In case you missed it, The Explorers Club has come out with a selection of FREE eps only on Amazon in advance of their new album Grand Hotel. You can get The Californian Suite, The New Yorker Suite, and The Carolinian Suite all for FREE. These dudes have the best vocal harmonies, short of the Wilson brothers – So give it a listen!
The Hangabouts and Glenn Tilbrook
The Hangabouts “Illustrated Bird”
This Michigan based pop duo (John and Greg) produce a varied mixture of pop styles sure to impress. The sound is sparse and with two acoustic guitars and gentle two part harmonies. The understated opener “Love Nothing” compares well to The Cyrkle and with the repeating chorus “Come and see me, yeah anyday.” The Beatlesque “Doctor Dragon” would make a perfect companion to “Mean Mr. Mustard,” and the catchy “November” will certainly be repeating in your head. The easy going songwriting style and conversational lyrics are highly reminiscent of Fountains of Wayne or The Davenports on gems like “Go To Sleep” and “Roman Forum.”
Despite the lack of multi-layered polish, the band excels at writing tunes loaded with memorable hooks. Impressive gems like “She Hates You” and “Missing In Action” makes up for the filler here (“Right On Catherine”). I expect these guys to just keep getting better, as this album is well worth your time.
CD Baby | Amazon
Glenn Tilbrook & Nine Below Zero “The Co-Operative”
Recommended by a popaholic reader, The Co-Operative is essentially Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) teaming up with South London R&B band Nine Below Zero. The Co-Operative’s debut consists of five original songs, three covers, and three instrumentals. Glenn certainly sounds like he’s having fun on the pop tune “Chat Line Larry” with it’s bluesy guitar fills, and harmonica solos. Dennis Greaves does lead vocals on “A Little Misunderstanding” and its a hummable Zydeco tune.
All well and good, but Glenn really shines on the ballad “One Day I’ll Fly Away.” A harmonica lead version of The Beatles “You Never Give Me Your Money” is also a highlight. “Because” sounds like it would make a great Lenny Kravitz tune, but Nine Below Zero didn’t make it work for me. The band does a better job on the instrumentals, “After Dinner Speech” features superb instrumentation. The album has a little bit of everything, but short on hooks that kept my attention. Still it’s always great to hear Glenn, so Squeeze fans come on down!
Memorials and Comebacks of 2011
First a memorial to those musicians who have made a lasting contribution to the power pop genre, who passed away this year:
Andrew Gold (1951-2011) If Alex Chilton was last years biggest star passing, then Andrew gets the honor this year. You can read some memorial quotes on his site: http://www.andrewgold.com/, but his biggest legacy is his music. Perennially under-rated as a talent, his first three solo albums are flawless and I highly recommend you get Andrew Gold (1975), What’s Wrong With This Picture? (1976), and All This And Heaven Too (1978). Although not all are easily accessible, I expect re-issues to come soon.
Other important passings include: Gerry Rafferty (Stealers Wheel), Rob Grill (The Grass Roots), Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) and Moogy Klingman (Utopia)… R.I.P. — Rock in Peace. Yes, I know the list is incomplete. Please add your favorite in the comments.
This was also a year of comebacks, some successful.. others not so much:
Biggest comeback of the year is easy here as The Bangles made my top ten list with Sweetheart of The Sun. Although it didn’t make my top albums list The Smithereens – 2011 was a very respectable return to classic form. And if you wanted a band stuck in it’s era you could consider The Outfield – RePlay a successful effort. Other artists here deserve a critical kick in the pants, so here’s my biggest disappointments of 2011:
- Julian Lennon – Everything Changes
“Tired of this world…” Julian starts off in the opening lyrics and the depression continues throughout. What happened to Julian? A few decent ballads, some whining and that’s about it. Meh. - The Cars – Move Like This
A complete sell out that revives the classic Cars sound for “Blue Tip” and “Free.” But someone forgot to tell Ric Ocasek he was doing a full album. “Drag On Forever” sure is appropriate here, because that’s how I feel about this album. The lack of Benjamin Orr on the ballads really is noticeable too (he died in 2000). I never thought I’d miss Todd Rundgren here — but I do. - Paul Simon – So Beautiful So What?
Much better than Surprise (2006) and “Rewrite” is so good it makes you forget that most of this album sounds like leftover demos warmed over in the studio. Simon fanatics will like this, but most of the music loving public can pass on this. - Matthew Sweet – Modern Art
A very good album by any measure and Matthew should be allowed to experiment, but after listening to this I wanted to reach for my Jimi Hendrix collection instead of replay it. “She Walks The Night” is great and my review points out other good tracks. I miss the classic Sweet sound and a lack of memorable hooks make it a “base hit” instead of a “home run” to me.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
LL Cosmonaut, Queen Electric and IKE
A few quick EP reviews before the ball drops on 2011…
LL Cosmonaut “Why X-5” EP
The new project from Paul Steel is described as kalaedeoscopic, irreverant, melodic Lazer Pop. Call it whatever you like, it’s pretty darn good. A stellar mix of guitars, effects and dance beats all greet us on “Why X-5.” I’m sure if Roger Manning Jr. had joined the band OMD it may have sounded like “We Came in Peace” with it’s sunshine friendly harmonies and electronic loops. Each song is lushly orchestrated and best of all it’s available for FREE on the band’s website. Get it quick!
LL Cosmonaut website
Queen Electric “Queen Electric” EP
Another favorite artist of this site, Scott Sax slipped this EP out over the summer. The opener “Gonna Let You Down” is like a power pop version of Led Zeppelin. Scott still has the gift of great melodic choruses and solid harmonies. But here he adds guitar muscle and real atmosphere behind each tune, which earns it major props from me. The remaining tracks try a few different techniques, all with good results. No filler anywhere on this 7 track EP. Again, this is an easy purchase (name you own price) if you’re tapped out from all that holiday shopping.
IKE “The Little People, Church and the Steeple” EP
Scott Sax’s former band, the Philadelphia based IKE is still chugging along. John Faye (Caulfields) continues to take IKE in a hard rock direction here through 5 tracks, and the other half of the album contains all acoustic versions. All well and good on the opener “Rock And Roll Dreams” which really drives up those guitars. The other songs are also impressive. Standouts include “IF I Can Help It” and “Glorious Mistake.” The acoustic versions give you a preview of IKE’s living room shows and how well they translate each song to a single guitar.
CD Baby | Reverb Nation
Brian Ray “Very Happy Song”
Christmas is over. Time for leftovers and a look back at 2011.I try not to get political on this blog, but when a power pop favorite like Brian Ray writes a song for the ninety-nine percent of us, then I am proud to post this. For another equally great anthem for the OWS crowd, you can’t beat Our Lady Peace’s “Fight the Good Fight” for inspiration.
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A new project is being developed for a band called The Stars Explode. The reason I was interested is that the band is lead by Doug Edmunds, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of critically acclaimed 90s power pop outfit, Gladhands. The band is currently finishing work on its sophomore effort, having started the recording process with renown producer/engineer, Mitch Easter at his home base studio, The Fidelitorium. The new record is scheduled for a January 2012 release, with regional touring to follow. Go to our Help A Musician Page to find out more.