The Black Hollies - Crimson Reflections - 2006

At ten tracks running just over a half-hour, this debut from the NYC-based garage revivalists Black Hollies could be considered an EP. But the disc is power packed and by the time it's done, there isn't much left to say. The album is filled with snappy riffs and a '60s psychedelic esthetic borrowed from both British ("Crimson Reflections Through Looking Glass Mind" sounds like it was recorded around the Stones' "Dandelion"-period, "Come and Tell Me" would have made a great Searchers tune) and American ("You've Been Gone Too Long" cranks out a Standells/Seeds-styled vibe) sources. While the quartet won't win any originality contests even among contemporary bands such as the Chesterfield Kings who mine similar territory, they attack this music with appropriate raw power. You may find yourself playing "spot the riff" on much Crimson Reflections, but that just adds to the fun. And even when the group steals from sources as obvious as the Beatles (hey, there's the "Taxman" lick in "Get Yourself Together, Girl"), the effect is more joyous celebration than flippant rip-off. The tunes never overstay their welcome, nailing a groove and then moving on. The energy explodes out of the speakers and is as contagious as pink eye. Lead vocalist Justin Angelo Morey sounds inspired throughout spitting out his lyrics to these ten originals and the dueling lead guitars on the opening "No Need to Be Rude" are nearly as crude as anything the Sonics ever laid down on tape. Fans of Little Steven's Underground Garage radio show will eat this up, but anyone interested in garage rock's roots will enjoy the Black Hollies' animated offering. -AMG

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Jensen Bell - Modern Dating Tips - 2005

Modern Dating Tips is essentially as the title alludes, or as the artist himself puts it, “an evolving view of the arc of a modern person’s dating life”. Irony is the major theme within and to add one more, though Bell is an Angelino, his songwriting style is very “east coast,” as it will remind the listener of New York heavyweights like Fountains Of Wayne, Richard X. Heyman, and George Usher. Most of the songs on Modern Dating Tips clock in at under three minutes and have hooks in all the right places, with sardonic lyrics that always bring home the point. His line of “I’d swear off girls if I wasn’t straight” pretty much sums up the dating frustrations many men go through, but in the end never really live by. The album features several luminaries of the L.A. music scene, including Kim Shattuck (with whom Bell duets on the appropriately Muffs-like “Happy Chocolate) and the guardian angel of L.A. power-pop: Robbie Rist. This is one helluva pop album, and you won’t want to be without it. -David Bash - Amplifier Magazine

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Brainpool - You Are Here - 1999

Part of the late-'90s explosion of Swedish guitar pop bands, Brainpool was formed in Lund, Sweden, by vocalist Janne Kask, guitarist David Birde, bassist Christoffer Lundquist, and drummer Jens Jansson. Their Beatles influence was displayed on such albums as 1994's Soda, 1995's Painkiller, and 1996's Stay Free. Kask left the band in 1997, but the remaining members stayed together, releasing You Are Here in 1999. -AMG

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Brainpool - You Are Here - 1999

Essex Green - Everything Is Green - 1999

The Essex Green's debut album captures the sound and spirit of the psychedelic era with an uncanny accuracy which makes the rest of the Elephant 6 collective seem positively postmodern by comparison. It's hardly paint-by-numbers, however — for all of its colorful guitar effects, orchestral spangles, and studio trickery, what's impressive about Everything Is Green is the subtle mastery with which the band deploys these cues, soaring so far beyond their music's superficial similarities to psychedelia that the album seems less like a latter-day homage to the late '60s than an actual artifact of the times; songs like "Primrose" and the majestic "Mrs. Bean" are both wonderfully unique and instantly familiar, evoking not merely the sonic grandeur of pop's past but its limitless possibilities as well. -AMG

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Essex Green - Everything Is Green - 1999 RS

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Stereolab - Chemical Chords - 2008

At times, Stereolab's music seems so unchanging that it feels more like it was generated by a laser-guided, lounge pop-meets-Krautrock machine than an actual "groop," but the small tweaks they make to their master plan on each album end up making a big impact. On Chemical Chords, Stereolab's 4AD debut, they take a much more pop-focused approach than their immediately previous work — which is saying something, since neither Fab Four Suture nor Margerine Eclipse were among their more experimental moments in the first place. Actually, the shortness and directness of these songs could be seen as a bigger experiment for the band than their frequent lockgrooves and hypnotic passages; with those trimmed, Chemical Chords presents a version of Stereolab's sound that is just as vivid as their earlier output, but fizzing with immediacy and urgency. "Neon Beanbag" jumps in hooks first, opening the album with a surprisingly swift rhythm and Laetitia Sadier's more familiar, bopping backing vocals. "One Finger Symphony"'s animated brass, guitars, and percussion suggest gears rotating and levers lifting and falling in playful but somewhat sinister fashion; "Daisy Click Clack" swishes in on brisk drums and a quaint melody that could be borrowed from a piano rag. Despite its name, Chemical Chords actually features some of Stereolab's most organic-sounding music in some time, downplaying their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation — the burbling synths on "Self Portrait with Electric Brain" support the song's snazzy brass and strings rather than dominating them. Likewise, Stereolab's version of "going pop" means looking beyond what "pop" means in the moment. A strong '60s feel permeates much of the album, but the way the band reconfigures these sounds prevents it from sounding archaic. "Three Women"'s rock-solid bass and tambourine shout out to Motown's heyday, but its buzzing organs and bongos feel like they were channeled from a long-lost exotic novelty album. "Cellulose Sunshine"'s gorgeous lysergic chamber pop could be a throwback, if it weren't so modishly sleek, and "Pop Molecule"'s massive synths and big, backward drums offer a futuristic take on acid rock. The band also revisits its own pop heyday on "Valley Hi!" and "Nous Vous Demandons Pardons," boasting the clever counterpoint and fuzzy Moogs of the Mars Audiac Quintet era. Chemical Chords manages to be even more concisely charming than that album, sacrificing little of Stereolab's distinctive sound for its immediacy. -AMG

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Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal - 2008

It may be simplistic to describe Alejandro Escovedo's 2006 album The Boxing Mirror as a record inspired by the artist's brush with death, but given the record's back story — it was recorded as Escovedo was recovering from a near-fatal bout with Hepatitis C — it's hard not to imagine its brave and often dazzling creative ambition was fueled by Escovedo's knowledge that these could be his last words as a musician. Two years later, a healthier and stronger Escovedo returned to the studio to record his ninth studio album, Real Animal, and by comparison this is a leaner, more tightly focused session; in fact, this is the strongest rock album Escovedo has made since his 1997 album with Buick MacKane, The Pawn Shop Years. It's easy to tag Real Animal as a less ambitious and artful collection than The Boxing Mirror, but viewed on its own merits this ranks with the best and most powerful music of Escovedo's career. Like The Boxing Mirror, which was produced by John Cale, Real Animal was recorded with a producer who worked with some of Escovedo's primal influences, Tony Visconti, and his recordings with David Bowie and T. Rex doubtless helped him connect with Escovedo the smart but swaggering rocker in a way Cale did not; this set of songs is every bit as intelligent and emotionally resonant as Escovedo's best work, but it moves with a taut energy and insistent force that informs even the quieter, acoustic oriented numbers, such as the bluesy "People (We're Only Gonna Live So Long)," and the plaintive "Hollywood Hills." While Escovedo wrote the tunes on Real Animal with Chuck Prophet, the songs bear his stylistic hallmarks and melodic sensibilities throughout, and these stories are dotted with places and events from Escovedo's past — discovering music as a kid ("Golden Bear"), his days as a San Francisco punk rocker ("Nun's Song"), flirting with the New York bohemian scene ("Chelsea Hotel '78"), and barnstorming with a rock & roll band ("Chip 'N' Tony"). Even when the cues to Escovedo's past aren't obvious, there's too much heart, soul, and blood in this music to not to have come directly from his heart, and he's seemingly incapable of singing from any other place, giving this music an emotional power that reaches down to the soul. If The Boxing Mirror was a work influenced by the shadow of mortality, Real Animal is an album about life — both as survival and as the faces and moments that fill our days on this Earth. How many artists could make two masterpieces in a row that are so different? And how much do you want to bet that Escovedo still has one or two more records this good in him? -AMG

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Velvet Crush - Free Expression - 1999

Enlisting longtime friend Matthew Sweet as producer, Ric Menck and Paul Chastain (both are part of Matthew Sweet's backing band) rebounded greatly to produce one of Velvet Crush's most consistently engaging records with Free Expression. While it doesn't have any song as memorable as the hook-filled mania of 1994's "Hold Me Up," this release does expand considerably upon Velvet Crush's sound. The album as a whole is potentially their most consistent and the songs are of uniform quality, probably due to Sweet's production. Some horns are brought in on a few tracks to color the album even more, and, as usual, there are touches of country strewn throughout the song cycle. Free Expression proves that Velvet Crush are one of the finer pop acts out today, and that the band deserves more than merely a cult following. -AMG

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Velvet Crush - Free Expression - 1999

The Satelliters - Hashish - 2004

The fifth album by the Satelliters evinces little in the way of creative growth, and in this brand of retro garage rock, that's a good thing. The Satelliters are far more than Germany's answer to the Hives, because this five-piece cares less about the pose than the sound: perfect doses of fuzztone guitar, just-so stabs of piercing Farfisa organ, and snaky hand percussion fill all of the songs. Interestingly, however, the covers aren't perfect replications of the originals (including the Association's "Five Man Band" and We the People's "You Byrn Me Up and Down"), but rather, smoking rave-ups on comparatively effete originals that these days somehow sound more "authentic" than the originals. The one comparative flop in this regard is a suitably snotty take on the Small Faces' "Wham Bam Thank You Mam" that unfortunately doesn't match the mod stomp of the original. The band's own songs fare much better, particularly the yowling "Go Away," which matches the aggression of the early Pretty Things, and the organ-driven hard psychedelia of the closing "1969: The End of Time." -AMG

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Private Jets Jet Sounds - 2008

Cleared for take-off. Classic Swedish power pop in the mold of The Merrymakers and Beagle for fans who have been missing it, The Private Jets have the sunny harmonies and sweet melodies with plenty of guitars and keyboards. The twin brothers Erik Westin and Per Westin have simplistic approach that can’t fail to hit the sweet spot with anyone who has a liking for power pop. Influences are clear here in the opener "I Wanna Be a Private Jet" - the bouncy beat resembles the Rubinoos. The follow up "Extraordinary Sensations" flirts with ELO and The Hudson Brothers, and "Speak Up, Speak Out" mines The Beagle sound perfectly. "Starshaped World" is a dead ringer for a Jellyfish composition (Should Roger Manning Jr. sue?). Some guitar riffs start to resemble Queen or Sweet, and the dual nature of "Fireman for A Day" and "Fire Academy" combines the poppiest side of The Move with Beach Boys chorals. Even "Hayfever" is a basic Beatlesque song that sounds lifted from a Spongetones album. It's hard to find a bad song on the disc, although you could say these songs sound almost too familiar for the die hard fan looking for something new. And after a few listens, some tunes are missing that hook to bring the album into excellent territory. That said it's an very good album and belongs in your collection without a doubt. "Jet Sounds" breaks the sunshine pop barrier. -powerpopahilic

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Private Jets Jet Sounds - 2008

Josh Fix - Free At Last - 2008

Now we're freekin' talking!! The longawaited debut from the multi-talented Josh Fix is finally here and what more can I say than that it is a monster CD!!! Imagine yourself a mix between Queen, Jellyfish, Bleu, The Grays, ELO, Mika, Melêe, Rooney and Gavin DeGraw and we're quite near the carpark of Josh music. Phew. Heureka. The sound is freekin' awesome. He produced it himself with help on the mix from the mighty Paul Ebersold. Just listen to"Whiskey & Speed"!! God damn!! There we can talk about arrangements... And harmonies!! Pure pure heaven. All songs are mighty fine moments - none mentioned - non forgotten... Ahh.. I need to mention "Bad With The Superbad" with plink plink piano all freekin' over as well - and listen to the choirs and arrangements on that tune!! Nah - enuff said folks. Instead of sitting hear and write superlatives I demand everyone and surf and buy yourself a copy at this freekin' moment! Josh Fix for president. Easily a contender for the best album in 2008. -melodic.net

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The Fade Outs - The Fade Outs - 2007

"THE FADE-OUTS" are a musical collective of like-minded fans of MUSIC. They come from the Greater Boston Area, except Dane Scalise; He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and is a Steelers fan, But we forgive him for this. He actually has the most experience in he Boston music scene. Having played in "the Lines" and a number of other Boston based acts. Jim Dennis; was in "Bird Brain", as well as "Draw the line", where he met drummer Chris Pareto. Jim had also been in a band with Dennis Foley, called "Snidely Whiplash" Dennis was rooming with Andy Keane in the summer of 2001. They would have thier friends: Dave Bowman and his future wife Dawn McDavid over to play music and sing. andy's brother Timmy would always be there as well as Brian and even Rob. They had all just re-discovered "The Beach Boys" and uncovered 'Smile'. So it was a very special time and it inspired the forming of the band. Recently “The Fade-Outs” relaesed their self-titled debut album with Naked Ear Records. -The Fade-Outs.com

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The Fade Outs - The Fade Outs - 2007

The Primary 5 - Go! - 2007

A sparkling, sun-drenched blast of melodic guitar pop, Go is a perfect follow-up to drummer turned bandleader Paul Quinn and his band the Primary 5's 2004 debut, North Pole. Featuring more of Quinn's heartfelt, positive, and catchy '60s-influenced rock, the album also showcases the multi-instrumental talents of Quinn's creative partner in crime, Ryan Currie. Together, Quinn and Currie have crafted a superb album equal to its predecessor in every way — and perhaps even a little better. Having proven himself a talented songwriter on North Pole, Quinn seems to have relaxed a bit into his abilities, and the songs here are assured, effortless, and utterly engaging. To these ends, tracks like romantic and driving "2 A.M." and the pastoral "Sunsets" are perfect pop tunes that sound something along the lines of Jackson Browne fronting Buffalo Springfield. Similarly appealing, tracks like the melancholy "Out in the Cold" and blissfully expansive "Make Believe" evince a late-'80s/early-'90s shoegazer aesthetic that fans of Quinn's former employers, Teenage Fanclub, will surely appreciate. Go's vintage West Coast vibe channeled through the prism of Quinn's Scottish Glaswegian background makes for a unique pop perspective and one great listen. -AMG

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The Primary 5 - Go! - 2007

The Fags - The Fags (EP) - 2002

Playing energetic '70s-style power pop in the manner of Cheap Trick and the Raspberries but with the energy of a fresh-faced pop-punk band, the Fags are a Detroit-based trio comprised of three longtime veterans of the Motor City music scene. Guitarist and singer John Liccardello (aka Johnny Speck) was a member of Sponge and Hoarse, as was drummer Jimmy Paluzzi, while bassist Tim Patalan is an experienced producer and engineer who has worked with many of Michigan's leading indie acts. Formed in 2000, the Fags wasted no time earning a reputation on the Midwest club scene for their passionate live shows, and in 2002 the group released a five-song EP for the Texas-based independent label Idol Records. That year, the group was named "Best Pop Band" by Real Detroit magazine, while they received an award as "Outstanding Alternative/Indie Group" at the 2003 Detroit Music Awards. -AMG

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The Fags - The Fags (EP) - 2002

Spinning Lucy - The Everything Pill - 2008

Spinning Lucy is a Philadelphia-based pop/rock group that got its start in the fall of 2004. Will Roberts, a recent transplant from Northern Virginia, posted a musicians wanted notice on a local website looking for musicians who shared the same passion for writing and performing original music. The group formed quickly around Roberts with Doug Johns on drums, and after a short bout of trial and error became a unit with the addition of Brian Pylant on guitars and vocals and Dave Lash on bass. the summer of 2007 Spinning Lucy went into the studio to record its first full- length CD entitled The Everything Pill. Starting at the happy end of the pop spectrum and moving through some darkness that reflects the many instances of life and how we live it, The Everything Pill has something for everyone. The band is planning an East Coast tour to support the debut CD and the first music video for the band is now in pre-production… which of course means the band is coming up with ideas over beers -CD Baby

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The Dollyrots - Because I'm Awesome - 2007

Having generated a significant buzz with their debut on the scrappy indie Lookout Records, the Dollyrots got snagged by Joan Jett and added to her own Blackheart label. Knowing that much about their history, their sophomore album is pretty much what you'd expect: it's the same tight, gleefully snotty bubblegum punk as what you heard on Eat My Heart Out, except maybe just a bit bigger and just a bit sonically fuller this time around — par for the course when a band like this starts to mature and gets the budget of an established label behind it. If you loved their debut album (and you did), then you'll love Because I'm Awesome at least as much — in part because of the ironic whimsy of the title track, in part because of the scorched-earth political patter song "A Desperate S.O.S.," in part because of the absolute crunchy perfection of "17," and in part because of the band's exhilarating appropriation of Melanie's 1970 bubblegum classic "Brand New Key." You might lose interest for a minute during the willfully goofy "Cat Calling," but you won't wander very long before being snapped back to attention. Spectacular. -AMG

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The Dollyrots - Because I'm Awesome - 2007

Paper or Plastic - Don't Be Like That - 2008

Paper or Plastic was formed in 2002 by some guys in middle school who wanted to rock & roll. Before long, however, they realized they needed to set themselves apart from the other approximately 12,476,894 up and coming bands in existence.With that in mind, two of these guys, David Pollock and Ty Whittier, dropped their immature, middle-school style of playing and gained supreme musical clout.But how, you ask, did they do it?Ty quickly found a niche as the eloquent lyricist, with Dave as the brooding musical genius, and a new drummer, Seth Norman, a DJ by night, whose beats let their music flow. The talented members, combined with their unique sound influenced by Costello, CAKE, Bowie, and Sinatra (yes, seriously) , make up Paper or Plastic's divine musical prowess. -CD Baby

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Paper or Plastic - Don't Be Like That - 2008

Lowry Hamner & The Cryers - Midnight Run - 1979

One of a thousand pop bands who crawled out of the woodwork after new wave made pop cool again, the short lived Cryers had a catchy quality to their work most bands barely understand. Despite the brilliant songwriting of Lowry Hamner, this band never got the credit, let alone the success it deserved. All the compositions on this their 2nd lp are by Lowry Hamner whose plaintive voice and poignant ballads owe something to Dwight Twilley.-moxnix Ripped @ 320 and served up fresh from PPO friend moxnix, Thanks Lowry Hamner & The Cryers - Midnight Run - 1979 -moxnix
Ripped @ 320 and served by good friend of PPO moxnix, Thanks
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Lowry Hamner & The Cryers - Midnight Run - 1979 pt2 r/s

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Lowry Hamner & The Cryers - Midnight Run - 1979 pt2 s/b

Kelly's Heels - Gone Off Pop?!? - 1997

Throw the melodies and harmonies of the 60s up in the air, smash them into submission with the full-on attack and energy of punk, add a distinctive vocal style a la Costello or Tilbrook, and you have Kelly's Heels. Led on guitar and vocals by Bob Kelly, supported by the ferocious drumming of Jim Kimberley and the groovy bass lines of Isobel Morris, the band has a live show you can't afford to miss. Though you can hear the influences of the British greats The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who in the music, the band blends those influences into a mix that is both highly contemporary but also timeless, producing a rich variety of stunning songs. Whether it's the energy and punkish swagger of Decide, or the heart-rending poignancy of the ballad It Wasn't Me, It Wasn't You, the versatility of Bob Kelly's songwriting is a revelation. -kellysheels.com

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Kelly's Heels - Gone Off Pop?!? - 1997 pt1

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Adrian Whitehead - One Small Stepping Man - 2008

Aussie popster Adrian Whitehead has been getting raves from the press and pop bloggers who've heard his latest "One Small Stepping Man". A soft classic pop formula similar to Dave Dill and Brent Cash, Adrian uses simple catchy melodies with a nod to The Beatles and a very smooth clean production style similar to Dave Stephens. The opening track "Caitlin's 60's Pop Song" echos Nilsson and Adrian's vocals are very similar here to Ken Stringfellow of The Posies. It's got the pop smarts and little details that make a wonderful song. Next, "Saving Caroline" opens with a seventies-styled strum a la Styx, and the bass floats the melody along, but at over six minutes it goes on a bit too long for me. "Radio One" sounds like a Posies mid-tempo guitar song and breaks into an amazing piano ballad. The piano ballads continue with the McCartney-like melodies in "You are The Sun" and "Julia" which are very good and the bright "Spector's Dead" remind me of Julian Lennon's "Photograph Smile" album. On the "Ways of Man" we get a very McCartney-like bass line and on "Better Man" the lyrical themes are sharp and the song has a bit more energy, but "Elle" is another long ballad that seems to go on forever. No doubt this is a strong debut and if you like any of the above artists, you'll enjoy this. An equal measure of credit goes to producer Jak Housden for making these songs sound so good. -Powerpopaholic.blogspot.com

Seth Swirsky - Instant Pleasure - 2004

It’s a fine art; making quality pop music. Music so good that it demands even the most jaded of hard rock, indie, acoustic or country fans to take a step back and appreciate it. It’s quite few and far between that any musician comes around that is talented enough to have the craft of pop music refined to such a degree that, no matter what mood you’re in, you can’t help but bob your head to the beat, and sing along to the lyrics. The aforementioned is exactly the type of music that Seth Swirsky makes.The vibe of this album is just something you have to hear to believe. Bringing up fond memories of such greats as The Beatles, and John Lennon; as well as more recent acts such as Angie Aparo (For Stars and Moon era) and The Thrills (Let’s Bottle Bohemia era), Instant Pleasure is a great little slice of pop heaven. -Trent Moore

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