Edward O’Connell "Our Little Secret"

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Washington D.C. musician Edward O’Connell has produced a polished gem of a debut on “Our Little Secret.” O’Connell is very much a power popper in the  Richard X. Heyman mold. His sound builds on influences from Nick Lowe, Tom Petty, and Elvis Costello. Starting with “Ace Of Diamonds,” it’s got that vibrant strum to warm the soul and a Wilbury-like hook in the chorus, it’s a real winner of a single. “I Heard It Go” is a wry observational song that follows with similar rhythm and creative guitar lead during the break.

The rooty jangle opens on completely awesome “Partially Awesome” and “Happy Black” is a slow shuffle with Edward’s vocals at it’s most Costello-esque. The charging “With This Ring” is layered with great guitar solos and a driving beat that brings to mind Dave Edmunds. “Pretty Wasted” is a great example of brilliant songwriting and Jill Read’s backing vocals in the chorus just emphasize the love story. The tempo slows down and the subject matter gets a bit heavier on the album’s second half, as “I Need All The Friends That I Can Get” is an ambitious ballad and the slow country flavored “We Will Bury You” is a moving observation at a funeral. The quality and craftsmanship of this album is impeccable and with no filler to be found. It makes the top ten list for sure so don’t miss it!

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Seaside Stars "Kick Out" FREE Download

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Berlin based Seaside Stars are playing their first shows in the US this September, going from Chicago to the Nebraska Pop Festival. The Stars have a distinct west coast jangle to their sound, like sunshine after a rainy day. The new album is due early 2011. In the meantime, enjoy the FREE single “Summers On My Way”

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Nick Vernier Band "Sessions" preview

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Nick Vernier Band is an alias for musician Eric Van Den Brink with an all-star line up of collaborators primarily former Wondermints band-member Probyn Gregory. Review for the new album “Sessions” is coming soon!

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Julius C and Manatee

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Julius C “Don’t Want Anybody” EP
A couple of kids from NYU met up in 2003 and kept playing until they formed this tight unit. Fast-paced and fun, the opening title track is as catchy as hell and demands repeat spins. “My Broken Heart” is a funky throwback that is shadowed by a fuzzy bass line and a solid disco orchestral touches. Plenty of energy on “OK, OK” and the marching piano jam of “You & Me.” Overall these are bright, shiny pop songs with hooks-a-plenty. One of the hottest EPs this year, so when is that full release guys? Check out the video here!

My Space | CD Baby

Manatee “s/t”
This band marries the Velvets, The Band and a touch of Codeine to form a indie/slowcore hybrid. The guitars certainly prod along at a weary pace on “Distance To Mars” that seem better suited to Neil Young, and the harmonies feel dry and out of place. Ironically a highlight here is called “Scapegoat,” with it’s slow jam and vocals matching the solid composition, it’s the most compelling track.  The pace picks up slightly on “The Unsuccessful Rapist” with some strong drum work by Russ Thompson. The guitars slow building riffs also work well on “Fluorescent Eyes” but the biggest issue here is that the vocals are indistinct and the entire tone of the album is a downer. I hope they cheer up enough for a sophomore release.

MySpace | CDBaby 

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Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Soundtrack

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The soundtrack is such an important part of this flick’s overall critical success, it took nearly two years to finish. If you can deal with the movie-band Michael Cera’s Sex Bob-Omb and it’s amateur punk goodness with Beck’s songwriting help, the soundtrack offers several sweet treats. Plumtree puts forth the catchy theme “Scott Pilgrim” and Frank Black (The Pixies) gives us a masterful “I Heard Ramona Sing” which makes it worth getting alone, with it’s smart melodic progression and steady rhythm. The ethereal croon of “By Your Side” by Beachwood Sparks is another winner and “O Katrina!” by The Black Lips is deliciously decadent garage pop.

Scott Pilgrim’s “movie bands” Crash and The Boys (aka Broken Social Scene) and Sex Bob-Omb are brief humorous distractions, and every other track here works great. The T.Rex string heavy opus “Teenage Dream” fits here nicely as well as the Rolling Stones “Under My Thumb.” “It’s Getting Boring By The Sea” is a solid rocker by Blood Red Shoes with tons of energy and Metric’s “Black Sheep” follows it as another potential big hit. The solid ballad “Ramona” penned by Beck (in both acoustic and full orchestral versions) shows he hasn’t fallen off the earth he’s just channeled the band Air. In keeping with movie’s video game effects, it ends with “Threshold (8bit)” a fuzzy electronic game composition. If you’re into the hip and cool, you could do much worse than this. Listen to the whole album streaming.

The Movie Site | Itunes | Amazon

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