Dark Ocean Colors and Jenny O.

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Dark Ocean Colors “Dark Ocean Colors”
The duo of Scott Hunt and Mark Mikel have worked on many projects together (including The Pillbugs and The Sprags) to create a rich tapestry of psychedelic textures and looping melodies using numerous instruments (guitars, Mellotrons, violins, etc.) and old analog gear to give it an authentic vintage sound. “My Barbara Closed The Doors” gets started right where the Pillbugs left off and it sounds great. “Crashing The Sky” sports a marching beat to the swirling guitars and vocal harmonies. Fans of progressive rock will also love this, as it’s a got a strong instrumentation on “The Other Line” and sunshine pop fans will swoon over “Lazy Lighthouse Jupiter Band” and the baroque “Same Old Mistake.”

This is an album is a real grower for audiophiles that reveals gorgeous musical tidbits with each listen. It did appear on a few “best of” lists for last year for that reason — as even weaker tracks, like “She’s  A Cornucopia” are performed so beautifully, despite the lack of a hook. Best comparison I have is The Olivia Tremor Control’s Dusk At Cubist Castle but with better harmonies. Just listen to the vocals on “Dream Away” and try not to be impressed. This is one great headphones album.

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Listen to “My Barbara Closed The Doors”

Jenny O. “Home” EP
Jenny O. reminds me a bit of Anya Marina mixed with Janis Ian, it’s got hints of folk, blues and a very sparse production. Honestly the bass hook and brazen lyrics on “Well OK Honey” just drew me in here and its cool beyond words. “All My Wishes” is a great showcase for Jenny’s melodic vocal and the gentle folk acoustic guitar and steady beat makes “Won’t Let You Leave” another winner.

Another solid melody is on the old piano ballad “I Do I Do” where it builds with double tracked harmonies and tambourines to a complex weave of melodies that would make Brian Wilson proud. I can’t wait till the full length – this EP is highly recommended for sure – also check out the video.
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Doctor Squid “Doctor Squid Changes the Channel”

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Athens, Georgia band Doctor Squid returns with a more measured tone compared to its debut album. The subtle building guitar strums of “Through Your Eyes” come across like a mix of Field Music and Weezer with its upbeat minor chords. The harmonies that open “Regret It and Let It” are similar to The Davenports, with its poppy backing vocals and steady riffs in the chorus. The band has definitely matured here, with more deliberate melodies and well crafted harmonies (like on “As Soon As I Discern” and “Rock Solid”).

The apparent solemn ballad “Come Around” is almost a intermission for the listener between all the heavier, faster tunes. Nothing here is that predictable, and it moves in a slight alternative direction, “To The Snow” changes tempo midway through the song and then switches back. Another approach to the songwriting is starting slow and building to a guitar frenzied chorus. This all makes for totally enjoyable listening, although it wanes toward the albums end with the weary anthem “Through Any Eyes.” It’s just great to find a young band carrying the torch of melodic rock and roll. Enjoy this FREE track “Rock Solid”.

CD Baby | Amazon

The Hangabouts and Glenn Tilbrook

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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!

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Memorials and Comebacks of 2011

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!