The Nines “The Nines”

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This is the first major release of new material since the Nines’ critically acclaimed album Gran Jukle’s Field. Amazingly, Steve Eggers has come a long way from his 1998 debut on EMI, to working with a Who’s Who of power pop music gods including Andy Partridge (XTC) and Jason Falkner (Jellyfish). This new self-titled album is another pop masterpiece.

Starting with a disco funk bass (shades of Bleu here) intro, Eggers works magic on “Backseat” into an ultra hooky single. With the crowd noise, you almost feel like you’re attending a revival of Frampton Comes Alive! The piano rocker “Far Away” is a perfect segue full of contradictions like “Leave. Please stay. Doesn’t matter now” with an ELO styled middle eight. “Jackie Smokes” is a tonal shift with a heavy guitar and synth, but full of intricately layered vocals – sounding both modern and classic all at once. A few more songs heap on synths and elctro beats, but Steve’s melodies are underneath it all.

“The Virtuous Man” multi-layers the vocal and acoustic guitar with Andy Partridge, and it’s such a great song it makes me miss XTC even more. A fully orchestrated, slickly produced “Seasons” will please McCartney fans, but Steve feels most at home at the old piano with mid tempo ballads like “On The Slidelines” and “Martin.” No one could sing these songs with more earnest. “Goodbye” is another sweet ear confection that would’ve fit neatly on Macca’s Tug of War. Not a single misstep or filler track, and an easy nominee for my 2013 top ten year end list. Welcome back Nines!

CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik

Richard X. Heyman “X”

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Power Pop veteran Richard X. Heyman returned this year to give us “X,”  aka his tenth album. Starting out similar to the biographical Tiers, “When Denny Dropped Out of the Scene” describes a friend who slowly fades from the friendship. Next “Please Be Mindful” is an orchestrated piano epic and a little bit of The Doughboys garage style rubs off on the rocker “Compass.”

Heyman delivers with his jangling guitar on “Firing Line,” and “Somebody Has Finally Found Me.” The ballads slow things down a bit and it loses some momentum after the mid-point, but then “If You Have To Ask” is a classic melody that compares with the best he’s ever done. More gems include “Hangman Smiles” and the finale “Will To Go On.” Overall, this is a terrific return to form and an essential album for fans. Like other DIY “one-man-bands” (Paul McCartney, Emitt Rhodes or Todd Rundgren) Heyman is a master of melody and he proves it over and over again.

Amazon | richardxheyman.com

Power Popaholic Fest 2013 Report

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Everyone had a great time at our 2nd annual Power Popaholic Fest in Brooklyn, NY. I have to say I was very pleased with the Rock Shop as a venue and it looks like we’ll have next years Fest in the same location. Jana Peri started the show with an acoustic set to get the crowd warmed up. Jana and guitarist Jacob brought a feel-good vibe to the place and then Kurt Baker went up to the mic solo. He gave a great solo performance but at one point in the middle of a song he had “brain fart” and forgot how to continue with a song. The audience had a blast as Kurt ad-libbed his way past that and then finished the song.

Then The Turnback took to the stage and the crowd began to grow, the band is planning an LP in 2014, so they showcased a few brand new songs. The audience was packed now, and The Anderson Council buzzed through their set, to many hoots and applause. Then to promote their entire catalog release in iTunes, The Gripweeds took to the stage. The band sounded amazing with a virtuoso drum performance by Kurt Reil that thrilled the crowd. Rick Reil and Kristin Pinell chimed in with their Byrds-styled guitarcraft. The night rounded out with local Brooklyn retro-poppers The Above who also did an excellent job. The audience stayed through the entire Fest and we all can’t wait till next year!

To commemorate the experience Power Popaholic is selling limited edition album cover sized posters of the “Fest Volume 2.”We are also auctioning off a poster, signed by each one of the bands that played Power Popaholic Fest on ebay.

We are also selling non-signed posters for $4.00 each.




Tommy Keene and C.L. Blake

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Tommy Keene “Excitment At Your Feet”
Tommy Keene’s new album, Excitement at Your Feet, is a new and exciting approach to covers. Picking several favorite classic bands (The Who, Rolling Stones, Big Star, etc.) but don’t pick the best known tracks. In fact, these songs are downright obscure, and allow Keene to operate without the original lingering in your head for comparison.

Opening with the exciting Flaming Groovies’ “Have You Seen My Baby?” it really rocks and Keene goes to town. The jangle is heaviest on Echo & The Bunnymen “The Puppet” and even the little known Mink DeVille gets covered. With the skillful arranging it makes them all sound like Keene originals. Highlights include “Choking Tara (Guided By Voices)” and “Out Of The Blue (RoxyMusic).” My only pet peeve is that he doesn’t cover The Who’s “Listening To You,” as its lyric is in the albums title! This is further evidence that if you dig deep into your favorite albums, you’ll find a gem or two that can be re-discovered.

Amazon

 

C.L. Blake “george” EP
C.L. Blake (Ira Katz, lead singer/songwriter of The Greenberry Woods) recently teamed with producer/drummer Ken Coomer (Wilco, Will Hoge) to record this EP last year, and its worth discovering. While it has more in common with Wilco stylistically than his old band, Blake still delivers compelling melodies with “All We Are” and the jangling guitar of “Say What You’re Thinking.” Another gem is “Waiting on a Lover (Tressa).” It makes for a polished and effective showcase for his talents. It would be great to hear more “up” tempo tunes, and hopefully Blake is working on a follow-up.

Amazon | CD Baby