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.

Arthur Nasson and The Well Wishers

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Arthur Nasson “West Cambridge Cowboys”
Nasson just finished playing IPO Boston, and I was shocked not to have heard him before. Clearly a lover of melodic pop in the Beatles meets Joe Jackson vein, starting with “She Was Never Really There,” the piano chords are accompanied by Nasson’s Lennonesque harmonies. “Watch Your Back Now” and “Phil’s Pony” are also great catchy songs with the unmistakeable Todd Rundgren influence. “Blind To Reason” is a bass heavy slice of electric guitar with a catchy beat.

“I’ve Got A Flanger In My Heart” is another dense guitar tune filled with echoing riffs and synths. Stylistically he keeps to the 60s through the 80s on most songs. He also has an inventive use of sound effects on the textured mid-tempo “From A Window On A Train.” At times the sonic experiments feel more like an indulgence, (“Robot Trouble” and “Auntie-Matter”) but they are mercifully short. Enough great tunes here to make this highly recommended listening.

CD Baby | Amazon

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The Well Wishers “Dunwoody” EP
The brand new EP from San Francisco’s Jeff Shelton (aka The Well Wishers) encapsulates five acoustic styled vignettes of some mythical folk in Dunwoody, Georgia – a real suburb of Atlanta. In a change from the heavy rock of his other project  Hot Nun, this Well Wishers EP comes from a mellower melodic place.

“Peel Away” starts off with gentle acoustic and electric guitars to a bouncy pastoral melody. This style continues on “Good Luck” another optimistic love song with some a gentle harmonies in the chorus. Next “Real Today” and “Open Up Your Eyes” are more standard Well Wishers jangle-pop. Overall, the wonderful melodic compositions without any filler, makes a great holiday gift. Highly Recommended.

Well Wishers Direct (with bonus CD) | CD Baby

Fest for Beatle Fans 2014 in NYC

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Cbeatles10boming to New York City on February 7 – 9, 2014. It was 50 years ago that The Beatles first came to America, and The Fest For Beatles Fans is a huge celebration of all things Fab. You’ll see many close associates of the Beatles, including Donovan (“Mellow Yellow”), Peter Asher (Peter & Gordon “World Without Love” and former A&R at Apple Records), Billy J. Kramer (“Bad To Me”), Chad & Jeremy (“Yesterday’s Gone”), and former UK head of the Beatles Fan Club, Freda Kelly who is profiled in the recent documentary Good Ol’ Freda.

The Fest started in 1974 as the brainchild of a Beatles fan Mark Lapidos. In 1974 he was a 26-year-old manager of a Sam Goody record store. As a Beatles devotee, he simply wanted to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the year in which the Beatles first came to America. So he decided to create a weekend convention in Manhattan for fellow Beatles fans. Now its officially the longest running Beatles convention in the country. Buy advance Tickets!

 

DVD/Blu-ray Review “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me”

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If you didn’t see it during its premier or the follow up concert, now is your chance to own this very thorough documentary on one of the most important bands in the history of power pop. Big Star is better known for their massive influence than hit records or performances. Born in the shadow of the Memphis rock scene of the 1960s it couldn’t catch a break, despite critical acclaim and the legendary Alex Chilton and Chris Bell combination.

The first half concentrates on the Memphis scene at Ardent Records, and studio founder and engineer John Fry giving the group a chance. It seems like a Southern fried Haight Ashbury at the time, with interesting interviews of trippy photographer William Eggleston, Fry and others close to the band. It goes into details on both Chilton and Bell’s background, but often leaves you with more questions than answers. The band interviews are sparse and mainly audio (with photos) and include bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens. The bottom line for Big Star’s commercial failure at the time is clearly record distribution and promotion.

The second half of the film talks mainly about the influence the band’s songs had with the next generation of musicians. How the Posies (Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer) reformed the band and got Chilton to play again till his death in 2010. Musicians Chris Stamey, Mike Mills (REM) and Paul Westerberg (The Replacements) are a few of the many interviews with fans who championed Big Star, a band that managed to find their audience decades later. The extra features on the disc include more details on Bell and Chilton’s childhood, as well as “Big Star in the Studio,” another interview with Fry about the band’s recording style. For the non-fan I would recommend listening to the band’s music first, but for the initiated this is a validation of the greatness that was Big Star.

Amazon