The Zombies last reunion was to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the great 1968 album Odessey and Oracle. But now we get all new material from the reunited Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent for Breathe Out, Breathe In. So if you expect the band to just pick up where it left off unscathed by time you’re in for disappointment. However, by todays standards of shuffling oldies acts on tour you’ll be fairly impressed by this batch of material and the undiminished skills of both Blunstone and Argent. Read the full review of The Zombies – Breathe Out, Breathe In on Blogcritics.
The Webstirs and Sheri Miller
The Webstirs “The Webstirs Re-Present Smirk”
After 15 years Chicago’s Webstirs have re-booted and remastered their debut album, with its cover spoof of Brian Wilson’s SMiLE, it comes closer to the DIY efforts of The Breetles. “You Can Hang Around” is great showcase for the band’s’s energetic pop style with its combo of fast riffs and harmonies. “Old Enough” and “I Turn Away” have melodic buzzing choruses and lyrical self determination that fans of Adam Marsland will appreciate.
Most of the tracks are great, even when a song seems mundane, like “Stone On The Ground” the hook filled chorus comes in to make it special. Lots of highlights here, the bouncy “It’s Over Now” and “Rent” are excellent examples. No filler here so if you’re looking for excellent power pop goodness, you can’t go wrong.
Sheri Miller “Winning Hand” EP
Acoustic musician and New Yorker Sheri Miller began her career co-writing with icons J.D. Souther (The Eagles), Jill Sobule and Shawn Mullins. Sheri’s highly melodic casual style serves her well on the catchy “Spoons.” Next, “Winning Hand” is a seductive mid-tempo love song that made me a fan right away with her twisting key shifts. “Satellite” is another gem with a Sheryl Crow vibe and beautiful multi-tracked chorus. The songwriting is also excellent and I hope a full length album is just around the corner. Highly recommended for sure.
CD Baby | Amazon
Rocketship Park and Leadfinger
Rocketship Park “Cakes and Cookies”
Rocketship Park is a hidden musical diamond in the infinite clutter of the indie rock dreck that deserves your attention. Masterminded by the talented Josh Kaufman, he spent many years writing and recording these fantastic songs but never officially compiled or released them. So here they are… Beautiful pop like the catchy “Fast Friends” and lighter-than-air “Pistachio” needs to be spread around.
The house party recording style on “Cakes and Cookies” creates a sing along atmosphere that’s hard to resist. Influences of The Beach Boys, The Shins and Eno are hinted at, but this is simply a great album that will generate interest in the bands past work. Best of all, it’s available as a pay-what-you-want option on Bandcamp.
Leadfinger “We Make The Music”
This solid Aussie bar band tries its best to break into stardom with it’s hard rocking 3rd album. Lead singer Stewart Cunningham does a great job on the title track opener, combining Thin Lizzy and Replacements influences with his Dylanesque vocal approach. Unfortunately after this, the songwriting gets fairly dull and forgettable. However the mandolin lead “Fourteen,” is indeed a cool Wilco styled gem that shouldn’t be missed. And the last song, “Beside Me, Against Me” is a truly impressive rock epic. But along with standard bar room blues (“Leaving,”) is a large amount of filler (“Untitled,” “Segue 2”) that makes this album miss more than hit. At least the band offers up some free stuff on Bandcamp.
Itunes | Amazon
Freddy Monday "Everything Anyhow"
Native New Yorker, Freddy Monday is an experienced songwriter/performer that’s done tons of work for TV and film. He’s got a great knack for compelling melodies that will remind many of McCartney or Willy Wisely. Opening with “Give Me Your Heart” it builds to multi-guitar tracked chorus, full of nice jangling details. Its followed by “Please” with a roots based rhythm, but the chords of the chorus burst forth and makes it pure magic. A tinkling piano starts the atmospheric “Rain All Day” on one of the happiest songs about a downpour ever.
In fact, every track shines bright and grows on you quickly. “Another Memory” is yet another bouncy gem guaranteed to get your toe tapping. It gets a bit more rock oriented on “She’s A Teaser” and “Fracture” is a beautiful ballad Macca would definitely approve of. Things get looser and laid back on the albums latter tracks, which is fine. One of the best debuts this year, and a refreshing slice of pop not to be missed.
MySpace | CD Baby | Amazon
Popfilter "Pop This!"
Firstly, this is not the old Philippine band of the same name, but Boston native Chris Anderson and a virtual all-star line-up of power pop talent. Produced by Bleu, the late Owsley and the legendary Ducky Carlisle, it’s an impressive debut with many great power pop tracks. It opens with the multi-pronged guitar and harmonic attack of “Back Again.” The band’s combination of Queen meets ELO approach reminds me of The Secret Powers a little. “Take The Shortcut” is another gem with a lush chorus and cascading synths. “Muddy Mississippi” takes a bluesy turn with Scott Simmons’ keys and Joey Massei’s incredible guitar licks. “Holly Would” is an awesome catchy single, that has Bleu’s melodic fingerprints all over it.
And especially important is “Someone To Trust” – likely the last recorded performance of Will Owsely. It’s a great song too, along with the glossy production and tight arrangements. Another winner here is “Back To Zero” with its Jeff Lynne styled hooks, and brilliant harmonies. Not every track hits these highs, but a majority of them do. Ultimately, the tracks don’t quite fit together as a cohesive whole, but as a collection of really sweet singles. And I can think of no better excuse to grab this album.
CD Baby | Amazon | KoolKat Musik