Plasticland - Make Yourself A Happening Machine - 2006

When considering the geographical origins of the paisley underground movement of the early '80s, the Midwest isn't the first place you would think of. During the West Coast uprising of bands like Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Thin White Rope, the Three O'Clock, and Green on Red, the Milwaukee-based Plasticland had already been knee-deep in psychedelia due, in part, to the rare record-collecting fetish of founding members Glenn Rehse (vocals, guitar, organ) and John Frankovic (bass). From the get-go, Plasticland bypassed the darker Velvet Underground influence that most bands of the era were paying lip service to. Their goal was to pursue a brighter, more melodic musical approach, thus avoiding pointless jamming behind walls of feedback when lacking inspiration. Instead, they embraced the sights and sounds of early British flower-power pop initiated 15 years earlier by such influences as Tomorrow, Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett, the Smoke, and the Creation. The 30 tracks on Make Yourself a Happening Machine: A Collection gather on CD for the first time the best from their albums, EPs, flexi-discs, and various compilations, some of it having been out of print for years. The sound quality here is uniformly excellent, as are the detailed liner notes by Nigel Cross. As is the case with the Cramps' timeless approach to rockabilly, Plasticland didn't simply ape retro pseudo-psychedelia; they are everlastingly there and you're along for the ride. Only complaint: leaving off "Elongations" and their admirable version of the Pretty Things' "Alexander."-AMG



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The Adverts - Cast Of Thousands - 1980

Famously recorded with Mike Oldfield associate Tom Newman at the controls, the second Adverts album was never going to be just another punk album. Although the group's live performance remained as fiery as ever, T.V. Smith was opening their sound to all manner of influences, including augmenting the lineup with keyboards -- Richard Strange handled synth on what would become the new album's title track, before Newman introduced another Oldfield sideman, Tim Cross. His flourishes and textures would come to dominate the record (he appears on all but two songs), adding to the alien environment that was the new, ambitiously arranged world of the Adverts. It was not an album that was to win the Adverts many friends, but it probably wasn't meant to. A flagrant departure from even the most extreme expectations, Cast of Thousands not only cast the band adrift from the new wave mainstream, but it would also alienate all but the most adaptable of the band's following. Live, the new songs had blended effortlessly into their surroundings, adapting so many of the characteristics of the older numbers that one could almost believe they were seeking defensive camouflage. Once in the studio, however, the Adverts dispensed with every last vestige of familiarity, treating each song as if it were a completely new piece, and not, as in the case of "Male Assault," the oldest song in sight, something which they'd dragged along to every gig they'd done for the past 18 months. And, overall, it worked, although the Adverts themselves would not stick around to reap its rewards. Barely was the album in the stores than the band broke up, leaving Cast of Thousands alone to be battered by the brickbats of misunderstanding critics -- not until its CD reissue, a full 19 years later, was the album perceived as the heroic and, in places, precognitive effort that it was, a window opening into the extremes (and, occasionally, excesses) of the 1980s new wave, and doing so with such effectiveness that the bonus tracks, drawn from the band's period singles, sound absolutely old-fashioned by comparison. -AMG



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Anthemic Pop Wonder - Supersonic Lullabies - 2003

Anthemic Pop Wonder's final CD - recorded in 2003 and released early in 2004. Like the Replacements' final LP (ie. Westerberg's first solo record), Supersonic Lullabies is Dfactor's first solo LP (unless you count Rapid Pop Thrills, which was pretty close as well). All the APW trademarks are here - from the 70s AM radio pop of "Ridin' a Hitch" and the punk-inspired "Chip in the Head" to the sweet and tender "Yours Forever" and the REM-esque CD closer "Green & Gold". A good number of these songs formed the playlist of the final APW rock shows in early 2004. Playing all the instruments, writing all the songs and singing his heart out, Dfactor comes up with another cool collection of catchy pop rock and roll songs designed to flip your wig on repeated listens. -CD Baby

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The Raveonettes - The Chain Gang of Love - 2003

The Raveonettes barely gave listeners a glimpse of their cinematic brilliance with their Whip It On EP. One listen to their first studio full-length, The Chain Gang of Love, and you'll know it immediately. The crash and charm of this 13-song set exceeds any kind of glorious expectations laid out at the beginning, and the Raveonettes probably want it that way. Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo go for a much bigger sound this time around. The Chain Gang of Love is far more glossy and layered in melodies compared to Whip It On's gray-colored coolness. Having legendary producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, Marshall Crenshaw, the Go-Go's) at the helm doesn't hurt either, for he captures the Raveonettes' true pop essence with style. Forget those rules of keeping it to three chords recorded in B-flat minor. The Raveonettes indulge themselves in the finer elements of mid-'80s post-punk/noise pop (think Jesus & Mary Chain) and combine it with sheer pop melodies of the '50 and '60s for a sexy rock & roll picture show. From the fantastic pop jaunt of "The Great Love Sound" to the pulsating rockabilly blend of "Let's Rave On" and "Heartbreak Stroll," The Chain Gang of Love finds the Danish duo embracing influences of the past, but the Raveonettes tweak things ever so slightly to make them their own. The Chain Gang of Love isn't suffocated in garage rock fashion alone, either. Foo and Wagner's low vocals may hint at such a display, but overall their smooth pop presentation won't be pigeonholed. The Raveonettes, more or less, honor great pop moments of yesteryear, in hopes of positioning themselves and the rock scene in general for something grand later on. -AMG



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The Satelliters - Sexplosive - 2001

Inspired by their love for 50's B-movies, The Satelliters started in 1993 with a nasty romp of drunken, three-chord garage punk for the intentions of "freaking people out." Accompanied by their masked stage presence and the garb of aging hipsters, the band's debut full-length Hi Karate was released in 1996 with the financial assistance of Dionysus Records. Dipping into their huge discography (which includes a number of singles and EPs on Demolition Derby, Pin-up and Screaming Apple Records) Dionysus released four more CDs in the States over the next eight years, including Wylde Knights of Action in 1997, Shake, Shake, Shake in 1998, Sexplosive in 2001, and Hashish in 2005. Continuing to add to their overflowing catalog of psychedelic 60's garage rock, the label put out The Satelliter's self-titled EP in 2006, which would be followed with Where Do We Go? in 2007. -AMG





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The Heavy Blinkers - Better Weather - 2002

On Better Weather, the Heavy Blinkers are masterminds of their own stylish pop. It's a magnificent gush of conventional sounds of the past -- jubilant pianos dancing with whispy horn arrangements. Jason MacIsaac (guitar/vocals) and Andrew Watt (vocals/piano) are vocally charming on the soft parade of "Long as I'm Able." Ruth Minnikin is also a welcomed chanteuse, bringing a sweet flair to the lovedrunk "Lazy in Love" and "I Used to Be a Design," a jazz-like number. The Heavy Blinkers aren't exactly out to make the perfect pop song, they just want to make it accessible in the sense that love can be dreamy and almost fairytale. Like Sarah Shannon and Ben Folds, The Heavy Blinkers ache over smashed hearts and glow in the mending process. Harmonies are breezy on Better Weather, shimmery AM pop with optimism that's easy like Sunday morning.-AMG



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The Ladybug Transistor - Beverley Atonale - 1997

Ladybug Transistor makes delicate music. It's not that the band doesn't go uptempo, just that the sound remains gentle. If hard-rockers are most commonly found thrashing around a stage with a phallic guitar, then Transistor is the guy in the back of the room wearing a black beret and casually bobbing his head to the beat. On Beverley Atonale, Ladybug Transistor delivers a gorgeous suite of gentle, quiet pop music, infused with melody and hooks but never overtaking the listener. The lyrics are esoteric and often incomprehensible, but you gather quickly that words aren't really the point -- the band aims to set a tone more with its sound than with witty wordplay. The album is heavily influenced by the past, by such artists as the Beach Boys and Burt Bacharach -- "Windy" swipes its opening drum riff from Phil Spector and slides effortlessly into a trumpet-driven light pop tune with some great guitar riffs. The production is airy and full of space; though the sounds fit together, they also linger on their own far beyond each song's duration. On the whole, Beverly Atonale is the perfect driving music for a rainy summer day.-AMG



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The Feeling - Twelve Stops and Home - 2007

With its smart combination of pop/rock proficiency and brightly layered vocals, Twelve Stops and Home yielded some of England's most omnipresent tunes of 2006. Several years before this debut's release, the Feeling were little more than a ski lodge cover band, serenading Swiss snow boarders with Top 40 hits in exchange for lodging and chump change. Assimilating the tricks of the trade paid off, however, and Home's 12 tracks brim with delightfully appropriated moves: a pumping piano riff from Supertramp ("Fill My Little World"), swells of harmonies à la the Bangles ("Love It When You Call"), a zany chord progression straight out of the Beatles' druggiest days ("Helicopter"). The quintet knows its strengths and caters to them at every turn, letting frontman Dan Gillespie-Sells helm a handful of ballads (his delivery is impeccable, especially on the bittersweet British megahit "Sewn") and showcasing the Feeling's biggest asset: harmony vocals. They stack their voices like a bubblegum version of Queen, mirroring each other's sighs and crescendos, even halting the music altogether for a few measures of polyphonic a cappella. The latter move is especially effective on "Fill My Little World," where a Merseybeat-styled chorus is smartly contrasted by a sobering vocals-only outro. This brand of bold-faced classicist pop is a tricky thing to pull off — especially in the wake of semi-jokesters the Darkness, who excelled in their craft while simultaneously making a mockery of it — but the Feeling have the chic (and perhaps the cheek) to do so successfully. -AMG




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David Brookings - The End Of An Error - 2004

Plenty of guitars and terrific harmonies dominate the proceedings on this pop nugget! "Stylistically, Brookings goes off in many directions, stepping into the realms of Bowie, Elvis Costello, the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Tom Petty while still managing to create a pop sound that is uniquely his own." - Punchline




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Peachfuzz - Catch Your Snap - 2007

If you’re not afraid of your powerpop being a little loud, a little lewd, and full of references to the devil’s underwear, the terminally-unhip year of 1983, and yard sales in Glendale, then Peachfuzz will flip you out. The L.A. band’s third long player is nothing short of being a modern masterpiece that just begs to be blasted through your blown-out car stereo speakers on a Friday night in the Malibu Grand Prix parking lot. Picking up the cleverly-coined “stonerpop” mantle from where their likeminded labelmates the Blondes last left off, Peachfuzz proudly rape and pillage pop’s past. Gems like “Silly Act,” “Fille Des Mers Du Sud,” “Find Out,” and “Hero Of Nineteen Eighty Three” burst at the seams with classic rock ‘n’ roll hooks, bits and pieces of swirling ‘60s psychedelia, and late-‘70s AM radio bong-hazed boogie; fans of Cheap Trick, Redd Kross, The Shazam, and Flop will find lots to dig here. Even when they turn it down a notch in the album’s more subdued, mellow gold meltdown moments (such as when the songs have titles like “Champagne And Aperol” and “Muscat Wine”) they manage to pull it off perfectly a la those introspective Paul Westerberg-penned pearls on the Replacements albums that everyone gets all gooey over. One song -- the downright eerie “Bevar Christiania” -- even sounds like a Neil Young-fronting-the Manson Family get-down! A caustic collision of modern powerpop, classic songwriting, and typical Teenacide riffola, Catch Your Snap arrives just in time to be the soundtrack to yet another too-hot-to-be-bothered So. Cal summer, and should neatly fill that empty space on your CD shelf between Papas Fritas and Teddy Pendergrass. -Teenacide


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The Contrast - Fade Back In - 2004

Like Reckoning-era R.E.M., the Contrast invoke rural landscapes where lovers weep over fieldstones and leathery farmers listen to Big Star. Frontman David Reid rolls out streams of pop culture references and wistful romantic angst in an often impenetrable English drawl that owes as much to Tenpole Tudor as it does Michael Stipe. On the Contrast's third release for the U.K. indie Rainbow Quartz, the Peterborough jangle pop quartet expounds on the brooding, guitar-driven sound of 2002's Wireless Days with a winning combination of punchy rave-ups ("Catch the Spark") and hook-filled road songs ("Give Me One More Chance"). Comparisons to Television and Material Issue are apt, but this time around the group leans more toward the angular attack of Spoon and the '60s melodicism of the Smithereens. Fade Back In resonates with the steely confidence of local boys in their milieu, and psychedelic flourishes like the backwards guitar breakdown on "You're Starring Role" and the serpentine chord changes on "Disconnected" show a band that's beginning to come into its own. -AMG



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