Powerpopholic

Rubek and Reno Bo

March 1, 2010July 13, 2025 powerpopaholic

Rubek “Tender Hooks”
Rubek is the not so secret identity of singer songwriter Matt Burke. The debut album is a set of tight melodic tunes along the lines of Jon Brion, Josh Rouse or David Mead. The album title is certainly apparent from the opener “Losing Sleep” and those melodic hooks just draw you into the song. The simple country pop of the follow up “Work It Out” is another excellent tune with strong arrangement and light airy vocals. This slow deliberate approach is what follows on the next few songs (“Hard Land” and “My Best Plans”), and on “The Brightest Star” you figure Burke’s listened to plenty of Gram Parsons and The Jayhawks, with it’s multi-layered rhythms. By mid-album “Reasonable Man” is a rare break with a pure pop approach that works well, and a few tunes are more interested in sonic textures (“Butterfly”) at this point. The finale “God Help Me Out Here” is a dramatic Big Star-styled orchestral epic. Overall, the album has a big sound but the production is understated enough to let the melodies come through and shine.

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Reno Bo “Happenings and Other Things”
Much thanks to Malin from our Facebook Page for turning me on to this album from last year that slipped by. Reno Bo is a songwriter and musician who spent the better part of the last three years on the road, as a touring bass player for Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. and NYC garage rockers The Mooney Suzuki. Reno steps out on his own to make this soulful blend of Beatles with shades of Tom Petty, Led Zeppelin and Neil Young. “There’s A Light” is a great big arena anthem full of loud guitars and strong melody. Fans of Oasis will flip for “Off Your Back” with it’s pounding piano and echoing chorus. The guitar work overall is superior with “Sugar Suite Blues” rocking a la Jimmy Page and “Shake Me Up” is produced by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Tinted Windows.) Nothing groundbreaking here, but it doesn’t have to be. Overall a great album with no filler that appeals to the classic rock geek in all of us. Soak it in and enjoy.

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Grace Potter and the Nocturnals "White Rabbit"

February 27, 2010February 27, 2010 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals do a great job here. Doing a cover of of The Jefferson Airplane classic “White Rabbit” for Almost Alice, a collection of tracks inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland – a few years earlier I reviewed the band’s last album.

John Brodeur "Get Through"

February 25, 2010July 13, 2024 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

John Brodeur captured my ear with his album “Tiger Pop” in 2001. It was an impressive debut, and now the re-issue project is in progress. Well almost a decade later the sophomore album is here. The process turned into a journey for Brodeur who has been kicking this album around since 2004 with help from many musicians, Pete Donnelly (The Figgs, Candy Butchers) and Ryan Barnum (Strange Faces) among them. Opening with the uplifting “Making A Change” it is an excellent motivational song, lead by melody and solid guitar chords. The guitar crunch is turned up a notch for the driving “I’m Bad” where John reflects on life’s horrible choices, it’s a loud Superdrag styled melodic feast. “Security” is another fast paced gem that demands repeat plays, but the theme doesn’t change even though the styles do. The piano ballad “Silence, Please” about the bad experiences on the road, slowly builds to epic proportions like a Ben Folds song. “Fight” has a Nirvana-like structure, and a wicked guitar solo in the break that propels the chorus along. “Let’s Pretend” has a Magical Mystery Tour styled percussive composition, done slightly off kilter that tells you the lyric “Let’s Pretend We Are Happy” is a vow of disillusionment. This feeling continues with “Meltdown” and culminates with another stunner. “Get Through” is a delicately crafted wake up call, that life is worth living and “If it’s all that you can do, just get through.” This is a brilliant album that has finally gotten through to music fans last year. Don’t overlook it now that it’s here.

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The Power Popaholic Interview: Gary Reynolds

February 24, 2010February 24, 2010 powerpopaholic

Above is the new video for “Three Angels” from the new album “Yellow.”

I got a chance to talk with Seattle-based singer/songwriter Gary Reynolds about his band The Brides of Obscurity and his plans to release an album a month! Read the interview on The Rock and Roll Report.

The Crawpuppies "World’s Much Bigger"

February 23, 2010July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

The Crawpuppies are not from some cajun side dish, but a band that hails from Indiana. When the album leads off with a Big Star riff in the title track you know you’re in for some fun. The band lead by Chad Clifford (vocals/guitar) has a fine approach with basic power pop, I am reminded a bit of Del Amitri with it’s bar styled strum and shifting chords on “She Comes Lovely.” The ballad “We” is a wonderful mid tempo song about growing a relationship and the melody with full harmonies on the Squeeze-like “Owe It All To You” and “Mental Demons” are just perfect. The adult folk ballad “My Wife” is an effective and intimate portrait of a marriage that will lift your soul. The tone shifts a bit by mid-album to a more blues based rock sound with “I Wanna Know” and “3 Little Things.” I felt Chad’s vocals strain here, as he sounds more in his element with the soft bossa nova of “Here We Go Again.” The album runs out of creative juice towards the end with the echoey funk of “Masquerade,” but it never gets boring and the best of those melodies are sure to stick in your head.

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