Arthur Nasson “The Emperor’s New Sound” EPs
Massachusetts musician-filmmaker Arthur Nasson is a force of nature on the amazing title track, mixing boogie-rock with catchy pop chorus and brilliant guitar break. A little like Todd Rundgren meets Ben Folds, Arthur follows the beat of his own drum here. “Purple Swan” is another gem that starts with an atonal verse that dovetails into a bright piano chorus. He’s also got his progeny in the act with one son Graham doing drums, and brother Colin on guitar. And they do a great job here too.
“Tiger By The Claws” is another winner, with a layered piano melody and bouncy chorus with nice backing harmonies. “Multiverse” is a trippy, but strong song with rich instrumentation that boasts a fantastic guitar solo. The instrumental “Graham’s Gentlemen’s Club” closes out one of the better EPs I’ve heard in a while. Highly Recommended.
CD Baby
The Roaring Juniors “Perennials” and “Bomb Pop”
Michigan band The Roaring Juniors have been very busy this year. The band still has some rough edges but makes such fun catchy pop you’ll find it hard to nit-pick. “Sweet Marie” is a fast tempo gem about that first date, “The Lamp Burns Above Him” has plenty of jangle and “Short Sleepover” has twang and drum beats to spare, like The Beatles in the Cavern. When the band tries to shift the style, it labors to keep the listener (“Wicked Scarecrow Blues”) but most of the tunes rock and stomp like “East Side Tilly.”
The band not only produced its sophomore LP, but put out Bomb Pop! – a FREE compilation featuring select tracks from all of The Roaring Juniors discography, including three previously unreleased songs from the 2015 Perennials sessions! So support these guys; you buy one album and get comp FREE. You can’t beat that for value!
Amazon