PowerPop Overdose

Although Welsh psych-pop outfit El Goodo don't sound a bit like Big Star, the fact that they nicked their name from an old cult fave tune is illuminating: there is nothing about El Goodo that any reasonably knowledgeable student of pop history hasn't heard before. That said, the first-names-only quintet do a better job than most of synthesizing enough disparate influences that it doesn't sound like they're just ripping off one band in particular. The wry "Stuck in the '60s" says it all, really: faux Beach Boys vocals, queasy strings out of a Serge Gainsbourg record, a Mellotron part straight from the opening of "Strawberry Fields Forever," Forever Changes' mariachi trumpets, but all of them are brought together by a solid, hooky melody and a knowing lyric that says "Yes, we know we're not really doing anything new here." Other highlights include the accordion-powered waltz "I Tried But I Failed," which has unexpected echoes of Ram-era Paul McCartney, and the sweet-tooth psychedelia of the jangle-fuzzy "Surreal Morning," complete with backwards guitar solo. Blending the druggily experimental vibe of the Beta Band or El Goodo's friends and patrons Super Furry Animals with the kind of retro songcraft the Apples in Stereo mastered on Fun Trick Noisemaker and Tone Soul Evolution, this is strictly for those who like to play spot-the-homage, but the group's better than average songwriting and clear fondness for their obvious influences make this an enjoyable listen. -AMG

El Goodo - El Goodo - 2006/rs
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El Goodo - El Goodo - 2006/sb

Sparkwood is an Austin-based power pop band. Centered around the songwriting of vocalist and keyboardist Bart Padar, the band crafts elegant and dynamic musical arrangements ornamented by lush vocal harmonies. In addition to Padar, Sparkwood features the exceptional talents of drummer Mike Reynolds, bassist/vocalist Jonathan Nesvadba, and guitarist/vocalist Mark Doroba. Critics have compared Sparkwood's sound to musical luminaries such as Queen, Jellyfish, Cheap Trick and Fountains of Wayne. The band plays frequently in many Austin venues such as The Continental Club, Hole in the Wall and Ruta Maya. In the past, Sparkwood played series of shows in the Midwest, including the International Pop Overthrow Festival in Chicago.
In the Spring of 2007, Sparkwood signed on to Excellent Records in Japan. Their record, entitled "Kaleidoscopism", was released in April with a healthy reception from Japanese audiences.

Sparkwood - Kaleidoscopism - 2007/rs
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Sparkwood - Kaleidoscopism - 2007/sb

Unique, moody instrumentals and vocals highlight the debut release from Clean Equations. Mike Nyhan, vocals / guitar / keyboards, has brought in the reinforcements including Nero Catalano on bass (722), Gretchen Lohse on vocals (Yellow Humphrey), Geoff Morrissey on guitar (Law of the Sea), Jonas Oesterle on drums, Jo Schornikow on piano (The Shivers), and Jim Thomas on organ / piano / keyboard (Blue Floor Music), to make this an impressive, and polished, expansive head-trip! For after dinner, late night entertainment or to engage pleasent daydreams, Clean Equations features well-written, gorgeous, harmony-filled, music that will stay with you long after your first listen! The music and vocal harmonies are heavenly throughout. -Curty Ray

Check it out at State Capital Records and look for a full length disc from Clean Equations in the not too distant future.

Buy It Now!

Sparkwood is the latest recipe to emerge from Bart Padar's musical kitchen. With a new batch of ingredients including Mark Doroba (Three Years Ghost), Mike Reynolds (The Sleepwalkers, Violet Crown), and Sean Crooks (The Alice Rose), the band serves up a savory blend of pop-a-licious delight. Peering inside of Sparkwood's crock-pot of musical influences one will find a history of scrumptious morsels like The Beatles, Jellyfish, Queen, ELO, and Ben Folds. Their live shows are a junket of mellifluous fun. The boys in Sparkwood LOVE what they do and their performances are a vibrant celebration of this fact. They clearly share their collective enthusiasm with all who attend their shows. Heavy meals? No way! Sparkwood heads straight for dessert, their melodies a bundle of candy-coated excitation. Currently they're merely a secret treat but Sparkwood aspires to share their delectable creations with the rest of the world. The obvious consensus: Sparkwood is a fluorescent feast for the senses!

Sparkwood - Jalopy Pop - 2005/rs
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Sparkwood - Jalopy Pop - 2005/sb

Maplewood is a low-key indie rock supergroup with members of Champale, Koester, Cub Country, and Nada Surf gathered together in the spirit of '70s canyon rock. Their self-titled debut brings back hazy memories of groups like America, Bread, and CSNY. The kind of groups who always seemed ready to break out their acoustic guitars and serenade the sweet hippie chicks around campfires and in hazy bars with heartfelt lead vocals and harmonies, ringing open-chord strumming, lazy tempos, and occasional pedal steel for added melancholy. There are also echoes of more modern bands like R.E.M. on "Darlene," Lambchop on "Bright Eyes," and Teenage Fanclub on the chiming "Morning Star." The spirit of Matthew Sweet also hovers over the proceedings, as he's been treading these light rock boards for quite a while. So there you have all the influences and connections, all of which don't mean much if Maplewood can't deliver the songs. Luckily, they do. Tunes like "Indian Summer," "Little Dreamer Girl," and the quiet epic "Desert Queen" sound like they were taken right off a Time/Life Sounds of the 70's comp. The rest are solid and memorable too. They escape being mere revivalists by investing their hearts into the material. There is no winking or obvious lifting of melodies. They create the feel of the sensitive California '70s with an easy, sweet manner and plenty of laid-back soul. Not bad for a bunch of short-haired, East Coast fellas. Line them up next to the lovely Autumn Defense and let the '70s begin again. -AMG

Maplewood - Maplewood - 2004/rs
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Maplewood - Maplewood - 2004/sb

Mean Time is the Barracudas' masterpiece. Coming several years after their debut, this, the second LP from the band, takes on the direction suggested of their surfer-wannabe debut. When that album came out, the band was already leaving the surf thing behind and getting a little more serious. This is the end result of a journey through the House of Kicks and into serious rock terrain. If you combined early and latter-day Flamin' Groovies, this is what you'd get. Tons of gorgeous 12-string jangle, but with the aggressiveness that was lacking on the last few Groovies albums. At this point the Barracudas were truly an international band, featuring members Chris Wilson (himself a former Groovie) from the U.S.A. on guitar and backing vox and Jim Dickson (Passengers) from Australia on bass, along with perennials Jeremy Gluck and Robin Wills from merry ole England. Not only that, but the album originally came out in France and the band was big in Spain. The album kicks off with two of the band's finest songs, "Grammar of Misery" and "Bad News." Both of these songs show the band in their finest light: sensitivity mixed with resolve. A rare combo for such a rocking outfit. From there the pace is maintained throughout, which is why this is almost loaded with greatest hits. "Shades of Today" is excellent lyrically, and "Dead Skin" is a truly chilling account of what-ifs and coulda-shouldas. "Middle Class Blues" is unique because it tells the story of so many white people from the suburbs. The album closers, "Eleventh Hour" and the desperate wail of "Hear Me Calling," send it out the way it came in: rocking to the jangle. A must. -AMG

The Barracudas - Mean Time - 1983/rs
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The Barracudas - Mean Time - 1983/sb

The punchy pub rock-meets-power pop of the Scooters' debut EP, Peepshow, in no way prepared audiences for what was to come next with their 2002 full-length debut, I Can See Your House From Here. While Peepshow displayed the band's sense of melody and knack for well-crafted songs and solid production, I Can See Your House From Here is a remarkable step ahead in the maturity of the band's songwriting. While they've largely abandoned the punchy pop of their debut EP, with I Can See Your House From Here the Scooters have meticulously crafted a detailed, layered, sadly beautiful album. Gone is the sound of Argybargy-era Squeeze, and in its place the sound has shifted to warm, elegant pop reminiscent of Crowded House's Woodface. As both sounds are really variations on a theme, that may not seem radical, but it exhibits a remarkable amount of growth in a short period of time. Spiked with elegant background vocals and occasional piano and horn flourishes, this is an incredibly laid-back affair. But the Scooters are far from lazy, as their melodic skills have only strengthened with time. So while there is an almost complete absence of rockers here, the gentle acoustic pop of songs like "Guess Who" and "This Is How It Ends" is more immediate and more memorable than anything on their debut. As good as Peepshow was -- and it was a very good debut EP -- it in no way prepared audiences for this gem of a Brit-pop record, one that easily ranks among the best works of Travis and Coldplay.

The Scooters - I Can See Your House from Here - 2002/rs
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The Scooters - I Can See Your House from Here - 2002/sb

New York's George Usher Group opens Days of Plenty with the Big Star-sounding "Smoke That Kiss," with Usher playing the role of Alex Chilton. The song's quirky stops and starts and relentless jangly guitar get the disc off to a rollicking start. Using a rich array of instruments -- including mellotron, organ, French horn, violin, and cello -- the group assembled 12 varied pop songs on their sophomore disc. "Channel 104" features some of the warmest pop hooks on the disc, offering up the liveliest harmonies and guitars of the album. Guitarist Doug Larcey and bassist Dennis Ambrose assist Usher on vocals. Drummer John Bellon rounds out the main quartet featured on the disc. The disc's pace slows down on the title track, a fresh, easy listening triumph that sounds wonderfully effortless. As the disc continues, many of the songs sound familiar, as the group utilizes some time-tested rock/pop conventions, all the while making them their own. Despite the undeniable pop influences throughout the record, the band never uses them as a crutch, instead embracing them and adding their own signature sound to the mix, like on the steady toe-tapper "Crowded Mind" and the relaxed poetry of "Our World." Throughout the peaks and valleys of the album, Usher adds a soft, personal touch to the songs, never hiding behind a wall of sound, instead taking enough musical risks to keep it all interesting. "Baby, Where'd You Go?" and "Unfinished Prayer" offer up Usher's most sincere and heartfelt lyrics of the disc, as well as some of the simplest and most satisfying instrumentation. "Long Long Never" concludes the disc with an extended jangle rock roller-coaster ride. Recorded in New York City and New Jersey and mixed by Mitch Easter, Parasol Records released Days of Plenty in 2001. -AMG

George Usher Group - Days Of Plenty - 2001/rs
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George Usher Group - Days Of Plenty - 2001/sb

The Layaways started off as the solo project of David Harrell, but with the addition of Nathan Burleson on drums and Mike Porter contributing bass guitar and vocals The Layaways became a full band. Now, while there aren't any overtly 'synthy' songs presented here, each and every track is pure pop, with the occasional synthesizer playing a role in the music. The songs may be pop songs, but none of them are particularly aggressive or ultra-danceable. They're more of the gentle popsongs that linger in the back of your mind for days, popping up at unexpected places and times. The Guitars that lead most of the songs are very smooth, gently gilding the melody along through the songs. The muted vocals don't leap out from the songs, but blend in as a contributing element to the whole, rather than leading them. The only exception to that is "Lying And Stealing", which has the lead vocals take on a 70's rock flavor that's.. interesting. Of the 11 tracks presented here, "Silence", "Nothing Left To Burn" and "Bombs Away" are the three that I found myself going back to the most often. But if you're in the mood for something a little more downtempo that has a folksy/New Wave feel to it, this will be right up your alley. - Jason Baker @ Synthpop.net

The Layaways - We've Been Lost - 2004/rs
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The Layaways - We've Been Lost - 2004/sb

Philly group the Bigger Lovers keep true their vision of intelligent power pop on their third album, This Affair Never Happened...and Here Are Eleven Songs About It. And thankfully, the group still possesses the flashes of blindingly pure and melodic guitar pop that marked 2002's excellent Honey in the Hive -- in fact this album even exceeds that high-water mark. "I Resign" is a sugar-crusted pop confection that should go down in the annals with forgotten classics like Big Star's "September Gurls" or the Records' "Starry Eyes" for its unabashed pop melodicism. "Ninja Suit" is the kind of dead-right swooning pop anthem (complete with swelling backup vocals) that the Velvet Crush have been circling toward, but never quite reaching, for years. (And anyone who has seen drummer Patrick Berkery do his thing live with the Lovers or with the Pernice Brothers will notice that he hits them much like the Velvet Crush's Ric Menck.) The Bigger Lovers succeed at both ends of the power pop spectrum, able to knock of cheeky, pastel-toned quirk like "Slice of Life" at the one end and earnest, spine-tinglers like "Peel It Away" at the other. In the latter, Ed Hogarty's bright, sharp leads wind their way around Brett Tobias' muttering and stuttering rhythmic tones -- and it's that ear-pleasing guitar interplay that bolsters many of the tunes. Music criticism is often guilty of hyperbole, overt enthusiasms and overstatement -- but rest assured that the Bigger Lovers are one of the best bands trolling the timeless power pop landscape in the new millennium. That's no hyperbole. -AMG

The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened... And Here Are 11 Songs About It - 2004/rs
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The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened... And Here Are 11 Songs About It - 2004/sb

In the midst of the buzz surrounding Big Star’s “Keep An Eye On The Sky” Box Set and the reissue of Chris Bell’s “I Am The Cosmos” comes another Ardent related story that should also be on your radar. The Ardent Music label has just released Star & Micey's self titled debut record. While playful in nature, Josh Cosby, Geoff Smith, and Nick Redmond have created a collection of songs that reflect a churning emotion in heart. Notable Memphis musicians who make cameo appearances include Jody Stephens (Big Star) on "Nelson," Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars, The Black Crowes) on "So Much Pain,” and Rick Steff (Lucero, Cat Power) on "She's on Fire.”

Star & Micey -She's on Fire

CD is available via CDBaby and Amazon

Digital version available via starandmicey.bandcamp.com ($5 – 320k MP3s, FLAC, Apple Lossless), iTunes, Amazonmp3, emusic, rhapsody and all the top digital retailers.

Ardent Music is the upstart mainstream record label based out of the legendary Ardent Studios (whose client list includes The White Stripes, The Dead Weather, Cat Power, Smashing Pumpkins, Isaac Hayes and Led Zeppelin, just to name a few). Ardent Music's first two signings are Memphis acts Star & Micey and Jump Back Jake. Its sister label, Ardent Records, is the label that originally launched power-pop pioneers Big Star.

In 1986 after a couple years with no interest from record companies, the band agreed to split up. In yet another strange twist, just before they finalized their plans, Jody Stephens who was now running Ardent studios in Memphis, called Fullerton and arranged for the group to come down and record an album. Stephens would then try to find a label willing to release the finished product. The record Brave New World was finished in 1897 and featured Stephens and Alex Chilton as well as the Deal's best songs and performances yet. Despite a few nibbles from interested labels, no new deal was struck and the band released the record themselves. The record was a critical success (and the band was voted one of the top 20 unsigned bands in America by Musician magazine) but the group's limited finances and a lack of distribution meant it didn't sell a lot of copies. Disgusted with the music business, the Deal broke up for keeps in 1988. The band members reacted to the split in unique ways. Mike Clarke walked away from his drums (literally, he just left them in the band's rehearsal space) and never played again. Haines Fullerton began a strange transformation into a mystical quasi-religious guru of sorts, complete with a small band of followers. He committed suicide in 1996. Only Mark Roebuck never left the music world, playing his brand of pop in a number of Charlottesville bands like SubSeven and Big Circle.
In 2003, Not Lame released Goodbye September, a retrospective disc that compiled tracks from the Bearsville sessions as well as many other recordings from various stages of the band's star-crossed career, bringing the music of the Deal to a new generation of power pop devotees. - Tim Sendra

The Deal - Brave New World - 1988

Thanks Steve

Technically, Goodbye September is a 20-year retrospective of Charlottesville, VA, power pop heroes the Deal -- but not really. Due to a seemingly impossible -- yet all too common -- run of bad luck, the Deal's music has never been released until now. In 1980, the group began to show off their Big Star-influenced pop sound at gigs around town, after jelling around the lineup of Mark Roebuck, Eric Schwartz, Haines Fullerton, Hugh Patton, and Jim Jones. They caught the ear of Ramones manager Linda Stein, who agreed in turn to manage the Deal. All was well until the band's contract with Bearsville Records was hung out to dry in the aftermath of a feud between Warner Bros. and the label. Their debut EP would sit on a shelf for 20 years. Adversity continued to follow the Deal for the rest of the '80s and '90s. The band broke up, rejoined, lost members, gained followings, and lost its chance so many times, it seemed no one would ever hold a recording by the Deal. In the early '90s, Roebuck and Fullerton developed a relationship with an aspiring singer/songwriter named Dave Matthews. In 1994, a song co-written by Fullerton and Matthews appeared on the latter's Under the Table & Dreaming, the album that would launch the Dave Matthews Band's star sky high. Two years later, Fullerton would commit suicide after a descent into religious idealism. The music of the Deal was doomed. Luckily, two of the band's fans from its Charlottesville days went on a quest to assemble all the recorded output of the band, with the intention of finally releasing the material. Finally, in March of 2003, they were successful. Through the efforts of longtime Deal fans Tim Anderson and Tom Bickel, Not Lame Records released Goodbye September, which compiled 13 tracks from the Deal's Bearsville sessions, as well as many other recordings from every corner of the band's career. -AMG

The Deal - Goodbye September - 2003/rs
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The Deal - Goodbye September - 2003/sb