Baby Scream “Ups and Downs”
Baby Scream is a London based band originally formed by Juan Mazzola in Argentina. Mazzola has an affection for several classic pop influences like The Byrds, John Lennon, and The Replacements. The album goes through many moods, from fast tempo punk guitars of “Everyday (I Die a Little Bit)” to the mid tempo jangle of “Suddenly,”and then the somber Jeff Lynne-like ballad “One More Chance.” All 8 songs are full of great classic hooks and interesting chord changes that I know pop fans will cherish. Juan’s vocals have the same gentle delivery of Lennon and the melodic qualities are excellent here. Lead guitarist Cristian Basualdo does a great job here too, as the duo recall Let It Be-era Lennon-McCartney on a pair of tracks (“The Riots” and “Ups and Downs”). The ending track, “Morning Light” owes much to Big Star and Badfinger, the music coming from a deeply emotional place. I would also encourage you to look for the follow up Monsters EP. This one is a short album, but you won’t be disappointed here — this is highly recommended to power pop fans.
MySpace | CD Baby| Baby Scream site
Great Northern “Remind Me Where the Light Is”
It’s been a while since I last heard from Great Northen. Sharply produced and highly polished, the singer/songwriting duo of Solon Bixler and Rachel Stolte sound tighter and more focused on hitting the commercial sweet spot here. The album starts off strong with “Story” and it’s immediately clear that the catchy beats and multi-tracked chorus angles along the lines of Depeche Mode and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Then the track “Houses” hits us with Rachel Stolte’s smooth sensuous delivery, it recalls both Spinerrette and PJ Harvey. Then the album gets even better with “Fingers” full piano-driven, string-laden pop rock – this is the high point. After that arrangements start to get too thick, the track “Mountain” manages to channel both Abba and Enya. Unfortunately, the album doesn’t even stay that consistent. For every good track, like “Warning” you get the snooze-fests like “Driveway” and “Numbers” sounds like forced album filler. The pulsing synths and wails of “33” didn’t work and I found myself going back to the albums’ first half. This would have been an excellent EP.
MySpace | Itunes