Maple Mars and Brady Harris

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Maple Mars “Galaxyland”
A welcome return from Maple Mars frontman Rick Hromadka greets us on Galaxyland. The spacey concept album starts with “The Excursion” filled with detailed rhythms, guitar melodies and expansive psyche pop touches that compare well with Lynne-era Move. Following this is “Starting Over (Again)” which has a gorgeous 70’s styled big rock guitar sound, fans of the band Boston will love this. Give credit to Rick and his band: Steve Berns (guitar), Ron Pak (drums) and Trevor Zimmerman (bass) for the fantastic production and memorable melodies. “Big Imagination” has a heavy gloss that combines Steely Dan with Klaatu, and it’s a real keeper. And the band brings on the prog pop heavy guns with Mark Radice’s “Prelude: New Day” and it continues with the acoustic “New Day.” It starts to get bit preachy with “Citizen Roger” like an early Yes and Pink Floyd hybrid. The lyrical message works better on “Borrowed Sunshine” an excellent song that speaks to today’s recent lack of faith in institutions, and the “struggle to see things through.”  It ends on a high note with the bouncy gem “Somewhere back there” full of layered harmonies. I feel Rick has taken Maple Mars to the next level here. Kool Kat is now offering the album with a bonus disc with five additional tracks. Highly recommended indeed!

My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik

Brady Harris “Year Of The Pug”
Texas native Brady Harris plays a strong Beatles-styled roots pop with a detailed and nuanced approach. With a soft echo Harris puts together a wonderful album filled with laid back tunes that are easy on the ears. Starting with the light strum and minor chords of “Floating,” Brady even has a bit of John Lennon’s cadence similar to “Happiness is a Warm Gun.” Highlights for me are the fantastic “Little Miss Mouring” and the “Julia” styled guitar rhythm on “Stars Shine Bright.” The country side is a bit more pronounced with some nice pedal steel guitar touches on “Drunk In The House” and the defiant piano and guitar solo breaks on “Slipping By” make it another standout. “That’s All You Need” is a fine melodic showcase along the lines of “Hey Jude.” No filler here either, which makes it an extra strong album. Songs here are all very good and fans of both alt. country and Beatlesque styles will find plenty to enjoy.

MySpace | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik 

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Corin Ashley "Badfinger Bridge"

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Another great song about a revered band brought to us by Corin Ashley – and his last album is another gem you shouldn’t forget about. This tune was recorded at Abbey Road, London in Studio 2 (lots of Beatles dust on all the gear). Featuring Ken Stringfellow (Posies, Big Star, Disciplines) on vocals, Martin Carr and Rob Cieka (Boo Radleys) vocals and drums, Ed Ball (The Times, TV Personalities) on piano. Dubbed the Chocolate Olivers the single is available on Itunes.

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The Virgin Review: Ex Norwegian "Standby"

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Miami-based indie pop band Ex Norwegian got reviewed on Virgin.com last week. The band has a dizzying array of influences and styles. Yet the songs are a catchy blend that doesn’t gets boring. Listen to “Add Vice” to see what I mean… Read my review of Ex Norwegian here.


Want to read more of my Virgin.com reviews? Check out my Virgin.com Review Archive

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Spirit Kid "s/t"

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Multi-instrumentalist Emeen Zarookian (aka Spirit Kid) is a real find, an artist with a flair for hook-filled melodies with energy and pop genius. Very much in the Elephant Six mold, his style fits right alongside classic Apples in Stereo and Olivia Tremor Control with it’s twee vocal elements and solid indie production. Opening up with the “You Lit Up For Me”, it rushes along like warm breeze and comes to a slow wind down. The sound of classic Beach Boys, Beatles, and The Kinks are easy to spot influences that float through the entire album. Each song has compact little arrangements, like “My Imagination” is pure pop ear candy full of multiple harmonies and “la la” choruses and shifting minor chords aplenty. The uplifting “The World Doesn’t Stop” is another lovely gem, with bass/lead guitar interplay and intoxicating builds. “Flytrap” adds some 70’s funk bass and Santana styled guitar rhythm. The very Lennon/McCarnety styled diversions (“Wait A Minute” and “Your Friend Too”) have a more pysche-pop spacey flavor that suit the album cover. Every song requires multiple listens to appreciate all that intricacy and there is no wasted ideas here either. This is the little album that could, so give a chance and you won’t regret it.

My Space | Emusic | Amazon


Listen to “You Lit Me Up” as part of a “Weeds” promo. Awesome!!!

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.