Tag: Vanilla

Summer Singles: The Mayflowers, Richard Turgeon, Mom, Your Friend Jebb, Detroit Cobras, Vanilla

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Japanese rockers The Mayflowers newest single “Sunflower Girl” gets it’s premiere on Power Popaholic! Band leader Osamu Satoyama wrote the music and worked with Gary Frenay (The Flashcubes) for the lyrics. This is simply awesome and the new album is expected very soon! Get it on Amazon

Richard Turgeon turns up the juice with this rocker about the sad state of our nation.

Swedish rockers Mom channel late the 1970s power pop bands The Jam, The Beat, etc. Very cool.
Your Friend Jebb is joined by Lisa Mychols and Tom Richards and its a match made it power pop heaven! Comparable to the Agony Aunts “Change of Seasons” is amazing! Plus the band teams up with Terry Draper (Klaatu) on “Sound The Alarmed.”

Detroit Cobras really know how to raise the mood with “Feel Good,” a song that you need to blast at full volume and sing along to!

Jayson Jarmon from Vanilla has been releasing a series of singles that reflect many different musical eras and styles. This time he imagines himself a Glam rocker circa 1974. T-Rex fans will love this one!

Singles: The Cudas, Ryan Allen, Empty City Squares, Mike Daly, The James Rocket, The Starbems, Chris Church, Vanilla, Richard Turgeon

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A boatload of great new singles! Check these out… and some are FREE downloads!

This is some great power pop hero worship with strong riffs. The Cudas deserve kudos for this!

Fresh after working with Nick Puinti on his new LP, Ryan Allen gets to work on his own music for a cause. 100% of the proceeds for downloading these songs will go to the Black Lives Matter movement.

New Jersey band Empty City Squares describes a world that is spinning off its axis thanks to COVID-19. The band also has a single out exclusively with Big Stir Records called “Parmenides” which is quite good.

Mike Daly is releasing a somber song for these troubled times. A bit depressing, but “I guess this is my life now, I hope that it lasts.”

NY based The James Rocket does it all right; wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing, and getting freakin’ frustrated with the whole thing,

Japanese power-pop-punk band The Starbems are part Knack and part Ramones. This single kicks ass all over the place.
Frank Burns was a band in the mid-90s that existed just long enough to record two songs. North Carolina’s Chris Church was part of that effort and delivers these rare artifacts. But why name your band after the most annoying character from M.A.S.H.?

Jayson Jarmon from Vanilla has a knack for tasty power pop. I love both the catchy “Easy As Pi” and the Western-styled pop of “Easy.”


West coast rocker Richard Turgeon keeps cranking out material for his new upcoming LP.

EP Reviews and Singles: Danny McDonald, Popular Creeps, Zach Jones, Vanilla, Arthur Nasson

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Danny McDonald

Danny McDonald “Modern Architecture”

Danny McDonald is skilled in several genres. “Cordyline” bursts from the speakers with authority, very much in the mold of Paul Westerberg and it hooks you right away. Unfortunately, it’s only a minute long. Next, “The suburb I grew up in” is a country-style duet with Anna Burley, and its a nice jangling slice of roots-pop.

Then we get about a minute of punk and another minute of power pop. “Keeping The Dogs At Bay” is another catchy chorus, and thankfully it’s over 2 minutes long. I like short songs, but most of this was just way too short. However, the sampler just made me want more McDonald, so it is successful in marketing his talent.

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Popular Creeps Detroit

Popular Creeps “Bloodshot Red”

A motley crew from the Motor City, Popular Creeps do a good job playing fast and loose rock and roll, and the opening track “Out of My Head” is a super-catchy tune that will get you following along with handclaps and a kick-ass guitar solo. The sound is a little like The Replacements, with a barroom vibe similar to The Connection. “Down & Out” builds a solid core riff and keeps you interested with its well-written lyrics and melody. “Metal Kid” is a good vignette about a kid who “smells like smoke on a Friday night.” Lots of great tracks, and highly recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik


Singles

“Like The Tide” boasts a solid twang and Zach’s soulful lead keeps this sounding like a hit single Neil Young might have done back in the day. The bonus here is that Zach has an audio “behind-the-scenes” feature in addition to the song demos. Sweet!


Jayson Jarmon and those dudes from Vanilla are back with a heavier rocker. It’s got some cool riffs — check it out.

Arthur Nasson is back, and he’s “Unglued” – This is a catchy theme that reminds me a little of Roy Wood.  Get this on Amazon

Singles: The Vinyl Skyway, Vanilla, My Little Hum, Rozwell Kid, The Inside Passenger, Joe Kane, Andrew Stonehome, The Hangabouts

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Holy Cow! There is a bumper crop of great music here. Let’s dive right in… 

Boston band The Vinyl Skyway dazzles with this excellent single. Songwriters Andy Santospago and Michael Hayes know how to hook you with their harmonies and minor chord shifts. Worth multiple repeats!

The band Vanilla follows up from its smart LP Mystik Knights of Tacoma with this horn-filled gem that about a tree fort that is either an emotional security blanket or the ultimate man cave.

My Little Hum is husband and wife duo Dan Jewett (guitars/bass) and Yuri Jewett (vocals/keyboards). They do a great job here with a strong jangling melody and Yuri’s sweet vocal harmonies are comparable to Karla Kane. Part of the upcoming album Pioneer. Check it out!

Rozwell Kid delivers a quirky punk song that just stuck with me. It’s a FREE download that starts out quiet and then breaks out (Hey, maybe Rolling Stone will pay attention?) Lyric video here.

The Inside Passenger is a new musical project from fan-favorite Cliff Hillis. It’s definitely a different style; Melancholy pop music made for late nights.

Glasgow treasure Joe Kane (Dr. Cosmo’s Tape Lab, The Owsley Sunshine, BMX Bandits) has put together these little glammy, fabby singles with those Ringo-like drum fills and Lennon-like vocal noodling. So much fun it will stick fast! “If you love your booty clap your hands..” Love it!

Andrew Stonehome is a songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist from North Dakota. He deserves your attention for this excellent power-pop single. Album coming next year.

Detroit’s The Hangabouts are also working on something new! You can hear some Elvis Costello influence here, and it’s a true gem with a soulful guitar break midway through. Keep your eyes and ears out for a new LP soon!

Vanilla and The Paisley Underground

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Vanilla

Vanilla “Mystik Knights of Tacoma”

Vanilla is an indie-pop band from the US Pacific Northwest. Featuring Jayson Jarmon (Liar’s Club), Sean Gaffney, Dana Sims (Witchburn, The Jet City Fix), and Kord Taylor. You’ll hear a more varied list of influences than previous albums. We open with the surf guitar instrumental “March of The Mystik Knights” and then we get the superb “On A Night Like This” full of pop melodicism, organ and a chorus stickier than freshly chewed gum. Carl Funk supplies the vibrato-heavy vocals on “Save Me,” and then we get to the psyche-pop goodness of “Sweetshop” full of harmonies and wicked guitar riffs.

Another notable fact is the lead vocals change with each song, from Kirk Adams to Regan Lane (and a long list in between). It’s nice to hear an updated hard rock cover the Small Faces’ “Itchycoo Park” and the retro-composition “Man of The Moment” sung by Jordani Sarreal, sounds like a lost James Bond movie theme. While the multiple styles and instrumentation make for fun listening, it can be jarring track-to-track. It does fit the theme of musicians being part of a delusional fraternity whose days are numbered as “Be Not Coy” lyrics tell us “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Your time is almost past.” Highly Recommended.

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Pasiely Underground

The Bangles, The Three O’Clock, The Dream Syndicate and Rain Parade “3×4”

In the mid-80s, several bands from the Los Angeles-area formed the core of a power pop offshoot movement, commonly known as the Paisley Underground. These bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and strong guitar riffs, part homage to 1960s groups such as The Byrds, The Doors and Bee Gees. Coined by Michael Quercio of the band The Three O’Clock, the movement stood to defy that era’s punk/new wave pop. The top bands of this sub-genre were; The Rain Parade, The Dream Syndicate, The Three O’ Clock and The Bangles.

Well 35 years later, The Three O’Clock reformed in 2013 and in December of that year we saw a reunion of all four bands for two nights in L.A. and San Francisco. These artists were part of a special clique and grew up together, so they honored each other by covering each other’s songs. Four bands covering three songs each (as it is titled). The album’s covers are played in a laid back fashion, and while they don’t surpass the originals, they pleasantly remind you how good these songs are. If you are a fan of any of these bands, it will definitely rekindle your interest in the era (and the originals). For the uninitiated, this is a solid album giving you a crash course in the Paisley sound. Check it out!

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