Hotel Lights and Sondre Lerche

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Hotel Lights “Girl Graffiti”
Hotel Lights lead by Darren Jessee (Former Ben Folds drummer), has produced a nuanced indie sound that adds colorful layers of shoegazing-pop to the mix of alt. country guitar rhythms. The hushed vocals blend into the chords on the opener “Falling Down” but the chorus sticks with you, filled to the brim with orchestrated guitars and bells. The title track lumbers along, but the band really impresses with the catchy “Dave Sharkey to the Dance Floor,” similar to the talk-narrative of Squeeze’s “Up the Junction” – the chorus lingers on in your head, and its my favorite track on the album.

“Super 8MM,” with its tinkling keys and swelling violins, recalls Ben Folds doing a Roger Waters song. The next few songs sap the energy level previously build up, till the smartly written ”Through the Crowd” and “My Pretty Quirk,” brings back a Wilco-like groove. This reaches a fuzzy high with “All My Asshole Friends,” a perfect rip on all those band hangers on in the early days he “can’t remember” who talk about “irrelevant things.” Fans of both Ben Folds and Wilco will love this, although Jesses too-soft vocals could put you to sleep on a few tracks here.

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Sondre Lerche “Sondre Lerche”
After what I like to call a few years where he’s done some experimenting, Sondre is back as the pop songwriter extraordinaire – like a 21st century Paul Simon. The sparse opener “Ricochet”  builds to a subtle harmonic choir. Then it kicks in with the anthemic “Private Caller” with its punchy chorus and energetic guitar strums. “Go Right Ahead” is a wonderful tune that rides a bass line until it shifts keys and tone on a dime, it’s a great headphones song that you’ll want to listen to over and over again.

The inner Nilsson shows its head with the sweet strings of “Coliseum Town.”  The quirkiness of “Never Mind The Typos” is an endearing mid-tempo ballad that strums with Sondre’s off-key bits and dissonant sounds that eventually take over the song a la  “Day In The Life.”  Then the sweeping “Domino” is like a coffee house version of Coldplay,  with its soft-to-loud chorus and crashing end. Fans of Big Star will hear a bit of Chris Bell in “Tied Up To The Tide” and with that not a single boring track. So consider that mission accomplished. Fans of David Mead, Josh Rouse and other pop troubadours will surely embrace this album.

Richard X Heyman 9-11 tribute

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When Richard X Heyman was putting together Tiers And Other Stories – an album about life in New York City – he would have to confront the memory of September 11, 2001. Three songs eventually were included – the first deals with the day itself (“Gravity”), the second contemplates the initial disbelief and then coming to terms with the reality and aftermath (“Day Before Tomorrow”) and the third addresses the sense of loss (“Beyond The Setting Sun”). These three songs are posted on his website, www.richardxheyman.com, in their entirety this week.

Tommy Keene “Behind The Parade”

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I can think of only a few people from the 80’s with the talent and longevity who have remained stellar examples of power pop. Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Paul Collins, Richard X. Heyman and would add Tommy Keene to that list as well. After over 30 years in the music business, Tommy Keene is still going strong. Created in his home studio, Tommy can still play that melodic guitar-based rock to perfection. It starts off with the buzz filled “Deep Six Saturday” and the jangle-fueled rocker “Already Made Up Your Mind” is another classic mid-tempo tune.

The denser composition shows that Keene picked up a few things from his last collaboration with GBV frontman Bob Pollard. The insightful storytelling on the title track and  “Nowhere Drag” are both world weary rock epics with plenty of authenticity.  It then takes a small detour with the moody instrumental “La Castana” before continuing with his pop goodness. His vocal stylings still remind me of Richard Butler (The Psychedelic Furs) slightly, but with more emotional depth. It’s hard to believe, but unlike many music veterans, he just gets better with each passing album. Beginners here are encouraged to start with last years career spanning retrospective Tommy Keene You Hear Me. Otherwise, this is an album you don’t want to miss (and a top ten candidate too)!


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This video is from the 1996 album Ten Years After.

Back to School Mini Reviews

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This is a collection of unsigned talent that I got requests to review – so if you wanna be daring give these a try…

The Blind Sides “Circles” EP
Toronto musician Aron Harris really impressed me with this gem of an EP. The title track is similar to the piano pop of Ben Folds or The Hillary Step, it just leaps out of the speaker and grabs you. And the following tracks are pretty good, with a DIY power pop effort in “When I Look Back Now” and the alt. country of ” I Don’t Want To Let Love Get In The Way.” Lead singer Stephen Scarrow has a real gift for songwriting and composition and he knows how to really croon on “Waiting For Tomorrrow.” I can’t wait for a full release from this new talent.
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Toxic Melons “Melon Jam” EP
A very DIY effort by Paul Fairbairn of Newcastle UK, Melon Jam takes it’s cue from Jellyfish, The Move and Stackridge. “The Dole” is an ambitious opener, with a Jellyfish styled chorus and harmonies. The song “You’ve Changed” is slow pop waltz full of neo-psychedelics that creates a Zappaesque atmosphere. The ender “Tomorrow” is another standout, but unfortunately the low budget production starts to show on the other tracks. Fairbairn has tons of potential here and I would love to hear more… can someone sign this man to a proper label please?
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The Sharks “Stockwell Love” EP
Lead by Paul Harvey this London band as a number of free EPs and singles available on Bandcamp. If you are more into the loud side of pop, similar to Paul Collins. Harvey has very distinct vocal that warbles like Roy Orbison a bit, but with a nasal sound that takes a little getting used to. The songwriting here is very good, and the guitar work on several singles is very impressive. “Jimmy” has tons of power and “Stories” has a great hook. Truth be told this is a great FREE collection, and you should give these guys a listen.

Billy Burnett and John Holk

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Billy Burnette “Rock and Roll With It”
Burnette has a long and proud history in rock and roll. And I’d be shocked if anyone else short of Brian Setzer can play Rockabilly better, as Billy’s dad helped invent the genre. He’s played with rock legends Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many more. The title track of the new album “Rock and Roll With It” is a bona-fide classic with a catchy rhythm that doesn’t quit. “My Love Will Not Change” is an uptempo country rocker that has a highly polished sound that will impress the most jaded critic. “Beautiful Distraction” is a honky tonk theme suitable for the NFL or NASCAR and each following track is solid twang-fest thereafter. “I really felt like it was time. I really like this music. I didn’t get into my dad’s whole Rockabilly thing until after he died.” Burnette says, and we’re all the better he’s carrying on the family business. One listen to the autobiographical “Hot Rod Billy” and you’ll be shakin’ all the way home.

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John Holk & The Sequins “If You See Her”
In country pop music, subtlety is a premium that is often hard to come by, but John Holk uses his mellow vocal and melodic approach to win you over. The band’s sound is in the vein of Gram Parsons, The Byrds, or The Scud Mountain Boys. The pop goodness shows up in the lush second track, “If You See Her” with its tight harmonies akin to The Association, floating on top of the jangling guitar rhythm. Carrie Shepard joins Holk for a sweet duet on “Lady Jane” and another great pop moment is on “Autograph” with its ear-worm worthy chorus. Another standout is “If She Were You” with a superb guitar solo at the break. The album breaks into bluegrass and traditional country in the latter half which slow it down quite a bit, but it recovers with the easy going guitar of the ender “The Mountain” with its “Proud Mary” bass line. Overall a nice gem of an album with solid performances.

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