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Jana Peri "Catching Flies With Vinegar"
Native New Yorker Jana Peri has been a welcome sight at IPO in recent years, and I wanted to give her props for her solo album, which is a love letter to New York styled rock and roll. Her vocals are reminiscent of Debbie Harry with a touch of Joan Jett, whipped together in a Ramones-styled stew. The guitars have a strong Merseybeat influence on the opener “City Beat.” Fans of CBGB style punk will appreciate the theme “New York Proud” and the fast-paced riffs on “L.A. Girl” have both choice distortion and a melodic touch. The album treads a few familiar styles, as “All Your Fault” uses the opening baseline to “The Beat Goes On” and on “The Boy From Bayonne” is a Shangri-La’s flavored heartache story. Jana excels at both vocals and riffs here and makes it look easy. She leaves it all out there for you on the guitar filled epic “Lust” and the defiant attitude comes through on “I Wanna Rock.” A very noteworthy full length debut.
The Doughboys "Act Your Rage"
As a change of pace, power pop icon Richard X. Heyman puts on his garage/bar band hat and with the rest of the Doughboys (Mike Caruso, Bass – Gar Francis & Willy Kirchofer, guitars – Myke Scavone, vocals and percussion) and play classic rock a la Kinks. Through the grit of Scavone’s vocals is a classic rock and roll sound, and the tell tale hooks on Heyman’s penned “Why Can’t She See Me?” are a welcome treat here. Scavone does some excellent Mick Jagger styled blues on “Carmalina” and the Animals-styled “It’s Alright” are just a few of the gems here. The tinkle of the piano and saxophones on “Queen City” are fun to listen to, but the songwriting on Heyman’s tracks match the band’s bar room sound with equal intensity on “I’m That Kind Of Man.” For more muscle listen to the awesome “I’m Not Your Man” and Gar Francis’ hot guitar licks. Contributors include engineering work by Kurt Reil (The Gripweeds) and Ed Stasium (Ramones, Smithereens). The band has been around for years doling out heavily muscled bar tunes, and now the melody is front and center. Very nice.
MySpace | CD Baby | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik | Amazon
Some holiday leftover reviews…
I heard a few worthy albums and emerging talent toward the years end that deserves some attention even though it’s not strictly power pop. Here are some groups you might want to check out.
V Sparks “Biscuits and Tea” EP
Mix togther equal parts of Mika and T. Rex and you get the baroque styled glam that is the known as V Sparks. This is an excellent, short EP that crackles with energy and over the top pomp with the opener “On My Arm” and the thematic title track which fans of Bryan Scary and Queen would flock to easily. Best of all it’s FREE through Noisetrade – so spread the wealth!
MySpace | Noisetrade
MySpace | Noisetrade
The Stagehands “The Silent City “
The musical drama show Glee was pretty popular last year and this production is a pretty good comparable effort, although not power pop. Stagehands is not just a band, but also a theatrical production which combines the sound and storytelling of Broadway with the power and excitement of rock. They do make use of plenty guitars and beats for songs like “Sailor Man, Sailor Man” and “The Threat.” It’s got something for everyone, and you can name your price on Bandcamp.
MySpace | Stagehands | Bandcamp
MySpace | Stagehands | Bandcamp
Rocket To The Moon “On Your Side”
One of the better emerging young bands I’ve heard recently, this debut is full of fine pop tracks. Hailing from Braintree, Massachusetts this emo quartet is lifted by lead singer Nick Santino’s vocals. “Mr. Right” and “Annabelle” have an almost innocent teen pop feel that those Jonas guys lack. The standout for me was the mid-tempo country pop of “On A Lonely Night” and the ballad “Like We Used To” is a song that’ll make the teen girls swoon. Otherwise the album isn’t that cohesive and feels like a collection of singles and genre experiments (“Sometimes”). If you liked PushPlay this will fit in to your music mix nicely.
MySpace | Itunes | Amazon
MySpace | Itunes | Amazon
Breakers Broken “Reset” EP
Something really different here – a mix of dance funk and indie pop from this Chicago outfit. Vocalist Tim Yamaya almost channels Michael Jackson for “Last Man On The Planet” and the beats and bass work are very catchy here. Not everything here sticks, but it does enough and the great instrumental work (like in “The Climb”) is just mesmerizing. It does create a powerful soundscape of genres fused together and why not give it a shot? Get a FREE sample download here.
The band name is pulled from frontwoman and songwriter Leslie Moruza Dripps. Again this is considered more indie-jazz influenced piano pop, but it’s a treat for listeners who dug Clare and The Reasons last month. It’s Leslie’s compelling vocal and melodic gifts that make the opener “Lonely Heart Road” a winner. The arrangements are sparse, with plucking strings and piano, so you can concentrate on the lyric and melody. Other highlights include the see-saw rhythm of “Psychic Soy” and the folksy percussion of “Bad Man.” The vocals get layered on “Garden In The Sand” and it’s almost a Renaissance-style waltz. Much of the album’s tone is somber, but it’s not all serious, as “Penny” is a bouncy pop gem here. Clearly better than most jazz pop out there, but I wonder how Moruza would fair with a fuller orchestral treatment. Maybe the next album…
MySpace | CD Baby
MySpace | CD Baby
Phoenix and Visqueen
Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
This is straight up alternative pop, but it was one of the better albums in it’s genre this year so I wanted to give it a quick review. French quartet Phoenix are like Air meets The Strokes with a touch of Field Music, so you get a good mix of alt. pop styles here, from New Wave, to Moody Ambiance, to brilliant Power Pop. Frontman Thomas Mars croons on the opener “Lisztomania” along a bouncy classical pop riff. The heavy synth lead on “1901” is a new wave love song that builds up to a rich soaring chorus of “Falling/Falling/Falling”. We get some subtle disco drone (“Fences”) and then a two part instrumental (“Love Like A Sunset”) but it is a mild distraction from the excellent pop that follows with “Lasso” full of catchy riffs and another rushing chorus. The album is on many top ten lists for pop this year, deservedly so.
MySpace | Amie Street | Amazon
Visqueen “Message To Garcia”
Lead by Rachel Floatard opens with the snappy “Hand Me Down” that is a full power pop anthem as good as any out there. Fans of Cheap Trick and The Replacements will appreciate the killer hooks here. It’s another Brooklyn band here with honest love of rock-and-roll and a real passion that comes through each note. Floatard carries much of these songs along, her vocals a sweet mix of both Heart and Joan Jett. “Fight For Love” is a perfect example of her delivery when the chorus “When you gonna fight for love?” hits she dares the listener to respond, and it leads into a wicked guitar solo. When the tone shifts for “So Long” a soaring tribute to Floatard’s father, who died of cancer last year – the dedication is clear. The band also benefits from a list of veteran collaborators, including vocal contributions from Neko Case and steel guitar from Jon Rauhouse. This is another one on many top ten lists, and is also one hell of a rocking pop album.