For all you newbies out there, ever wonder what its really like at a Power Pop concert? Well the King of Power Pop, Paul Collins (The Beat) helped put together the two day “Power-Pop-A-Licious” Festival in Asbury Park, NJ. Filmed by Derek Davidson, it chronicles a celebration of wild rock and punk pop with a pile of bands, including favorites Kurt Baker, The Above and many more. Enjoy the show!
Brooks has always been a talented, melodically obsessive, and cynical musician who wears his heart on his sleeve, much like Roger Klug or Chris Von Sneidern but sometimes going overboard when it came to song construction. I’m happy to say that on his third album, Harmony of a Passing Light – Brooks nails it here with a perfect combo of influences and original compositions. Starting out with “Calling Everyone,” Brad evokes the spirit and soul of Daryl Hall and his vocal never sounded better. “Steal My Disarray” is a stunner of a tune with echoes of Joe Jackson and led by awesome slide guitar by Paul Hoaglin. And it just gets better…
“The Spinner & The Spun” is a powerful rocker with a driving beat and swaggering rhythm – here Brad radiates awesome coolness with the lead guitar solo by Paul Hoaglin. The haunting harmonies of “Night Fades” starts out and the beautiful chorus wrap it up with a shimmering sitar lead. A few slower country themed songs about rebellion (“Farewell To Foderol”) and addiction (“Will It Be Enough”) are also noteworthy. More gems include “Exemplary Girl” and the dramatic “Grand Manner.” Brad breaks into this years top 10 nomination with this effort, and fans of emotional rock and roll will love it.
FYI: After some serious reformatting, I’ve updated our Radio Stations page. Included will be an archive of audio reviews for artists that appear on my segment of Power Pop Plus on Radio 11L New York International, every other Sunday at 10:00pm (approximately).
ATTENTION Radio Hosts! If any of my links are incorrect or you’d like to host my audio reviews please contact me. Thanks.
Speaking of radio station support, a pledge to WFMU gets you this sweet compilation of 1970’s hits done by an all star cast of power pop artists. Pledge to Michael Shelley – not available in 8-track tape, get the CD here!
Sometimes there are just too many good releases and not enough time to review them all. These releases are definitely worth checking out – so I did a few quick reviews here.
Edward Rogers “Porcelain “
Birmingham UK bred Edward Rogers made NYC his home and has put together a great rock and roll album. Part T.Rex and Iggy Pop come across on the opener “The Biba Crowd.” Then on “Nothing Too Clever” we venture into flowery baroque pop, similar to mid 60’s Bowie. Some great slide guitar on the Dylanesque “Love With The World” and back to garage-fuzz greatness on “Separate Walls.” Equally impressive are the rich and poignant ballads like “Tears Left in the Bottle” and the Ian Hunter styled “Link to the Chain” with Rogers grizzled vocal at his most expressive. Highly recommended.
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Little Barrie “King of The Waves”
Searching for that killer riff? Consider it found here. London-based trio whose garage sound is an exciting blend of hard rock, blues, and they get it right on the very first track “Surf Hell.” The pop influence of indie pop stalwart Edwyn Collins is clear on “How Come.” Fans of The Creation, MC5 and Primal Scream will feel right at home here. Tracks like “I Can’t Wait” and “Money In Paper” have a raw energy that’s hard to deny. And lead singer Barrie Cadogan’s swaggering tone makes those famous Gallager brothers sound like amateurs. A few bluesy stoner tracks are thrown in to fill things out, but overall a delicious sonic assault. Check out the great video too.
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Maxi Dunn “The Neglected Gambit”
Maxi Dunn is a singer/songwriter from Liverpool, England who has appeared one of my favorite artists albums (Lauri Biagini) and did tributes to The Jellyfish and The Posies, and while The Neglected Gambit isn’t straight power pop, it does have it’s own upbeat confessional mix of rock and pop folk. Some of the sound has echoes of the 80’s in “Why Do I Want You?” and the catchy “Make it Better” are highlights in a very diverse and emotional album.
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Taylor McMahon “Memory Music” EP
If you’d like charming acoustic pop, give Taylor McMahon’s debut EP a listen. McMahon is from Lake Charles, Louisiana and his music lies somewhere between Jack Johnson and Ben Kweller with an emphasis on catchy and simple melodies. “Rhyme & Rhythm” starts off with a casual strum and “The Donnie Song (It’s All Alright)” has a bit of local color. Both songs have a catchy sing along quality and I look forward to more from Taylor in the future.
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I was busy this weekend editing my latest interviews. I spoke with Lane Steinberg about his collaboration with Ukrainian musician Alex Khodchenko on his latest triumph 8×8’s Anatomy of an Apricot. Listen to the full audio interview with Lane Steinberg here.
I also caught up with Jeff Litman as he starts his new tour in support for his latest album Outside. We get into a few details about the songs and compare it to his debut. Listen to the full audio interview with Jeff Litman here.