Tag: Vanilla

More March singles and EPs: Oh Bummer, Extra Arms, Friends of Cesar Romero, Orbis Max, Paul Crane and the Overend Watts, The Electromagnets, Vanilla

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Here we go again. We start with a video from Oh Bummer!, a band from the mind of Seattle-born, LA-based singer/songwriter Tanner Houghton. Tanner makes honest anti-pop music for people who don’t always fit in. He does this by combining his bedroom-pop delivery with trip-hop-inspired beats. It’s not power pop, but it still has a hook that kept me listening. Most impressive is the new single by Extra Arms, “I Don’t Wanna Surrender.” Ryan Allen and crew pick up after his top ten performance of last year and continue to dazzle us. Great energy from Friends of Cesar Romero, these guys get better every year and this freebie is a good example. Orbis Max and Dw Dunphy seem to channel Roger Waters a little here, and Paul Crane and the Overend Watts debut EP has plenty of crunchy guitars, from the pop-punk “Halfway Home” to the bouncy “Dypsomaniak.” When you gather like-minded artists, you could come up with The Electromagnets, a “supergroup” with Steve Stoeckel (The Spongtones), Peter Watts (Spygenius), Chris Church, and Dolph Chaney. Finally, I thought Vanilla’s Pish Posh project was confined to 2023, but it continues to grow, and some real gems appear, like the Lennonesque “Coil Memory.”







Fall into Singles, EPs: The Record Company, The Campbell Apartment, Vanilla, Half Catholic, Funeral Cake, Sugar Fight, and more

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It’s cooling off this week on the East Coast. The Record Company isn’t a great name for a band, but these guys have a nice groove and swagger on “I Don’t Dance On Mondays” from their new 4th Album. Love that slide guitar sound! The Campbell Apartment has a new single worthy as a theme for Barbie’s Ken on “Boys Like Driving.” Next, Vanilla continues its slow rollout of Pish Posh one song at a time, this one is “S1 E1,” a march about binge-watching. I was very impressed by Half Catholic, “Pour It On Lightly” is like The Posies meet Pearl Jam and 100% original soaring melodic rock (also out on Kool Kat Musik). Funeral Cake is a little punkier, fans of The Muffs might enjoy them; check out “Sleep Over” and “Fairy Land.”  Next Sugar Fight has a few singles collected with the addition of a few guests (Frank Bango, for example). Finally, with summer over, you should pick up the latest freebie from radio show blogger Ice Cream Man (Wayne Lundqvist Ford,) a massive collection of over 100 songs. Summer never ends with this much music!





July Singles: The Worriers, Tamar Berk, Vanilla, Tommy Sistak, The Slip-Ons, Hurry

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It’s July! Trust Your Gut, the latest album by The Worriers (due in September) have this cool video for now. The band, led by lead singer Lauren Denitzio, has a highly approachable songwriting style full of folksy flourishes and driving guitars. Tamar Berk is back after her winning turn last year on Start At The End. She hasn’t missed a beat, and I look forward to more strong memorable melodies, as the preview shows. Vanilla also comes back with new music from the Pish Posh collection recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Speaking of Abbey Road, local Beatlesque troubadour Tommy Sistak wants to “Take Me Along.” Next, Singer Brock Pytel (Canadian pop-punk band The Doughboys) and Brian Minato (Sarah McLachlan) are  SLIP~ons, and they bring GBV energy with them. Finally, I don’t know much about Philly power pop band Hurry, but they have nice harmonies – kinda like Teenage Fanclub and the album is due in August. Enjoy the fireworks!





October singles: Dolour, The Poppermost, Vanilla, Cold Expectations, Eric Barao, The Sobs

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Yeah, it’s time for hot new power pop singles! Dolour does a cover of one of the best Beach Boys singles of the Sunflower LP. Can’t miss those harmonies, but if your tastes run more to the Beatlesque side, then check out The Poppermost as they do it again with great skill. Vanilla continues with its 77 projects, and “Show Me A Sign” is a perfect amalgam of the mid-seventies pop influences, that reminds me of Pilot. Boston’s Cold Expectations does a solid job with the organ-heavy “Hey Compromise,” and Eric Barao is back with a magical lullaby full of flowing chord progressions and strings. The Sobs have this killer hook in the upcoming album, and I’ll whet your appetite with the opener “Air Guitar.”






More August singles: DB Edmunds, It’s Karma It’s Cool, Natalie Sweet, Brad Marino, Crossword Smiles, Vanilla, Freya Josephine Hollick, Electric Lecture

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No more weather-related puns. Just great new music. DB Edmunds is a welcome sight after all this time. As a member of power pop greats The Gladhands and The Stars Explode, he’s back with a solo effort that sounds excellent. UK band It’s Karma It’s Cool has a new single out with the help of Peter Holsapple(dB’s. R.E.M. and Hootie & The Blowfish). Another notable collaboration is Natalie Sweet and Brad Marino (The Connection), the first single has Sweet singing the rocker “Second Time.” And yet another pairing with Michigan indie pop veterans Tom Curless and Chip Saam combine to form Crossword Smiles, they sing “Parallel Lines” in advance of their new album. And power pop band Vanilla decides to go full disco for its upcoming ‘77′ album, with the teaser “Ka-Bang!” sung by Ava Adams. I randomly came across Freya Josephine Hollick, and her tune ‘Me & Mine’ is for all the misfits, the ousted, those who live on the fringes of society trying to make ends meet, and finally a video from an eclectic group called Electric Lecture. The band is the brainchild of Greg Ansin, Bronson Taalbi, and Anthony J Resta, and the band is influenced by XTC, Tom Petty, and Beck. Can’t wait to hear more from them!