Robert Gay and The Real Impossibles

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Robert Gay “When I Was Young”
I don’t know much about Nashville musician Robert Gay, but with the help of his band (The Alarms) he’s put together When I Was Young. Gathering memories of his youth, it looks back searching for meaning in life, thematically like The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. Opening with the slow wistful title track, but then jumping into the summery melody “For You” full of horns and hope. This slow-fast alternating tempo of songs continues throughout.

“Sunday Afternoon” is a beautifully orchestrated song with woodwinds and harmonies. “Katie” is back to the fast-paced approach, “Floating Away” has a delicate acoustic melody, about the very beginnings of loss and this segues into the dramatic “Trouble.” Next comes the bright Squeeze-like single “Everyone I Know,” with darkness lurking just between each chorus, and a little Ska influence peeks through too. The writing is top notch, especially on the gem “Want To Want Again,” with a perfect hook, catchy beat and a tuned guitar distortion – one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. The album ends off with some orchestral pop, “Open Roads” similar to a Neil Diamond epic. Highly Recommended.
power pop review score 9

Bandcamp

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The Real Impossibles “It’s About Time 1983-1988”
The Real Impossibles were an L.A. band started by Marc Platt in 1983, he hooked up Probyn Gregory (Wondermints, Brian Wilson band) and some friends helped him put out a EP. After some positive reviews, Platt then put together a live band that worked the same club circuit with The Bangles, The Three O’Clock, and The Plimsouls. In fact after the Plimsouls broke up, lead singer Peter Case joined The Impossibles in the studio on a few tracks. But the band never made that leap to national fame. This is a 23 song retrospective from this hard-to-find “lost” power pop band.

Some songs still hold up nicely the opener “Burned” being one of them. An energetic cover of Neil Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry” follows, with highlights being the jangle-filled “Here and Now” and “Turn My World.” Some tunes have a bit of punk attitude, reminding me a little of The Godfathers or The Romantics. Other tracks are very solid 80’s guitar pop, and its hard to see how the mainstream overlooked the band. The production quality varies from song to song, based on the condition of the masters. For fans of the ’80s era, this should be an essential part of your music collection.
power pop review score 9

Zero Hour Records

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs “Under The Covers Vol.3”

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14 new songs from the Sid and Susie team, this time they pick their favorite 80’s tracks. One of my favorites early on, is Hoffs take on Rockpile’s “Girls Talk.” Another gem is Hoffs perfect rendition of “They Don’t Know” (Kristy MacColl’s big hit also covered by Tracy Ullman). Sweet doesn’t come off as well vocally and he’s given less to do, the exception is a spirited version of The dB’s “Big Brown Eyes.” More great collaborative efforts are on The Pretenders “Kid,” and Lindsey Buckingham’s “Trouble.”

Other tunes just sound merely decent, “Save It For Later” in particular didn’t work for me, compelling me to want to hear the original by The English Beat, and the same goes for a bland version of The Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The only train wreck here is “How Soon Is Now,” a Smiths tune that loses everything without Morrisey’s wailing interpretation. I would have picked a few different songs, but this is Sid and Susie’s karaoke and they’re clearly having fun. Overall this is a perfectly good addition to the Under The Covers series.

Amazon

The Grip Weeds and Andy Reed + Brandon Schott

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The Grip Weeds “Inner Grooves”
So you already know and love The Grip Weeds, and they are working on a new album as you read this. But Kurt Reil isn’t about to let your stockings empty this season, so he’s compiled a group of “Rare and Under-released Tracks” for you in Inner Grooves. As one of the best classic Byrdsian rock bands ever, its impossible to find even “throw-away” tracks, so that makes this an essential listen. Starting with the power pop perfection of “Rainy Day #1&2” it moves to the Merseyside flavored “Nothing Lasts,” an outtake from Strange Change Machine.

“She Don’t Care About Time” is a faithful Gene Clark cover (frankly, they could cover his entire discography perfectly.) “Sight Unseen” boasts some nice clean harmonies and fuzzy guitar solos. And if you wanted the long version of “Sun Ra Ga,” here is all 11+ minutes of that sprawling psychedelic jam. Thoughtfully mastered, it doesn’t feel like a collection of odd singles, but a cohesive album that was rescued from the cutting room floor.


Amazon
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American Underdog & Brandon Schott “The AB EP”
Brandon Schott and Andy Reed (An American Underdog) team up to release 2 songs each off of their respective forthcoming records. This tandem throws us 4 excellent singles and it’s a brilliant idea.

As competitive musicians they bring their “A” game starting with Schott’s “Henry” its a similar style to his last album 13 Satellites. Then Reed’s American Underdog “The Show Goes On” has a yearning romantic quality. This also helps both musicians promote themselves and helps build anticipation for those new albums. Yes, this is a big tease… but a good one that fans will appreciate.

Bandcamp

Magic Eight Ball “Sorry We’re Late But We’re Worth the Wait”

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Magic Eight Ball are an energetic trio from the south of England led by musician Baz Francis. After several EPs and singles, the band brings us its first LP (with the appropriate title). One thing you get immediately from the opener, “Something Better Has Come Along,” Baz is a big fan of Jellyfish and Enuff Znuff. His vocals are amazingly similar to Andy Sturmer here and Jellyfish fans will just feed off that and the swirling guitar riffs. It continues throughout this fast-paced album. The sweet “Baby, Is It So?” slows the pace a little just to let us know everything is fine, and its highlighted by an amazing guitar solo at the break. The band also pays tribute with the song “Big Star,” delivering the jangle and harmonies similar to the classic “September Gurls.”

Every song on this album has a compelling big hook and melody from the heavy crunch guitars (“Before It Was Murder” featuring Donnie Vie) to the gentle ballads (“Monkey Bars.”) A great mix of the crunchy-sweet is found in the standout “Russian Ballet” (reminded me of Ice Cream Hands as well) and it deserves a spot as a contender for my 2013 top ten list. Better late than never.
power pop review score 9

Amazon | Itunes

Free Music Monday (okay, mostly free): Dot Dash, Jasko, Ballard and Rocket and The Ghost

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Dot Dash are really on the cusp of greatness here – “Hands of Time” from their third album, Half-Remembered Dream, released a few months back is a gem, and here is the single as a free Bandcamp download.

Jasko. That’s all. I don’t have any other info on Todd Jasko, only that he did this free album, in the spirit of DIY power pop. Enjoy!

Ballard. Cool Lo-fi indie pop. The debut was kinda rough around the edges, but this band has improved quite a bit. And to make it worth your time they have added two free albums. The band still has that a garage punk pop ethic, kinda like The Eels.

Rocket and The Ghost. Okay this isn’t free, but it’s damn awesome indie power pop by what could be “the next big thing.”  Yes they have an EP out on iTunes, so be ambitious and get this.