Dunebuggy and The Squires of The Subterrain

powerpopaholic

Dunebuggy “Dunebuggy”
Dunebuggy came together in 1991 and were based out of Hoboken, New Jersey. The band split in 1996, and self-released several songs — but this LP is the first time that many of their songs have ever been available to the public.

The band has a D.I.Y. aesthetic of skateboarding, and an obsessive appreciation for well-crafted pop tunes, Featuring members Jon Procopio (vocals/guitar), Keith Renna (drums), Michael Reilly (bass) and with contributions from Tracy Wilson (guest vocals), the band quickly built a name for themselves by creating clever indie rock with monstrous pop hooks. Their signature sound was punctuated by angular guitars, quirky phrasing and imaginative lyrics. Standouts here include: “Tungsten” and “Green Eisenhower.”

The Squires of the Subterrain “Sandbox”
Christopher Earl from the Squires of the Subterrain has produced some great albums within the Fab Four style. Now Earl takes his turn at that other pop music paragon, The Beach Boys. The primitive Wilson styled tunes are done with sparse composition on “Idling In The Sun” and “Surfin’ Indiana”. The lyrics are intentionally ironic, about how you’ll spend more time in traffic than speeding down the highway and  the joys of “surfing” in a small creek.

Earl gets props for the Pet Sounds influenced “(I Still) Mow Your Lawn” with its authentic harmonies and falsetto. The double meaning on most songs helps me enjoy the simple homage on “The Cheatin’ Gibson Girl” and “Fun House.” The psyche-pop stream of consciousness on “Woodrow Wilson” and “Rising Waters” treat us to Smile-like “experiments”. At times the lo-fi production and over-exaggerated Mike Love nasal approach on a few songs were annoying, but after a few listens it really grew on me. Essential for Beach Boys fans.

CD Baby | Amazon

Bunny Austin and Round About

powerpopaholic

Bunny Austin “Shadow Life”
Bunny Austin is the name of a Birmingham, Alabama band with a garage and power pop inspired sound. Bunny Austin is made up of Charles Arndt (Plaid Camels) on guitar and vocals, Rich Albright (Altamont, Muddy King) on bass, Tony Oliver on keys, and Tommy Prewitt (Month of Sundays) on the drums. The strong guitar fuzz is prominent on the opener “God Alone” and the radio friendly “Sparks” has a little of The Rolling Stones in its DNA. The next several tunes are decent, but nothing here impressed me until the handclap beat on “I Can’t Take It No More.” The song has a good hook here and resembles the Knack a bit. That riff heavy power pop sound is also welcome on “Make It Last For Now.” So overall a few keepers here, but nothing else that really stuck with me.

CD Baby | Amazon

Round About “Hanging By A Thread”
Washington DC band Round About’s debut album features some stellar guitar solos by Will Potts on the opening track “Partners In Crime.” The same template is found on the first few compositions where the melody is punctuated by Potts noteworthy electric riffs. Songs are well written for the most part. Unfortunately the problem here is lead vocal Patrick Garrity, who’s understated, unemotional performance undercuts the “rock” songs here. But for a few songs, like the jazzy “Hanging By A Thread” and soft pop of “Grateful For A Glance” Garrity’s hushed vocal is kind of like Al Stewart on Xanax. Potts guitar solos are all but gone by the albums mid-point, but the best collaboration of his guitar and Garrity’s vocal is the standout “Close To Home.”

 CD Baby | Amazon

The Mike Benign Compulsion and The Campbell Apartment

powerpopaholic

The Mike Benign Compulsion “Martha”
It wasn’t long ago we heard from Midweswtern musician Mike Benign. This new full-length album is a big leap forward for the Compulsion, mixed by the dB’s Chris Stamey. The driving harmonies on “Chemicals To Candy” is full of classic power pop chord shifts, and a great opener. “My Michelle” has a bit more jangle, almost like The Raspberries. A few real standouts are the bouncing beat and harmony filled chorus of “Valentines and Honeybees” and the Beatlesque “Sing It.” No filler here and plenty of other great tunes, like the Kinks inspired “American Dreaming and Drunk” and the Stamey influence is clear on the album’s latter half with “By The Way” and “I Won’t Let You Down.” The ballads are good too, so overall it’s a highly recommended LP and a great addition to your playlist.

CD Baby | Amazon

 

The Campbell Apartment “In”
After the melodic indie-pop sounds of 2008’s Insomiac’s Almanac, the Campbell Apartment take a turn towards a harder rock sound courtesy of leader Ari Vais. Joined by Jody Porter (Fountains of Wayne) it resembles the late great Alex Chilton on the blistering opener “I Don’t Believe in Love (Anymore).” The cynical genius of “The See You Laters” explores the death of rock star dreams, as Ari’s vocal has a Lou Reed meets TMBG-styled cadence.

The album’s wall of guitar riffs recall the Replacements feel-good hooks on “Autumn,” and the more distortion fueled melody “Season In The Sun.” A few songs recall the early 80’s new wave, like the list of girls on “My Many Mini Obsessions” and the dissonance of “Plug-in Freak.” A few notable tracks, like “Gia Knows” recalls Weezer and “That’s All There Is” could fit comfortably on a Red Hot Chili Peppers LP. Some of the rhythm guitar acrobatics are colorful and the slow ballad “There Goes the Sun,” has some sweet horn arrangements. It’s a grower for sure, as Ari’s vocal takes a bit getting used to. Get “I Don’t Believe in Love (Anymore)” for free download to start you off!

Itunes | Amazon

Japanese Power Pop Special! 日本のパワーポップ·ミュージック！

powerpopaholic 3 Comments

Certain countries really embrace power pop as a viable genre; Sweden, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Australia and the UK are included. But Japan may have the most fanatical fans, as ex-members of the band Jellyfish (Jason Faulkner, Andy Sturmer) found growing adulation there. Even if its not English language, you’ll know power pop when you hear it – so I did a few quick reviews…

The Mayflowers “Bremen Rock ” and “Red Balloon”
We mentioned The Mayflowers last week, but after going through their past catalog, I had to showcase them again. They have a knack for borrowing great song parts and making it all sound highly original and enjoyable. After you get Plymouth Rock, come back and get the other LPs. Highly recommended, get the albums domestically at Jam Records.
My Space | Bremen Rock | Red Balloon | Thistime Records


Onepercentres “Daydreaming Horses”
This band actually played at IPO, they have a harder rock sound, very similar to Green Day, Gin Blossoms, and The Goo Goo Dolls. The put a ton of power into their performance and let those fuzzy riffs do the work. And they sing in English too!
OnePercentres website | Thistime Records


Scott Goes For “Scott Goes For”
Crisp tight melodic arrangements have made the band Scott Goes For very comparable to Skeleton Staff and The Wellingtons. The band members are all veteran musicians supporting pop indie bands Pains of Being Pure At Heart and The Wellingtons on tour in Japan last year. A local critic called their debut “… a masterpiece that should be engraved in the history of Japanese rock.”

Scott Goes For website | Thistime Records


Hello “First Full Album (munasawagi pocket)”
Well you can’t get more poppy than this! Jellyfish and ELO influences are really strong here, despite the lack of English (but some English comes out in a few verses). The chords and harmonies are impressive and undeniably joyous. The album title “munasawagi” translates to “premonition.” But you don’t need ESP to enjoy this superior example of J-pop.
Hello website | Thistime Records


We’ve come a long way from those days when all I knew was Puffy AmiYumi! Fun Fact: in 2008 in Osaka, Mike Viola and Bleu were surprise wedding guests, and played “That Thing You Do!” for the happy couple.

Bryan Scary “Daffy’s Elixir”

powerpopaholic 7 Comments

I’ll be damned if Bryan Scary doesn’t have the stage musical already choreographed for Daffy’s Elixir. It’s a prog-pop concept album with huge scope that drops on April 18, but downloads are available now.

“The Wicked Frontier,” slowly fades into view, a grand introduction with long gorgeous harmonies across it’s Smile-kissed strings and “Happy Trails” rhythm. Then the train pulls into “Ziegfield Station” one of the album highlights, as it zips from player piano to organ to moog and back again. The melody’s hook is repeated with a perfectly chugging outro. Then it kicks in overdrive with “Cable through your Heart” a Scary version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” with multiple melody lines and dizzying tone changes. It’s basically the musical version of a tossed salad, and its the exhausting heart of the album.

Wrapped in Floydian Wall of distorted vocal “Silver Lake Mining Company” is a fuzzy musical treat with a dream-like melody at its chewy center. “Diamonds!” is pop in a lush configuration with harp and harpsichord woven together in the chorus. “Ballroom Kid” is another strutting standout that recalls Imperial Drag. But fatigue sets in with “You Might Be Caught In Tarantella,” and even though a few gems are found on the second half of the album (like “The Tale Of Opal Dawn” and “Day-Glo Waterfalls”) it wears out its welcome quickly. Out of the massive 15 tracks here, the mellow “Quicksilver Daisy Day” appears to be the best coda. The mediocre tunes turn a truly great album into merely a very good one. Scary seems to have been caught up in this melodramatic, grandiose mock-opera, making Daffy’s Elixir taste more like strong whisky instead of sweet wine. However after half a bottle, you’ll be pretty dizzy and satisfied.

Facebook | Amazon