Paul Collins “Feel The Noise”
Like a man possessed, Paul Collins is still having a full fledged comeback that started with The King Of Power Pop. Except now Paul gets closer to his roots on “Feel The Noise.” He cries “I let my guitar do the talking now!” and it blasts away a perfect rock and roll anthem. And “Only Girl” is a little closer to his work with The Beat with its angular fast paced rhythm.
“I Need My Rock n’ Roll” is another hook-filled gem that makes this LP a joy to listen to. Then influences of early rock artists from the 1950’s get more pronounced as the album continues. The structures of each song speak to Collins expertise when it comes to crafting a “hit” single like “Don’t Know How To Treat A Lady” or “Baby I’m In Love With You,” which sounds like an updated Buddy Holly classic. In an acknowledgement to the past influences, we hear a rousing cover of The Four Tops “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” Highly Recommended.
Rick Hromadka “Trippin’ Dinosaurs”
Maple Mars frontman Hromadka has been pretty busy, his last project Ruby Free, a collaboration with his wife was a welcome change of pace. Now he has another project that’s purely solo Hromadka, exploring progressive rock and psyche-pop landscape similar to Jeremy Morris. From the slow fade-in of “Conversation” its part Todd Rundgren, Pink Floyd and Mystery Tour-era Beatles. Fun hooks here along with the free flowing guitar reverb, The solid “It’s All In Your Head” has a little 10cc influence about the life of reality TV stars. “Dreams of a Hippy Summer” is a self explanatory title, and the trippy melodies continue all through the album.
It can get a little monotonous with the long improvisational jams (“Face On”) but the long melodies are what win you over, an excellent example being “Waiting For The Show.” Another gem is the harmonic “There She Goes” with an impressive guitar outro. The album closes out with a six minute opus “Listen I’m Waiting To Sleep” which combines slow and fast melodies across its running time. Fans of The Pillbugs, The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and The Lemon Pipers will find plenty to love here.
CD Baby | Amazon | Kool Kat Musik