Evil Arrows and Steven Bakur

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Evil Arrows “EP 1”
With Evil Arrows, Bryan Scary has scaled back the stylistic excess that flowed freely with The Shedding Tears. But the catchy melodies are still there and the simpler compositions allow the listener to absorb the songs better.

The first track “Romancer” starts with a sparse guitar strum, then the signature sticky chorus starts up with great percussion and bass lines. “Silver Bird” is another ear worm with Bryan’s vaudevillian keyboard skills. “The Lovers” is a sweet combination of bouncy melody and somber guitar licks. Every track here shines and production is clean and straightforward. First on my list for best EP of 2014, and it bodes well for future Arrows releases.

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Steven Bakur “Sooner Than Later”
Bakur is an adult contemporary pop musician with a polished sound, starting with “Sasha Says,” a jingle jangle pop tune with rock guitar riffs in the chorus that really come to life.”Comes & Goes” is very much like a Peter Cetera song with sweeping dramatic chords about a tragic female figure, “…her life’s so wrong.”

Bakur’s guitar opens up “So Shy,” with piano and orchestral accents driving the chorus and its another highlight. Vocally Steven does a good job, but occasionally a few tracks do feel like sketched ideas (“Sorry”) or treacle (“Mannequin”). The first half has the best music, sure to appeal to fans of Richard X. Heyman or Van Morrison. Give it a try.

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Bubble Gum Orchestra and The Sensibles

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Bubble Gum Orchestra “The Discovery”
“The Discovery” is Bubble Gum Orchestra’s third album release, created by Jeff Lynne clone Michael Laine Hildebrandt and assisted by brother guitarist/keyboardist Douglas Hildebrandt, accordionist Mitch Rogers, frontman/keyboardist Les Farrington (Sugarbomb) and ex-Wings trumpeter Steve Howard. As expected Hildebrandt takes the stylistic template of ELO and builds original pop compositions.

Catchy and bouncy “Lovely Days, Lovely Nights” is a great example of using the ELO style without over emulating. And he keeps the novelty approach at arms length, except for the tribute to “Evil Woman” with “Evil, Evil Girl.” It’s still a worthy follow up to the original, and “New York City” is another gem that salutes the environs of the late John Lennon. A Beatlesque “First Time For Everything” is another terrific tune, and “One More Night” borrows heavily from ELO’s “Showdown.” And until Mr. Lynne can deliver another ELO album, this will do just fine.

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The Sensibles “A Bunch of Animals”
Punk pop band from Italy, The Sensibles comes out of the gate with “Happy” which sounds like a rocking’ party at a dog pound, with vocals similar to Shonen Knife. Each track stays in the 2 -3 minute range, its a perfect example of bubblegum punk. Fans of The Muffs, Ramones, and Yum Yums will love this. Highlights include “Confetti Blizzard,” “I’m A Brat,” “I Want Your Blood,” and “Silly Song.”

The party atmosphere continues throughout the album, and doesn’t leave your head. The tempos vary a bit to keep things from getting tiresome, so if you ever wanted to party at a zoo, I highly recommend this album. At 3 euro (about $4.00) its a bargain too!

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Celebrating The Arrival of The Beatles at JFK Airport

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[cycloneslider id=”honoring-beatles-50th-anniversary” fx=”fade” timeout=”5000″ speed=”1000″ width=”600″ height=”400″ show_prev_next=”true” show_nav=”true” hover_pause=”true”] I was very lucky to get into the ceremony celebrating the arrival of The Beatles at JFK Airport in 1964. The NY news media was there in force as they met with Beatle fans and other dignitaries at the event in the famous TWA Flight Center, a building that Port Authority Executive Director  Pat Foye described “painstakingly recreated” as a symbol of the early sixties “jet age.”

The one official getting most of the attention was Gary Millar, the Lord Mayor Councillor of Liverpool (UK). I also met Billy J. Kramer, a British Invasion/Merseybeat singer who often opened for the Fab Four in those early days. A commemorative plaque was unveiled for the occasion, and the Beatles cover band Liverpool played a few songs in advance of this weekend’s Fest for Beatles Fans. Check out Liverpool’s performance embedded on the last slide above. (Note: Keep your mouse pointer in the slide area to view the video without interruption.)

Glen_BurticI was fortunate to do a mini-interview with Liverpool lead singer/guitarist Glen Burtnik. It was pretty cool even though I was “winging it.” Glen was very friendly and approachable, he’s worked alongside Marshall Crenshaw in Broadway’s Beatlemania and mentored Graham Alexander. We started talking before I even got his full name!

Jeremy Messersmith “Heart Murmurs”

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I’ve followed Minneapolis singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith’s musical career from way back, and each new album shows improvement and growth, but now with Heart Murmurs I can say he’s hit his stride. Like Elliot Smith, Messersmith’s always been a master of melancholy melodies. But here he gives us an album that’s thematically well rounded about every aspect of heartbreak, from beginning to end. The glorious sound is to imagine Paul Simon as the leader of Coldplay.

Starting with “It’s Only Dancing,” about the tension of that first dance at a prom, the dense chords echo through your head. Next the single “Tourniquet” is an awesome earworm that lingers long enough for you to sing along. Sung with wistful elegance, “Steve” is told from the perspective of the best friend with a secret crush. “Ghost” is another heavy beat gem about leaving the past behind, contrast that with the acoustic desperation of “I Want To Be Your One Night Stand.” Each song builds with great atmosphere, “Bubblin'” and “Hitman” are another perfect tandem of mature orchestrated pop (my favorites here).

Producer Andy Thompson helps keep the arrangements clean and crisp, and accented with orchestral instrumentation that rounds out each mini drama. Overall, a creative triumph that deserves a spot on my top ten album list for 2014. If this doesn’t get the name of Jeremy Messersmith out there to the ears of the hoi polloi I don’t know what will.

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Sidewalk Atlas and Fab Claxton

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Sidewalk Atlas “Stealing Time”
Combining a love of The Beach Boys, Ben Folds, and the Flaming Lips with a huge variety of genres makes this debut from Sidewalk Atlas a hidden gem that deserves your attention. The Philadelphia-based project created by Danny Greene, collaborates with about 19 other musicians to create a concept album somewhere between The Pet Sounds Sessions and Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.

The slow piano and clarinet builds into a full overture on “At Least We Are Here Together” then on “Stealing Time” the electric guitars chime in like The Apples in Stereo. Another gem “Margot” is a delightful melody about a quirky girl who has a radiation accident (“You might be nuclear!”). The piano ballads are heartfelt, like “City’s Not Enough” including elegant string accents and some experimental compositions like “Terra Calls Me Back” need a few listens to appreciate. The Bandcamp download is at a “name-your-price” point. Danny is an up and coming talent, we can’t wait to see what’s next.

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Fab Claxton “Spazzamatazz”
Fab Claxton is the lead singer of The Marvelous Beauhunks, and here his solo doesn’t fall to far from the Beauhunks, perhaps with a touch of Southern Culture on The Skids guitar, and a Chili Peppers attitude. Spazzamatazz is a compilation of Fab Claxton’s first two EPs – ‘Ramalama Sasquatch’ (released February 2012) and ‘Amped Up Real High’ (released September 2012).

Turn up the volume and enjoy the howlin’ on “Tried To Meet You Halfway” and thick bass on “These Bones (Really Get Around).” Once again, the Bandcamp download is at a “name-your-price” point.

CD Baby | Amazon