Spygenius and Onward Chariots

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Spygenius “The Comforting Suture”
Spygenius is one of those quirky bands that shifts style with each album, sometimes you never know what you’ll get. Opening with a surf guitar instrumental it blasts into “Furniture Boats.” Its a quick paced song with jangley guitars, obtuse lyrics and its kinda like Ian Anderson joined REM.

This really gets obvious on “Kevin” which sounds like it fell off REM’s Document No.5 album. The formulaic approach changes on “All My Skeletons” with its memorable chorus, and the double-tracked vocals of “California Sunshine” thrills with its pop hooks. It takes a dark turn from that point, till the beautiful whistling “The Void.” and the bouncingly jovial “K is Mentally Ill.” The band creatively use horns and xylophones throughout its compositions. Loads of fun for everyone.

CD Baby | Amazon

Onward Chariots “This is My Confession”
Originally these guys were called Chariots of Tuna, but now the band has solidified into a skillful prog-pop art band. The opening is akin to ELP and the title track is an effective thematic rock jam with a nice guitar solo at the end. The fun of “Mel Gibson” is next and asks the question every fan of the actor wants to know, “What Happened? Who guessed Mad Max was really mad?”  After this the album goes into light pop mode.

Some wonderful harmonies and sweet hushed melodies come up on “Sisters and Brothers” similar to 10cc. Lead vocalist Ben Morss has an angelic voice that makes it all work. More highlights include the gentle “Forever Never Ends”  and “You Don’t Have To Be Unhappy.” Sounds to me like a combination of Todd Rundgren and Art Garfunkel. It keeps the listener guessing… is there a rock opera buried in here somewhere? Not everything is fully baked, but amongst the 16 tracks you’ll find some gems that will make your playlist for sure. Update: The band has just been signed by an indie label for a release on January 29th. Pre-release tracks are available now.

Bandcamp only (pre-release special)

Stay and Dot Dash

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Stay “The Fourth Dimension”
Another band from Barcelona, Stay caught my ear, a groovy retro-rock similar to Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye (so it’s no surprise that Stay opened for them on tour). “The Change Is Coming” has those familiar rhythms and a carefree melody. Continuing with “Yellow Rainbows” it’s got harmonies similar to The Small Faces or Supergrass, depending on your reference.

The blues ballad “Everything” and sun kissed anthem of “You Got Me Going” are very clean and well performed. To get the ambiance right, the album was recorded in Liverpool by the producer Fran Ashcroft (Damon Albarn). No missteps here, but nothing distinctive steps out here to blow me away either. Fits in very neatly with all my Rainbow Quartz artists and a welcome addition to my hippy rock mixes.

Dot Dash “Winter Garden Light”
The industrious D.C. band is hard at work after their debut, Dot Dash leaves behind some of its rough edges, and packs hooks into its 2nd album. Highlighted by “Countdown” its got a little Joy Division, The Vapors and early REM in its DNA. The jangle break on “Two Octobers” is a fine new wave progressive tune, “La-La Land” continues the flowing goodness with “oooh” backing vocals to a blistering guitar solo. The tempo increases on the latter album tracks, “Shouting in The Rain” is another standout to be savored. It’s nice to hear a band find its “voice” and Dot Dash does it here.

CD Baby | Amazon

Concert Review: Power Popaholic Fest

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Lannie Flowers onstage at Power Popaholic Fest

It was a great night of music and a real treat to run Power Popaholic Fest. Things went as smooth as can be, and even though attendance was light early, it filled up as the night continued. We started with a solid performance from Buddy Love, who did a soundcheck with Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll” and then got the audience cheering for the ballad “Crying Town” and “Little Sheila.” Jeff Litman took the stage next and all by himself had the crowd spellbound by his renditions of “Outside” and “Over and Over.”

Jacob Callis, Joey Kelly (Buddy Love) and Jana Peri

Jana Peri looked great and belted out some new songs she’s been working on, but also included crowd pleasing favorites like “I Wanna Rock.” I was honored to welcome the prolific Lane Steinberg next. He played selections from his new CD with David Grahame including “Crazy Maisie” and “Layabout” from his band 8×8. After his set, Lannie Flowers arrived with a five piece band (including keyboards) and brought the audience to a frenzy with selections from his new album New Songs Old Stories.

Lannie was warmly received and then The Heatless Devils took to the stage, they took everything up a notch with their own set of hard charging rock and roll. Shortly after a spirited version of “I Blame You,” the special guest Mark DiCarlo (Fuzzbubble) joined the band as they performed covers of The Records “Starry Eyes” and Cheap Trick’s “C’mon C’mon.”  The evening was capped by a laid back acoustic set by The Turnback, who played new selections from their upcoming EP. The sound quality was excellent and it was great to see the enthusiasm of fans enjoying original music by these talented artists. I will have more photos to show and videos up on YouTube soon.

Jeff Litman

Overall it was a great experience for both me and the bands involved, and I intend to build on this for an even bigger Fest next season. Once again I wanted to thank all the bands involved, and our great sponsors: Mid Island Drum and Guitar, Lulu’s Village Pub, and 11L Radio New York International.

 

 

 

Nick Lowe “Stoplight Roses”

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Now that Power Popaholic Fest is over, I need to decompress and relax. I will give you all a full review on the Fest in a day or two. Enjoy this sweet video from one of the greats, Nick Lowe from his album The Old Magic out on YepRoc. The song opens the album with finely crafted lyrics and strong melody, so typical of Nick Lowe.  The video features a forlorn-looking Paul F. Tompkins wandering away from a party to find a place to be alone.

Any Version of Me and True Hearts

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Any Version Of Me “A Matter Of Time” 
The French artist known as Any Version Of Me has returned with a new release, and those familiar with late sixties pop will find another treat here. Moving away from the Brian Wilson sound of past albums, it drifts more towards The Beatles, Donavan and the Aerovons. Especially good is the title track, with its simple strum and double tracked vocal.

Each song has its own wry charm, but I really enjoyed “I Won’t Let You Down” with it’s harpsichord chords and catchy chorus. Like his past albums, AVOM doesn’t exactly sing anything at a quick tempo, as “Say You Don’t Mind” plods along like a John Lennon ballad. And too many songs use the same technique, on the other hand it’s well written and performed. Worth exploring and if you reward Beatlesque tendencies you’ll enjoy this even more.

Bandcamp

 

True Hearts “True Hearts”
Its been a while since I could say a power pop treasure has been uncovered from years of obscurity. The True Hearts were a Houston-based band that was born when Gary Littleton convinced Terry Carolan (Just Boys) to move to Texas where they performed in several local bands (The Pinups, The Flirt).

The band recorded a limited release EP under the name, True Hearts in 1977. Heavily influenced by The Raspberries, it found only a limited audience at the time. But listening now I wonder how the majors missed these guys. The Raspberries soundalike single “Not Tonight” has a strong hook in the chorus, and you can hear the bands confidence improve with each song. The impressive musicianship and songwriting on “Talkin’ Bout Girls” and “If I’m Late” will appeal to fans of Pezband, Off Broadway and The Rich Kids. The band is a great example of classic late 70’s power pop sound, and this collection compiles all the songs, so discover this lost album at last.

Kool Kat Musik | Amazon