by Guitarist Rik Mercaldi & Drummer Mike Roze. The Subterraneans play rock with a variety of influences from British Mod, Indie to 70’s CBGBs punk. The bands sound is somewhere in the territory of The Black Crows. This album marks the first new music after a 9 year hiatus for the band. “What’s On Your Mind” showcases muscular riffs with a Lou Reed styled lyric and Mercaldi’s impressive guitar chops during the solo. “No Way Out” and “Lost” are pretty standard power chord rockers, but “Seasons” is a standout here as Mercaldi’s vocals have a confident snarl, with the organ riff humming – it begins to sound like a lost Doors tune.

“Sliding” takes the album in a new direction, with a slow acoustic track that includes a mandolin rhythm (very much in a Lindsey Buckingham mode.) “Prima Donna” is a true power pop song featuring a lean guitar hook, handclaps and its my favorite track here. The band jumps around stylistically after this but overall its a welcome return worth checking out.

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