V Sparks and Pluto The Ninth

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V Sparks “Biscuits and Tea EP” and “Medium Rare”
Fans of Marc Bolan and Bowie will flip for this prime example of classic glam rock. This Chicago band is lead by Prescott Kagan (Vocals, Guitar) and joined by Keith Hosmer (Bass) and Adam Long (Drums).

Starting with strings and the backing “ooh la la” chorus, “On My Arm” starts off and the guitar assault begins. The EP is really good and a FREE download. This appetizer warmed me up to get the newer LP Medium Rare for only $3. If you ever wanted to hear more Ziggy Stardust with a side of The Dandy Warhols, this will do it for you. The vox led “Dreaming of Outerspace” is a really cool instrumental, mixing Queen and ELO. Some of these are just quick musical ideas, but it’s still all good.

Bandcamp only.


Pluto The Ninth “1,2,3 Chicken!” EP
Pluto The Ninth are the quirky duo of singer/songwriters Jonathan Wandag and Amalia Miller. Comparisons to Pomplamoose are inevitable here, as both bands have had some commercial success with sophisticated and catchy themes.

But Pluto the 9th are just starting to emerge on the radar, their self produced EP is a great little sampler – “Nightmare Girl” and “Dead Birds and Bees” will win over fans of Bryan Scary, Queen and Jackdaw4. “Oh How It Would Be” seems tailor-made for a ipod commercial featuring Ms. Miller’s sweet vocal over toy piano. The sunny “Born Again Friends” recall The Corner Laughers and the instrumental “Molly Mechanique” wouldn’t be out of place on the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.

Vibedeck

Shoes “Ignition”

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80’s Power Pop icons Shoes are back. The self-produced and released LP on the band’s own Black Vinyl Records, Ignition proves Shoes still embrace and fly the banner of melodic guitar-driven pop.

“Head Vs. Heart” starts us off  with the sweeping chords and harmonies — it’s pitch perfect Shoes power pop. The mid-tempo jangle comes next on “The Joke’s On You” with its clean layers of guitars in the verses up to the chorus. The Shoes sound is very distinctive and the musicianship here is perfection.

The band manages to scale back the synths and mix up the formula as “Heaven Help” talks about the stifling uncertainty of love and it’s chorus reminds me of the Travelling Wilburys. The band also has some fun with “Hot Mess,” imitating the Stones with strutting Keith Richards-styled rhythms. Jeff Murphy’s political views come forth in “Where Will It End”  and most impressive is the minor key masterpiece “Out of Round” written about a departed friend.  Each of the 15 tracks manage to fly by and encourage repeat listens. The final track “Only We Remain” is a bit dragged out, but states the band’s purpose succinctly “Do what we wanna do. Livin’ for today.” Like the cover implies, Ignition is sure to lift your spirits.

European Power Pop Special: Trois

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European Pop Special 3: Okay I did some further digging in Europe for power pop, and we have a pair of artists from France and one from Leon, Spain.

Brigitte “Et vous, tu m’aimes?”
This hot duo drip with exotic coolness on the opening track “Battez Vous,” and their debut album went platinum in France. Named after 60’s French actress Brigitte Bardot, they are lounge-pop revivalists with great talent and style. Fans of the recent Corner Laughers album will really dig “Corur de Chewing Gum” – it will have you singing along in French! A lot of the tunes are slow pop ballads, but the standouts are the bouncy title track and disco-styled “Oh La La.”

BB Brunes “Nico Teen Love”
French pop-punk trio BB Brunes features members who have known each other since they were kids. In 2005, a demo recording caught the ears of an indie producer and they’ve been at it ever since. They remind me of The Monkees if they had gone garage punk. The hard riffs also recall the band Jet. The albums “Nico Teen Love” and “Blonde Comme Moi” are what I listened to, and used CDs are reasonably priced for imports.

Cooper “Aeropuerto”
From Leon Spain, Cooper sparkles with energy, similar to The Wellingtons or Farrah except in Spanish. “Hyde Park” is an example of this, ringing Rickenbacker guitars and hand clapped beat make it great in any language. The swirling chords and jangle of “El Circulo Polar” is another winner. In fact most of the album follows this approach, with a break for mid-tempo indie ballad “En La Sofa” and the trippy “Lisboa.” Also impressive are “Steph” and “El Sueno.”

The Judes and John Moremen

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The Judes “All That Is The Judes”
Cory, Jim and Mike are three lads from Winnipeg, Canada who formed a pop band with a soft edge and subtle harmonies. Opening with the somber “Bide Your Time” it’s got just a touch of slide guitar and ghostly backing vocals. The upbeat “Better Off Alone” is a bit more traditional in the early Beach Boys mode. Especially “Summer Days” with it’s “ooh ooh” vocals, handclaps and Dick Dale styled riffs.

It gets better when the band leaves the template behind, “Someone Like You” is a great tune. The production is very sparse, and that lets the boys harmonies shine, like on “Love The World.” But that technique (great for ballads) doesn’t quite work on “Beautiful and True” – a catchy, well written gem that literally begs for the Phil Spector treatment. The lightness reminds me of The Yellow Balloon and First Class. The album has no filler and its full of sunny innocent sounding songs, so if you ever wanted a younger band to sing about girls on the beach The Judes will suit you just fine.

John Moremen “John Moremen’s Flotation Device”
Multi-instrumentalist and composer John Moremen has performed with Half Japanese, Roy Loney and the Phantom Movers, the Orange Peels and the Neighbors, but this is his solo LP debut. He has a sweet little EP that flew below the radar in 2002, but here Moremen does something most would not — an all instrumental album.

And rarely have I heard one this good, “Floatation Device” is a great opener, with a riff that would make Duane Eddy jealous. “Stay Inside” is a great tune, you can almost hear the lyrics (if they existed). The guitar techniques are rooted in traditional garage and rock, but the melody lines are extremely inventive. Highly recommended!

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