John Lefler spent the last seven years playing guitar/keys in the band Dashboard Confessional. But with a handful of friends somehow had time to create this finely crafted pop album. The album gets off to great start with “Dream Your Life Away” which has flowing melody lines and pounding piano similar to Sun Sawed In Half and Jellyfish. The title track follows with an ELO-styled bridge and it’s steady beat will automatically put a little bounce in your step. “Lucy” is transitional song that leans toward a softer styled jangle pop. The rest of the album can’t quite keep up with those superb opening tracks, but the mid tempo “Afraid Anymore” and the excellent piano guitar interplay of “Hard Act To Follow” will hold your interest for sure. The latter album tracks “Start Me Over” and “Helplessly” remind me of The Rembrandts (okay, maybe Danny Wilde solo). But the album does not lose it’s footing, and gives us a Rooney-esque guitar and melody on “Better Than You” which leads us to the punchy “Ordinary Guy.” Even the ending ballad “Up My Sleeve” has a sweet multi-dubbed harmony that recalls John Lennon. For most power pop fans, this will be more than enough to put it on their “must have” list. Overall, a great debut and I hope we hear more from Mr. Lefler in the future.

My Space | CD Baby | Lala | Itunes

Okay Jellyfish fanatics, a shiny piece of treasure for you here. Memphis based Love Bang was a project that involved Eric Dover before or after the Jellyfish album Split Milk dropped in 1993. The project never got off the ground, and it remained a missing nugget until band mates Chris Baker and Tony Brock dug up the master tapes and re-mastered all the tracks. The opening track “Could’ve Been You,” “Mercy Chain” and “Sad Story” sound like Jellyfish outtakes for sure. The other tracks here have a lot of 90’s guitar muscle and resemble Crowded House mixed with Extreme. Highlights include, the country beat of “One Fine Day” and the melodic “Real King” which move away from that Jellyfish sound, but are pretty good on it’s own merits. Lead vocalist Brock does a splendid job here and it’s easy to see the vocal similarities with Roger Manning, Jr. or Neil Finn. Baker’s clean guitar work also makes this an enjoyable album. For most J-fans this is a must-buy, and others will find a lot to like here too.

Not Lame | Aime Street

Although not new, this is a great example of excellent and timeless melodies from Gary Ritchie. Originally from the Chicago band, Loose Lips, Ritchie teamed up with band mate Jeff King to channel his love of those classic jangle bands in Pop! Radio. Fans of Pezband, Fotomaker, The Raspberries, The Rubinoos, and The Spongetones will just love this album. From the opening chord riffs of “I’ll Be There” you’ll hum along to the beat that has that 70’s rock feel. The Beatles-jangle isn’t far behind on “You Were Only Using Me” and the hooks just continue to fly by. The excellent rocker “Living On Lies” is a humorous autobiography of a rocker who hasn’t gotten “a life” due to his love of rock and roll. Most of the songs are about moments in a relationship and what happened “Last Night” (a great Dwight Twilley reference here) and other odes to the girl of your dreams. The gems here keep coming, and to get into any more tracks here seems superfluous. Not a single scrap of filler here, so if you never heard it do yourself a favor and stop reading. Get a hold of this album.

My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame