Michael Carpenter, The Pengwins and Jack Skuller

powerpopaholic

While I rarely highlight singles, a lot of them have reached my inbox lately.  I wanted to share and even though I didn’t “rate” them, they are most worthy of your attention:

Martin Carr

Michael Carpenter “Too Late/I’ve Been Lovin’ You”

A long-time favorite of this blog, Michael Carpenter has returned to the studio, and he’s taken a break from the covers and delivered some original compositions. “Too Late” is blues-rocker that has a strong pop melody and “I’ve Been Lovin’ You” is a dense guitar chorus that makes most Carpenter songs a joy to listen to.

Bandcamp

The Pengwins “Vol.2”

The legacy of The Pengwins continues to drip out in exclusive box-set singles like last years “Vol.1: Naive/Life After High School”.  This year we have Vol.2 “If U Want 2/Look Around” and its a wonderful new combo. “If U Want 2” was newly recorded and is the real gem here, with echoes of The Shoes and The Beatles it was even recorded in Abbey Road studios.

Lannie Flowers sounds great as always, the second side “Look Around” was originally recorded in the late ’70s and has more of a Cheap Trick vibe. If you order direct from SpyderPop Records, you get a special cardboard box, 7″ single with a bonus CD of the songs, plus guitar picks, photos, and other goodies.

CD Baby

Jack Skuller

Jack Skuller “Can You See Me | Hard To Want”

Jack Skuller is a young modern musician called by some “the anti-Bieber,” or “a mini Jack White.” Skuller cites his influences as Little Walter, Buddy Holly and Elvis Costello. This year he was the recipient of the Holly Prize, an award made possible by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Songmasters as a tribute to the legacy of Buddy Holly, a Hall of Fame inductee. One listen to the single, and I was impressed. Check it out.

Amazon Pre-order

RIP: The last ride of Paul Revere.

powerpopaholic

Paul Revere, leader of Paul Revere and the Raiders passed away Saturday 10/4 at his home in Idaho. He was 76.

As one of the most popular bands of the 1960s, Paul Revere and The Raiders were second only to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones during their glory years (1966-1969) with a boatload of memorable singles like “Kicks,” “Hungry” and “Indian Reservation.” Dick Clark introduced them to the country on American Bandstand, a gesture Revere never forgot. The band continued to tour the oldies circuit, and as you can see and hear from the video I posted, he had a magnetic personality and a great sense of humor. The band even appeared on The Batman TV show at the time. He will be sorely missed.

International Pop Overthrow “Vol. 17”

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One great thing about David Bash’s IPO collection is that he has soldiered on (online comps be damned!), continuing to bring fresh power pop to the masses through CD format only. In the past few years he’s slowly opened up the scope of his collection, so you get some indie pop, pysche-pop, and other sub-genres represented. I’m happy to say Power Popaholic has reviewed many of these artists already, so I have my favorites but I’ll always get several new discoveries that I can pass along.

Each of the three discs has truly wondrous music that is curated by David, a dedicated music expert (something I can’t say about all those programmed, target-marketed radio stations). You’ll also find some weird stuff, like Sue Hedges “Liars ’n Lovers” which is like Lady GaGa lite, or the prog droning of Split Sofa‘s “10,000 Light Years From The Sun.”As we have three discs to go through, I’ll highlight my favorites:

Disc 1: The Bobbleheads are one of my favorite bands this year, so it’s great that they start things off with “Turn The Radio On” and also Greg Ieronimo’s cool “Roller Coaster Ride.” Kylie Hughes love letter to California pop “Calipopicana” is another keeper as is Secret Friend’s bouncy “Starting Today.” New discovery Chris Smith made a good impression with “No One Has To Know” and Northern Sugar’s “Ride” has a late 90’s Brit-pop feel.

Disc 2: A good example of something different is Alex Jules “The Key” where pop craft and composition are more important than guitar riffs. Another highlight is the mod-influenced, modern sounding “What More Can I Do” from Monogroove and the orchestral sweep of The Sharp Things “Flesh and Bone” which has a hint of classic Procol Harum. It’s also great to hear French power popper Tommy Lorente’s “Mirabelle” and the beautiful harmonies by The Tripping Souls’ “Place That I Love.”

Disc 3: As with past sets, this disc is a bit more inconsistent. Both Peter Fedofsky and B-Side give us Beach Boys influenced tunes, and Phonograph gives us the memorable “She Knows It.” The reliable Lisa Mychols 3 is “Ready For Action” and the rocking Beyond Veronica does a great job on “Crazy Girl.” I noticed a few older tunes here (Dave Birks “Speed Queen Mystery Date” is from 2012 and The Tor Guides “Dynamo” is from 2013) but they’re deserving anyway. A real buried gem here is The Newds “Go Getter,” with a hummable chorus that will stick in your head. Overall, like past IPO comps this one has a great mix of songs and most of them are highly recommended listening.

Pop Geek Heaven | Amazon

Ashbury Keys and Jigsaw Seen

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Ashbury Keys “Do You Know Who You Are” EP

The Texas trio, Ashbury Keys has taken a page from British bands like Coldplay and U2 giving the title track “Do You Know Who You Are” a rich, stadium sized sound. The EP then goes through a logical sequence of events; get the girl, lose the girl (because your a terrible guy) and wallow in self pity. “Hey Girl” is a pleasing melody and character study about a girl “posting her photos while cruising around” with a rich guitar rhythm in the chorus.

“Terrible Guy” is a interesting rocker, with lyrics mentioning all the vices he has and “Goodbye” is a power ballad that continues our story where he repeats the apologies to end up with a “Lonely Sunday.” This final ballad starts slow and builds up to a bombastic approach (again the comparison to early U2 works here). While the concept here doesn’t exactly break new ground, the guitar work is impressive as always. The Ashbury Keys continue to be a band to keep your eye on.

CD Baby | Amazon

Martin Carr

Jigsaw Seen “Old Man Reverb”

Veteran LA indie band Jigsaw Seen returns with an excellent new LP.  On the opening track “Let There Be Reverb,”  guitarist Jonathan Lea lets the guitar hook lead and singer Dennis Davison helps guide us along. The influences are from classic bands of the early 70’s blended with their own distinct sound. The next track “Idiots with Guitars” is truly Jigsaw Seen at its finest, like late-era Hollies combining the melody with a sophisticated bridge.

“Understand” is another single with terrific composition and execution. “We Women” is a fast-paced rocker with the fuzz guitar riff and blazing solo between the main verses. The psyche-pop “Madame Whirligig” uses the mellotron to good dreamy effect, and it blends into “Hercules and Sylvia” with orchestral interludes similar to The Moody Blues. The songs are both familiar sounding and highly creative, with a few curves thrown in (like the semi-Western theme “Abide”). Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Here Comes The Reign Again and Ice Cream Man Power Pop

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Martin Carr

Here Comes The Reign Again “The Second British Invasion”

After last year’s Tribute to Lite Rock, producer Andrew Curry moved his attention to 1980’s British pop. You get updated takes on era-defining hits by Duran Duran, Human League, Culture Club, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and more. If there is one thing I remember about many of these songs, was a brashness and optimistic defiance that reflected the 1980’s “New Wave” ethos. In today’s era our collective anxiety yields some mixed results, as the mood of some songs tend to be wistful, if not downright melancholy.

Favorites here include Fountains of Wayne singer Chris Collingwood doing “Life In A Northern Town,” and Cliff Hillis improves on “Wouldn’t It Be Good.” I liked the subtleties of Mike Viola’s take on Tears For Fears “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” and Freedy Johnston’s version of Naked Eyes’s “Promises, Promises.” It didn’t quite work for me on Jim Boggia & Pete Donnelly’s “Goody Two Shoes” or Ken Stringfellows’ “Digging Your Scene.” But Rachael Yamagata’s piano ballad of “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?” is sung with more pain and emotion than Boy George ever could.

A lot of artists have deliberately gone “low-fi” in direct opposition to the slick production of the past, but there are some faithful approaches featured especially Bleu’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me) and “West End Girls” by Secret Friend. With 27 tracks there is a favorite for everyone, mine included “Dancin’ with Myself” by Taylor Locke and The Corner Laughers “Our House.” Even if some of these songs aren’t as familiar to you, this set is highly recommended.

Bandcamp | CD Baby

Ice Cream Man  “powerpop and more”

IPO

Fellow power pop blogger Wayne Lundqvist Ford has been producing self-contained radio shows for a while now. He has more of a preference for English Mod, Northern Soul and Garage power pop, and he’s got a great ear for the stuff. After 50 shows he’s still going strong, and now he’s gathered samples from a ton of bands and with the help of our friends over at Futureman Records and has made a massive song collection a FREE downloadable treat.

We are talking 64 tracks of music. These are primarily artists who are criminally ignored by  main stream radio stations and deserve to be heard, including some of my favorites (Bryan Estepa, Tommy Lorente, Baby Scream, The Solicitors, The Legal Matters and The Turnback – just to name a few). Bravo Ice Cream Man!

Futureman Records