J.P. Cregan "Man Overboard"

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ESPN basketball writer John Cregan’s alter ego, J.P. Cregan has put together a stellar collection of pop songs. And he’s no rookie either, having been guitarist for alt. country band Parklane Twin. With the help of Highland Park-based wunderkind-ace producer Nik Freitas, J.P. opens with “Carolyn (The Pledge Drive)” a very Nick Lowe-ish styled pub rock with a hint of country. The smooth “Count to Three” is like Glen Tilbrook at his catchiest, with a jaunty piano and guitar melody. The Elvis Costello/Marshall Crenshaw influence is all over the album (and J.P.’s vocals are very similar) but it works best on “Barbara is Strange” and I wonder out loud why those rock “legends” don’t write like this anymore. The jangle guitar and chorus makes “Atmosphere” a real pop delight. More gems here are the chiming “Jeni” and “Miss Highland Park” with hand claps and minor chords that will have you playing air guitar in no time. A few ballads here don’t spoil the party either, as “Searched For Me” and the title track aren’t as memorable, but still highly listenable without a filler in sight. This is high quality pop that really rocks and deserves a top ten for 2009 nod. What else can I say but “Man Overboard” is a Slam Dunk (pun intended – ouch).

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The Simple Carnival "Girls Aliens Food"

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The Simple Carnival does not rock. Pittsburgh based singer/songwriter Jeff Boller couldn’t agree more. After all “there are a million musicians who play rock better” he says. Instead Boller excels at sunny pop melody so sweet and bubbly, you may even think you’re listening to a kids album. But you’re not, and like Mitch Friedman’s “Game Show Teeth,” it’s good natured and inventive pop melodies that are a joy to listen to. Try to imagine if Harry Nilsson and Brian Wilson collaborated on Sesame Street and you get the idea. Opening with the gentle harmonies on “Really, Really Weird” it sparkles with it’s catchy chorus. The impressive “Caitlin’s On The Beach” shows off for you Beach Boy fans out there. “Flirt” has a ’70s styled piano pop bounce similar to Seals & Crofts that is just infectious. The angelic a cappella overdubs on “Nothing Will Ever Be As Good” are so crisp, that it’s comparable to Jeffery Foskett. The mid tempo “Misery” is another story-styled song that reminds me lyrically of Andrew Gold or Henry Gross. Even the last track, “Hey Lancaster” builds to a shimmering crescendo of vocals and keyboard overdubs. Boller plays all thirty or so featured instruments himself, layering their sounds one at a time in his basement studio. Every track is solid throughout and “Girls Aliens Food” should rightfully be called a soft pop masterpiece. It’s a precise musical craftsmanship that shouldn’t be missed.

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Spain Colored Orange and La Snacks

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Spain Colored Orange “Sneaky Like A Villain”
Opening with a lovely harmony-filled intro, The Spain Colored Orange are a Houston Texas group with an affection for all kinds of music from The Beatles to Radiohead. Lead by trumpet player Eric Jackson, and lead singer Gilbert Alfaro, “Who Am I?” is psyche pop with jazz touches here and there and the tone shifts around making it impossible to pigeonhole the band, but it does remind me of Camper Van Beethoven. “Hide” is lead by synths, beats and Gilbert’s sleepy vocal. Pop fans will enjoy the highlight tune “Cheap Thrills” – full of playful piano and so many melodic changes, you’d swear it’s Bryan Scary. The band is fearless, and it’s quirky shifts in tone and tempo can be very challenging to sit through. Buried through this are some hooks, like “Better Left Alone” is like synth and horn heavy High Llamas. Musical nods to XTC are on “Birds and Bees” and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd on “Uh, Oh Trouble” each with a horn solo. But as often as it succeeds, it also fails to salvage songs that cannot decide where to go like “You Think You Know” and the dreadful “Better Left Alone.” I would recommend this to diehard psyche-pop fans who are into a musical melange. Very much like a fried egg and peanut butter sandwich, it’s definitely an acquired taste.

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La Snacks “New Fangled” EP

Another Texas band that has a laid back indie pop style. They have been compared to such indie luminaries as Archers of Loaf, The Hold Steady and Pavement. The opener “Kristin Was A Meterorologist” is a like Lou Reed fronting for The Cure, with strange lyrics about Neville Chamberlain and Nazi appeasment. There is more political wierdness with “Jackson 88” but the band keeps the beat going and at least the songs are likeable here. Fans of Weezer may enjoy the plodding “Devil has left The Building,” and pleasing “Oil and Water.” Frontman Robert Segovia’s off key vocals barely keep the whole thing together, but it works. This collection of warped, but tuneful indie rock will remind you of late ’90s college radio for sure.

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Cheap Trick "The Latest" to come out 6/23

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The boys from Rockford keep rocking. The veteran rock group will start taking pre-orders for the 13-track set, which it recorded during the past year mostly in Los Angeles with producer Julian Raymond, on Friday via its official web site, www.cheaptrick.com, and at Amazon.com. Those who pre-order will receive “The Latest” on June 23, 2009.

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