The return of The Offbeat and Josh Fix

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The Offbeat “To The Rescue” EP
Fresh off his solo CD, Tony Cox is back with Darren Finlan and Nigel Clark (Dodgy) to follow up the Offbeat’s amazing debut album. The Beatlesque bliss that is the opener “She Can Make The Sunshine” displays the songwriting and dense harmonies that make this EP a welcome addition to your collection. The fast moving rhythm of “Someday Somehow” is a catchy follow up, as is the sweet jangle and ascending melody of “Something About The Girl.” Another highlight here for me is the ringing guitar strums of “Blue Sky,” a kind of mix of Merseybeat and Moody Blues-era pysche-pop. The lovely “You & Me” comes closer to the Magical Mystery Tour era musings on relationships. A toast then to The Offbeats, and I hope they continue to pump out this great music.

The Offbeat site | CD Baby | Itunes | Kool Kat Musik | Not Lame

Josh Fix “This Town Is Starting To Make Me Angry” EP
Last year’s “Free At Last” was one of the best power pop debut albums ever, and Josh has followed it up with an even better EP. Josh opens thing with the very Jason Falkner-like “This Town Is Starting To Make Me Angry.” A seemingly odd sense of dread permeates the proceedings, although this is one of those “don’t-miss-it” album. The next track, “Dirty Bloody Naked” is simply brilliant. Full of gorgeous piano and pounding rhythm guitar riffs, it melds both Elton John and Queen in a tight Jellyfish-like bow. The driving piano lead in “Ghosts in Your Head” is a dramatic theme for Josh’s state of mind. My only pet peeve here is the confessional prayer of “Dear Lord.” The soulful ballad cries for a Freddy Mercury-like vocal high octave finale, but it never comes. “Barely Insane” rounds out things with a funky Mellotron melody and lasers. This mini-album is a spectacular triumph and gives Greg Pope a run for his money on best EP of the year. It’s available almost everywhere, so stop reading and buy it now.

My Space | Not Lame | Itunes | Amazon |Kool Kat Musik | emusic

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Greatest Hits: Apples in Stereo and Pugwash

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Apples in Stereo “#1 Hits Explosion”
After a collection of stray tracks with Electronic Projects for Musicians, singer/songwriter Robert Schneider puts together a proper collection for the uninitiated here into what makes Apples in Stereo a great band. #1 Hits Explosion! gives us sixteen tracks from the group’s six albums. There is nothing new here for long time Elephant Six followers, but it’s a great opportunity for a younger generation to discover this band. Out September 1st, listen to the tracks on the widget below.


Pugwash “Giddy”
Andy Patridge’s Ape Records has signed on power pop powerhouse Pugwash, featuring those irrepressible Irishmen, Thomas Walsh and Keith Farrell. This allows a compilation of their catchiest hits to reach those who haven’t heard the symphonic pop stylings of the group before. Walsh is that rare breed of musician with a knack for crafting perfect melodic hooks with ease. The band has worked with XTC’s Andy Partridge & Dave Gregory, Michael Penn, Jason Falkner, and Nelson Bragg of The Brian Wilson Band, so the pedigree here is enviable. The collection includes work from 1999’s Almond Tea to Eleven Modern Antiquities (one of my favorites from last year). And if you can’t seem to get enough of Walsh’s Anglo-pop genius, I would recommend his collaboration with Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) to form the cricket-themed The Duckworth Lewis Method. And you don’t need to know sticks from a wicket to enjoy the music.

MySpace | Pugwash website | Puwash interview

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Gone fishin’ till next week.

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Dearest readers,

I will be taking a short break from the blog this week. Forgiveness, please. I will return next week with more power pop reviews and commentary on musical current events. Until then, take it easy and keep your headphones filled with pop goodness.

The Powerpopaholic

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

Mike Finley and Kevin Hearn

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Mike Finley “The Way We Are” EP
If you could come up with a perfect single for the end of August, then I nominate Mike Finley’s “Summer’s Gone” with it’s jangle-filled guitar melody and sunny chorus. It’s the highlight of the album, and I would love to here more songs like this one. Fans of The Rembrandts and the Gin Blossoms will appreciate Finley’s dramatic pop vocals on “Die Trying (Hard To Love)” and the somber guitar ballad “Good Morning America.” The ballad about an English immigrant’s appreciation is a simple and well written experience. “Love” is another inspirational mid-tempo song that skirts the edges of contemporary Christian pop. Finley plays it safe here, and that’s fine – but to stand out he will need to push those musical boundaries. Overall a good EP that shows lots of pop potential.


MySpace | Lala | Amazon

Kevin Hearn and Thinbuckle “Havana Winter”
Havana Winter is not a reference to Canadians’ preferred seasonal vacation; it’s the name of Hearn’s five-year-old daughter. Hearn is a pop veteran, foremost as the keyboardist of The Barenaked Ladies. But the songs on Hearn’s fifth solo album are linked thematically by references to weather and nature. It opens with a brilliant alt-pop theme “Coma” with a great call to action for the tech savvy masses “Tell all the urban sprawlers/ tell all the deep sea trawlers/ and the technological creep/ it’s time to come out of your coma.” The track has some help from Lou Reed on guitar and moog, although the solo toward the ending threw me off a bit. Much of the other tracks here are subtle pop swing (“On The Runway”) or sleep inducing ballads, (“Reeling” with alt. legend Laurie Anderson’s cello) but the true gem here is the hook filled “Huntsville, CA” about Hearn’s Ontario summer getaway. These few tracks make it worth a look, if not a cherry-picking exercise.


MySpace | Kevin Hearn’s Site | Amazon

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