Tag: Top 25

The Power Popaholic Top 25 albums of 2023 + More

powerpopaholic

Because of its infectious melodies, catchy hooks, and guitar-driven rhythms, power pop has always had a special place in the hearts of music fans. This year saw a significant shift, with performers openly embracing a diverse range of inspirations, changing the genre’s sonic terrain. From indie rock to jangle, electronic elements to noise pop, the once-narrowly defined genre has broadened its horizons and welcomed new sound aspects. There is still a contingent of retro or Beatlesque rockers on this list, but they are not the majority here. Only one album here has not been officially reviewed in this list (you get a “no-prize” if you can spot it!) The EP list will be coming later this week! I look forward to a busy 2024.

  1. The Summertimes “The Summertimes”
  2. The Anderson Council “The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon”
  3. Kurt Baker “Rock ‘N’ Roll Club”
  4. The Small Square “Ours & Others”
  5. Erik Voeks “It Means Nothing Now”
  6. Cupid’s Carnival “Rainbow Child”
  7. Tamar Berk “Tiny Injuries”
  8. Mike Viola “Paul McCarthy”
  9. Uni Boys “Buy This Now!”
  10. Ryan Allen and His Extra Arms “The Last Rock Band”
  11. Rinehearts “Full Bloom”
  12. The Tearaways “And For Our Next Trick”
  13. Ryan Hamilton “Haunted By The Holy Ghost” 
  14. Ransom and Subset “Perfect Crimes”
  15. Hurry “Don’t Look Back”
  16. The Midnight Callers “Rattled Humming Heart”
  17. Lemon Twigs “Everything Harmony”
  18. Nick Frater “Bivouac”
  19. The Pink Spiders “Freakazoid”
  20. Dave Kuchler “Love & Glory”
  21. Thomas Walsh “The Rest is History”
  22. Meyerman “Happy To See You”
  23. Justin Levinson “Collamer Circle” 
  24. Mothboxer “Breathe”
  25. Onesie “Liminal Hiss”
  26. Duncan Reid “And It’s Goodbye From Him”
  27. The Rallies “It Must Be Love”
  28. Lunar Laugh “In The Black”
  29. Eyelids “A Colossal Waste Of Light”
  30. Brad Marino “Grin & Bear It”
  31. Somerdale “Let’s Get Started”
  32. The Flashcubes “Pop Masters”
  33. Salim Nourallah “A Nuclear Winter”
  34. The Blood Rush Hour “Sanity Fare”
  35. Diners “Domino”
  36. Parthenon Huxley “As Good As Advertised”
  37. Semisonic “Little Bit of Sun”
  38. Arthur Alexander “…Steppin’ Out!”
  39. Vanity Mirror “PUFF”
  40. Miss Chain & The Broken Heels “Storm”
  41. Dave Cope and the Sass “Killer Mods From Inner Space”
  42. Steve Stoeckel “The Power of And”
  43. Ed Ryan “A Big Life”
  44. Dropkick “The Wireless Revolution”
  45. Lane Steinberg “Headspace”
  46. Star Collector “Attack, Sustain, Decay​.​.​. Repeat”
  47. The Radio Field “Don’ts and Dos”
  48. Chris Church “Radio Transient”
  49. Paul McCann “Alter Ego”
  50. Super Cassette “Continue?”

The Power Popaholic Top 25 Albums of 2021 + More

powerpopaholic


  1. Nick Frater “Earworms”
  2. Sorrows “Love Too Late …the real album”
  3. The Brothers Steve “Dose”
  4. The Legal Matters “Chapter Three”
  5. Wanderlust “All A View”
  6. Dolour “Televangelist”
  7. The Red Locusts “The Red Locusts”
  8. Nelson Bragg “Gratitude Blues”
  9. Andy Bopp “AB”
  10. Scott Warren “Shadow Bands”
  11. Radio Days “Rave On!”
  12. Oscar Lang “Chew The Scenery”
  13. Ryan Hamilton “1221”
  14. Matthew Sweet “Catspaw”
  15. Bleu “Six Tape”
  16. The Armoires “Incognito”
  17. Underwater Sunshine “Suckertree”
  18. The Easy Button “Lost On Purpose”
  19. Brad Marino “Looking For Trouble”
  20. Silvertwin “Silvertwin”
  21. Smash Palace “21”
  22. Kris Rodgers and the Dirty Gems “Still Dirty”
  23. Novelty Island “How Are You Coping With This Century?”
  24. Richie Mayer “The Inn of Temporary Happiness”
  25. Diamond Hands “Thank You”

With more time in the studio or at home, artists wrote and recorded even more than in 2020. Many power pop bands chose to stretch out of their traditional boundaries this year (Wanderlust, The Legal Matters, Bleu, The Armoires), while others stick to the tried-and-true melodic style and method. Great new artists debuted this year (Oscar Lang, Novelty Island, Silvertwin) and older artists refined their sound to perfection (Sorrows, The Brothers Steve, Andy Bopp).

The best of the rest… I actually ranked the next best 25 this year. I did not include compilations or live shows (with the exception of The Krayolas and The Weeklings) but there will be another list for that soon.

  1. David Brookings “Mania at the Talent Show”
  2. The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness “Songs From Another Life”
  3. Dana Countryman “Pop Scrapbook”
  4. Caper Clowns “Abdicate The Throne”
  5. Francis Lung “Miracle”
  6. Iain Hornal “Fly Away Home”
  7. Brent Windler “New Morning Howl”
  8. Geoff Palmer “Charts & Graphs”
  9. The Aerovons “A Little More”
  10. Lovebreakers “Primary Colours”
  11. Watts “Shady Rock and Rollers”
  12. Aaron Lee Tasjan “Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!”
  13. Cheap Trick “In Another World”
  14. The Mergers “Three Apples In The Orange Grove”
  15. Caddy “Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1”
  16. Jon Flynn “Citrus”
  17. Star Collector “Game Day”
  18. Jay Gonzalez “Back to the Hive”
  19. The Krayolas “Savage Young Krayolas”
  20. The Gold Needles “What’s Tomorrow Ever Done for You?”
  21. Ryan Allen “What A Rip!”
  22. The Laissez Fairs “Curiosity Killed The Laissez Fairs”
  23. Emperor Penguin “Corporation Pop!”
  24. Ramirez Exposure “Exit Times”
  25. The Weeklings “In Their Own Write”

Power Popaholic TOP 25 Radio Show will be aired on 11L Radio New York International on Sunday, January 2, 2022, at 8:30 pm. It will feature songs from the TOP 25 album list.

LISTEN on GRITS Radio: http://169.61.85.22/grits
(works on cell phones & computers)

The Power Popaholic Top 25 Albums of 2020

powerpopaholic

  1. Joe Giddings “Better From Here”
  2. Ice Cream Hands “No Weapon But Love”
  3. The Szuters “Sugar”
  4. Joey Molland “Be True To Yourself”
  5. Rick Hromadka “Better Days”
  6. Drake Bell “The Lost Album”
  7. The Weeklings “3”
  8. Nick Piunti and The Complicated Men “Downtime”
  9. Gary Ritchie “Head On A Swivel”
  10. The Bye Bye Blackbirds “Boxer At Rest”
  11. The Overtures “Onceinaworld”
  12. Keith Slettedahl “You Know You Know”
  13. The Lees Of Memory “Moon Shot”
  14. Emperor Penguin “Soak UpThe Gravy”
  15. Diamond Hands “III”
  16. Kurt Baker “After Party”
  17. Disq “Collector”
  18. The Empty Hearts “Second Album”
  19. Coke Belda “4”
  20. The Explorers Club “The Explorers Club”
  21. Goodman “Goodman Versus The Nostalgia Machine”
  22. Timmy Sean “A Tale From The Other Side” Part I
  23. Successful Failures “Pack Up Your Shadows”
  24. Mo Troper “Natural Beauty”
  25. Brendan Benson “Dear Life”

Overall, a really good year for power pop and the pandemic has allowed many artists to write themes about love and hope (Rick Hromadka and Ice Cream Hands). The differences in ranking from 1 – 25 are very, very small. There was also a strong return to “traditional” power pop this year, meaning sounds that emulated The Beatles’ style and spirit (The Szuters, Weeklings, Gary Ritchie, The Overtures). Some albums that were not rated a “9” grew as I listened to them again and others did the opposite. Emotionally charged debuts from Disq and Keith Slettedahl broke through for me. I spent a lot of time on a video giving snippets of each artist, so you can get a quick listen to each.

The best of the rest… I will not spend time ranking them, but everyone here could have squeezed into my top 25 easily.