The Liarbirds and The Jennifers

powerpopaholic

The Liarbirds “Allegedly”
The Liarbirds” were formed in Athens, Greece by British born Jamie Byres (vocals and guitar) and George Dimopoulos (vocals and guitar) joined by Angel Kikira (bass), Bob Synodinos (keyboards), and Kall Nitsos (drums). The album opens with the catchy “Chewing Gum” and it proves to be a sticky tune. “Running Mind” starts out slow, but then chorus kicks and all is well. This is very light airy pop (not much power here) and although it has a retro sound on the smooth “Soul Keeper” it doesn’t linger in your head long. Unfortunately the lack of hooks and simplistic lyrics make most of the remaining tracks forgettable. The lightweight pop only takes a brief respite with the fast tempo of “I Got Lifted.”  Fans of The Pearlfishers or The Brigadier may want to give this band a chance.

CD Baby | Amazon

 

The Jennifers “Well Intentioned World”
I remember years ago the Colors From the Future album, and finally the Baltimore band returns with Well Intentioned World. The overall sound has gotten better and comparisons have been made to Teenage Fanclub and Echo and The Bunnymen on the opener “Roses” thanks to the clear vocals of guitarist Joe Stone and the excellent drumming of Skizz Cyzyk. Echoes of early XTC are here too as the angular 80’s beats and riffs of the title track prove to be the most memorable one here. The frenetic “Around The World” is another excellent face paced tune. Other recommended tunes here are “Elephant Heart” and the impressive guitar chorus of “Driving Out The Demons.” The songs are pure pop played with a punk aesthetic and youthful exuberance – fans of XTC’s Drums and Wires will just flip over this.

CD Baby  | Amazon

Ben Wilkins “Ben Wilkins”

powerpopaholic 3 Comments

Ben Wilkins “Ben Wilkins”
Ontario-born Ben Wilkins was already a well-rounded musician, having studied classical music at Montreal’s McGill University and spent his post grad studies in Shanghai, China, when he began working with musical producers Pascal Shefteshy and Pierre Marchand (Sarah McLachlan, Rufus Wainwright) to put together his debut album. The warm classical pop sound permeates most of this album, but the disjointed “Opening” has a mix of indie jazz percussive effects, piano and classical strings contrasting Ben’s clean vocals. It sounds like he has thrown everything but the kitchen sink into the mix to let us know he’s avant garde.

But what comes next is nothing short of a revelation. “Soup for One” is a perfect amalgam of Ben Folds and George Michael, with a simple piano chord that grows into a lushly orchestrated melody. The arrangement and vocals here are pitch perfect and draw you into his world. “Through to You” leans more to the sound of Ben Folds or Adrian Whitehead, with slick harmonies and clean horns. Read my full review at The Rock and Roll Report. But trust me on this, several songs have found a permanent home on my ipod – a stunning debut!

iconAmazon | Itunes

Annie Dressner and HiFi Superstar

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Annie Dressner “Strangers Who Knew Each Other’s Names”
Angelic youth is the first impression of Annie Dressner from her vocals on the opening track “Fly,” an wistful song about the fear of failure and the need to “grow some wings and fly.” Fans of Zooey Deschanel (She and Him) and Nataly Dawn (Pomplamoose) will find a kindred spirit in Ms.Dressner. The excellent mid-tempo “Cigarette” has a hint of tambourine and the descriptive lyric ” I smoke a cigarette so I can taste you on my breath.” Guitarist Anthony Rizzo provides a suitable low profile to twanging songs like “Come Back” and the title track. The songs are mostly somber and introspective, although the tempo speeds up with “Hardy Boys” and “Find Me,” with the latter track leaning into alt. rock territory with jangling riffs following the chorus. Overall a solid debut, with each melody a showcase for Annie’s authentic emotions.

CD Baby | Amazon

icon

HiFi Superstar “One Hit Wonder”
The band formerly known as Brown Line Fiasco has returned with a new name and with a more distinct power pop focus. We start with “Closer” and the Raspberries influence is clear here. But the familiar hit of synth and guitars on “Down Low” bring to mind heavier rock acts like Butch Walker, Rooney and Cheap Trick, but thankfully the band doesn’t take itself too seriously. “Gimme A Try” is a wonderfully hilarious story of an old rocker trying to keep up with today’s musical crowd (“Did I just say “jiggy”? You’ll have to excuse me.”) The band has plenty of polish after a few years on the road, and the songwriting here has definitely improved.

The band does a nice job with the power ballad “Love is Enough.” The title track is certainly catchy, as is the centerpiece “Sunday Afternoon” – but there are a few clunkers here (“CYD” is one glaring example). That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s moments of greatness,”Knock On Wood” is another keeper that brings to mind The Hudson Brothers, and the last track “It’s Up To You” oozes cool sophistication. There certainly is more than enough here to recommend, it’s tough to give it a just a “7” — it’s more a “7.5” so give it a try. Past albums can be found on CD Baby.

Facebook | Itunes

DC Cardwell “I Am Still The Same”

powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Congrats to DC Cardwell for “I Am Still The Same” from his last album which won Australia’s Catapult Song Contest.  It’s a national song contest with over 3000 entrants from all across Australia and the song won both the JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARD and the CATAPULT 2011 OVERALL WINNER (best original song judged by the industry judging panel AND public votes combined.)  You can download the whole album “Some Hope” (including the winning song) at www.noisetrade.com/dccardwell and it won’t cost you a thing! 

The Dahlmanns and Sexy Heroes

powerpopaholic 2 Comments

The Dahlmanns “All Dahled Up”
The Dahlmanns adventure continues past its debut EP. The Norwegian band is modeled after The Ramones and The Primitives, with dense guitars and sweet female harmonies thanks to Line Dahlmann. Starting with “Candy Pants,” it’s a bouncy tune about a dude “48 going on 16” cruising the scene for jailbait. Much of the album is very consistent, with solid melody lines and quick tempos marking each song here. Listen to “Lonely Boys Brigade” and “Shake Me Up Tonight” for some great hook filled ear candy. We get a some Beach Boys influence on “Bright City Lights” added to the mix, but the lack of variety may turn off a few listeners looking for a slower tempo tune to break things up.We don’t get a change in tone until the end with the punk pop of “I Want You Around” in typical Ramones style. The band adds ends with “Smash You” borrowing the melody line of “Do You Wanna Dance.” Overall a great listen with plenty of great guitar work and Line’s double tracked vocals.

CD Baby | Amazon

 

Sexy Heroes “interroBang”
Another band from our friends at Pop Detective Records, the Sexy Heroes are a punk pop band that mixes wild guitar riffs and harmonies on the opener “Robert Downey Jr.” It’s a neat biography in song form with a jamming breaks and vocal asides. The roaring punk guitar on “Jurassic Park” supports the terrific melody line “I don’t want to be eaten by a dinosaur.” The band’s humor is very appealing, and continues on several pop culture memes like Zombies, Mario Brothers, etc. For example, “Louie Gee” is a great Green Day like song about the least appreciated Mario Brother. Fans of Weird Al and Bowling For Soup will really appreciate “Ticklish Bill,” “HaPunk” and “FreeBird” with it’s excellent guitar riffs and funny lyrics. Every tune here is pretty good with no filler amongst the 14 tracks. Overall this is a fun album with a capital F-U-N. Enjoy.

CD Baby | Amazon