Assorted Artists “International Pop Overthrow: Volume 25”
With a lot of personal issues getting in the way, and cleaning up my yearly music list, most of January is comparing and contrasting with other sources for good stuff I missed. New 2025 reviews after this post, I promise! This year many artists from both our lists are included, but also bands you wouldn’t expect across Vol. 25’s three discs.
Disc One adds heavier pop rock gems like Armchair Oracles “Undertow” and Dixon’s “Into the Ocean,” along with more traditional power pop sounds like Dave Cope & the Sass “Precious Heart” and The Pozers “Ease Off My Heart.” You’ll always end up some odd tracks here and there, but quality is generally good. New artists I enjoyed include Curtis Suburban and Mark Malibu & the Wasagas.
Disc Two had more 60s-influenced elements starting with Fox Paloma’s “Madame Bay” and Captain Easychord’s “Happy Times.” But I really loved the mix here with great pop songs like Bruce Moody’s “I’m Gonna Tell Her Tonight” and the jaunty XTC-ish “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Stoke Barehills Town Band. Add in the heavy fast-tempo gem of Vegas With Randolph’s “N.S.A.” and you’ve got a great playlist. You even got a great Who-like Spanish tune by Jose Estragos.
Disc Three had more great tunes, and surprises like Michael Roberts “We Are Stars (In a Roundabout Way)” and 80’s power pop of Iron City Houserockers playing “Rock and Roll Heart.” The last disc had less I liked overall, but I enjoyed Matt Purcell and thick riffs of The Deep Drags. Overall highly recommended as always!
Watching Material Issues with David Bash of The International Pop Overthrow Festival and Mark Hershberger of Pop Detective Records, they reviewed David’s TOP 25 albums of 2024. Here are some comments I need to mention, as we had some overlaps. But more importantly, some great releases did not show up on my list that deserve a mention:
Sparkle*Jets U.K.”Box Of Letters”
Truly a great album that belongs in my top ten, but I mistakenly thought it was a cover album and miscatagorized it. It deserves much more attention as it is a successful reunion of the band sounding better than ever, and with multiple listens it improves. Don’t hesitate to pick this gem up. Review here. Buy it on Amazon.
Telejet “Spiritual Age”
While this was number one on Dave’s list, a few things knocked it off my list for 2024. Firstly, its a remaster of music from 2004, so it’s not “new.” In addition, the remaster was officially released in 2023. That said, it is an excellent album and deserves to be in every power pop fan’s collection. Review here. Buy it on Amazon.
Armchair Oracles “Nothingeveris”
This also ended up as a 2023 release, but coming out so late in the year, it did not receive the attention it deserved. Overall a great power pop album with guitar muscle to spare. Another gem that aged well after multiple listens. Oh, and the band has already moved on to an Americana themed album. Review Here. Buy it on Amazon.