Editor’s note: It happens every year. I miss several releases from 2019. Some are high on other bloggers lists, some I just forgot to review (Doh!) and others just seem to slip through the cracks for a variety of reasons. This week I will review a few of these remaining 2019 albums.
Bryan Estepa “Sometimes I Just Don’t Know”
The venerable Australian singer-songwriter Bryan Estepa delivers a stark, emotional album that earned Absolute PowerPop blog’s #1 album spot. Estepa has always tackled serious adult subjects, and the first track “I’m Not Ready For This” is all about dealing with a serious health crisis. Bryan’s strong vocals are filled with empathy that sets the tone of the album. While the music is more adult-oriented pop than power pop, you do get catchy and melodic songs like “Drawn Like Magnets.”
Dealing with doubt, fear and how your loved one gives you the strength to go on is also a central theme. “Rattled and Rolled” and “Another Kind of Madness” deal with these strong emotions and the tight compositions keep it compelling. The lyrics will resonate with the patient listener, “Granted” is some of the best advice a song can give. It would be too easy to turn this somber subject matter into a depressing album, but Estepa fights through these feelings with conviction. I will concede this would have made it in my top 20, and thus a highly recommended listen.
Identical Suns “Week Minded”
This Ohio band led by Rene Rodriguez, Todd Stanton, and Andrew Stanton does a good job of creating pop eclecticism with a sense of fun. Taking influences from Mike Viola, NRBQ, and The Beach Boys, it starts with the bouncy “Saving It Up For Sunday” that goes through a typical week in the life. The themes alternate from happy to sad and the lead vocalist duties shift from song to song (with mixed results).
So we get the slow lounge ballad “She Makes Me Happy” followed by the hopeful pop of “Maybe Next Time.” Next, we get some slow faux Jimmy Buffet on “Wanted Man,” but things again pickup with the uptempo “Halfway There.” The highlight of the album is “Miss Her Reminiscing” with great lead guitar and the tender “Silence in The Room” is another beautiful gem about dealing with the loss of a loved one. Check it out, it’s music that deserves to be heard.
