Free Music Monday: The Kavanaghs, Salt III, The Kimballs, Dot Dash

powerpopaholic

The Kavanaghs “Need A Pity Day” EP
FREE 2013 EP includes the single “Need A Pity Day”, from the critically acclaimed Love Conquers Pain album, plus 3 unreleased tracks that were going to be part of the album but were not included on the final version.

20px_spacer

Salt III “Salt III”
A collaboration of American Michael Zwecker (The Poster Boy) to sit down with Russian Oleg “Toof” Zubkov (Kollaps) to hammer out a new pact under the guidance of Hungarian diplomats Zoltan Kovary (The Trousers) and Imre Poniklo (amber smith). Stockpile these tunes, they are awesome!

20px_spacer

The Kimballs
The Kimballs are Tom Burns (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion) and Michael Mark (drums, percussion, vocals.) The indie rock duo grew up in suburban Colonia, New Jersey, where they met as drummers in their high school marching band. They have been recording and performing together for over a decade. Earlier releases available on CD Baby.

20px_spacer

Dot Dash
The new album Half Remembered Dream comes from this ever improving, ever impressive band in a few weeks. As a personal favor, they are letting you have their first song “(Here’s to) The Ghosts of The Past” for FREE. Get it and look forward to the rest. So far the band is on track for an album each year. If you want to hear last years release, check this one out.

The Nomads, Athanor and Radio Ready

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

The Nomads “Solna”
 The Nomads are Sweden’s premier garage rock band, and their latest offering Solna is the most accessible album in years. Starting with the catchy single “Miles Away,” its got the riffs, power and melody in perfect balance. If you are a fan of The Stooges or The Hives you will really dig this. Guitarist Hans Ostlund shines here, “The Bad Times Will Do Me Good” has that minor chord fuzz with an excellent solo midway in. In fact there is a lot more pop here than I expected, “You Wont Break My Heart” has a good mix of countrified mix of guitar underneath a “la-la” chorus.

Still, plenty of crash and stomp rockers are here. “Don’t Kill The Messenger” is a good example of this and some Ramones-like punk rock appears on “American Slang.” Rounding it out are the ringing riffs and 60’s beat style on “Make Up My Mind.” Overall you have a pretty complete album with no filler and a great mix of hard-edged riffs and solid melodies. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | KoolKat Musik

20px_spacer

Althanor “Flashback”
Advertised as “late 60s influenced psychedelic proto power pop band from Chicago,” Althnor is a the collaboration of Greg Herriges and Rick Vittenson. The pair dreamed of rock ’n’ roll stardom, toiling away in their basement back in 1972 and they released a single “Inner Space” that got some local radio play. Forty years later (!) they finally got a record contract from an indie British label looking to release the bands entire output.

While most of the bands music falls into the psychedelic folk genre, it boasts nice Beatlesque harmonies on “I Don’t Mind” and “Memory (Don’t Fail Me)” which is akin to Badfinger or The Aerovons. The fuzzy Lennoneque “Habits” and “Read Me” sound good, given these were made in 1975. This a perfect compliment for fans of other rare psyche-pop bands like Lazy Smoke, Creme Soda, and The Only Ones. For power pop completists, the four songs mentioned above are essential listening.

20px_spacer

Radio Ready “Lost Power Pop Hits 1978-1983: Texas, Vol 1”
This is a fantastic new regional power pop compilation series from Cheap Rewards Records. This first volume covers bands from the Lone Star state and contains many hard to find singles and unreleased demos. Fully authorized by all the bands and expertly mastered, it rightly belongs in your power pop collection.

Staring with Lannie Flowers first band The Pengwins “What You Gonna Do” is a fantastic single, and the rarely heard Bruce Moody “This Is It” reminds me of The Toms. A few gems included are The Take “Tonight” and True Hearts “All My Time.” Lots of punk influences here with local bands like The Rattlecats, The Spies and others I’ve never heard of.

Bandcamp | Cheaprewards.net

Wyatt Funderburk “Novel and Profane”

powerpopaholic 2 Comments

Wyatt Funderburk is a Nashville musician, songwriter and producer. He’s been behind some of the best power pop of the past few years, producing and mixing for The Wellingtons, The Connection and Kurt Baker most recently. He’s also worked with Bowling For Soup, Linus of Hollywood and Silver Sun. But now Wyatt is on the other side of of the mixing booth crafting his first big solo album.

It’s pretty clear Wyatt has a knack for catchy hook-filled melodies and solid musicianship. Starting with the phrase “How was Your Summer?” we go on a melodic thrill ride with the song “Summer.” Next, “You Know What To Do” is a plea to girl to leave an abusive relationship, a mid-tempo slice of genius that recalls Roger Manning Jr. Each song is done with relatively restrained instrumentation and production, so the songwriting can stand out. Similar to Mike Viola or Adam Schlesinger, Wyatt twists those minor chords in each track, along with a ray of hope in each lyric. The lovely country beat and steel lap on “Feeling Good Tonight” is a welcome shift in tone, the epic “Nights Like This” gets to the heart of the album’s theme, and “Love Will Lead the Way” charms with its Tom Pettyesque rhythm and simple message. Although I felt “Try To Be” really deserved a lush multi-layered treatment, each track is a gem and it easily gets a nod for my top ten of 2013 list.

Now usually I like to wait for a full release before a review, but his one is too good to miss. Full release on August 27.

CD Baby | Amazon | Bandcamp

The Very Most and Adam Daniel

powerpopaholic 2 Comments

The Very Most “Just A Pup” EP
The Very Most are an indie band from Idaho, clearly influenced by both The Beach Boys and Belle & Sebastian. The use of tinkling percussion and vocal harmonies create a delicate arrangement for the title track and its seamless transition to “Idaho, America in 2049.”

The light, dreamlike melodies pass over you like cool breeze. In fact the use of sleigh bells does give it a wintery feel. The upbeat “We Don’t Have Any Cuts To Waste” recall ’90s pop of The Beautiful South and The Ocean Blue. Even a spritely cover of Tom Jones “It’s Not Unusual” featuring Liz Hunt, feels welcoming here. Overall a very satisfying release that will leave you wanting more.

Bandcamp | Amazon

20px_spacer

Adam Daniel “Pop, Baby”
 L.A. songwriter and musician Adam Daniel hasn’t given us an album in over 12 years, but the memory of that debut Blue Pop was strong. Like a mix of Elton John and John Mayer, he storms out of the gate with “Summer’s Comin.” Next comes Adam’s statement on male romantic ambivalence with “In and Out Of Love,” a glossy pop single.

Adam varies his styles here, loud horn-guitar density with “Regret Shuffle,” and “Invisible” going in the opposite (softer) direction. Some great melodic tracks include “Your Gravity” and the ballad, “Lullaby.” It doesn’t always work, as “Dream Out Loud” has a ’90s AOR rock undertone that sounds dated. But there is enough here to recommend, as its more varied and dramatic than his debut.

Amazon | CD Baby