The Bloodpoets and The Blam

powerpopaholic

The Bloodpoets “Wings” EP
One more band from Australia – an alternative rock band with a light pop touch called The Bloodpoets. The duet of Tom Murphy and Becca Plath starts off with “Wings.” It starts calmly enough with a bit of edge toward the end of the song. Also notable here is “Sunny Day” with it’s slow ska rhythm and horns. The album highlight is the dramatic ballad turned rock anthem “She Feels It” as it all starts out very quiet and nondescript but then builds to a dense echoing rock melody. It’s a musically effective way to contrast the story of a woman’s chemical imbalance. The track also separates the slow ballad (“Next Year”) from the Nirvana-like guitar songs at the EPs end (“Faces On The Street” and “Dance”). Overall, very good although stylistically the Bloodpoets are a bit inconsistent. I expect the band will improve on it’s next release.

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The Blam “Blow Wind Blow”
In the early 2000’s Brooklyn band The Blam were a getting lots of buzz, along with contemporaries like The Strokes and Interpol. Headed by singer/guitarist Jerry Adler (now of Flugente and Wave Sleep Wave) along with Reuben Maher (guitar), Itamar Ziegler (bass/vocals) and Yuval Lion (drums), it suddenly vanished before this final album released. Now the vault has opened, and we are treated to subtle tunes like “I Don’t Know” that showcase the spirit of Friends–era Beach Boys. To say the album is mellow is an understatement – but some beautiful songs are here like “See The Monkeys” and the Beatlesque “No Surprise.” The grinding guitars wake us up with “One Good Blow” but that’s about it. An intimate and mature work that I really enjoyed.

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Michael Carpenter “SOOP #4”

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Another hard working Aussie, Michael Carpenter is still doing great cover work. This is Carpenter’s fourth album of “Songs Of Other People” and he digs into some more obscure album tracks of his favorite artists. If you are not familiar with some, like “End Of The World” by Jonah’s Road then this is a great introduction to these songs. Others that are better known are still a lot of fun and Carpenter’s unique vocal and style makes each song his own.

Highlights are many, and include Graham Parker’s “Life Gets Better” and the McCartney chestnut “Get Closer.” Because of the track selection – a lot of this was fresh to me, as even oldies like Gene Clark’s “That’s Alright By Me” seemed like a new song. The only argument against the covers here is if the track compels you to find the original, as it doesn’t quite feel natural. I only found that with Steely Dan’s “FM” – as good as Michael is I really missed Donald Fagen’s vocal. This covers collection will definitely expand your musical horizons – and it’s a welcome addition to your collection.