Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Honeymoon Stallions and King Washington

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Honeymoon Stallions “Moonlighting”
Andy Goldberg (The Sun Kings, The Goldbergs) returns with a new band and a new album. The Honeymoon Stallions gallop out of the gate with the opener “If It Wasn’t For You,” a terrific melody with a layer of organ under the guitar riffs. “Radio Song” has a touch of Nick Lowe with its solid hooks. “Driftin'” is a slightly mellower Andy, similar to Jeff Larsons bluesy mid-tempo jangle pop. This newer texture continues on “By The Moon…” and the Beatles bounce with Harrison-styled slide guitar surfaces on “Every Now and Then.” Every song is strong here, and its on par with his previous albums. Overall, a welcome autumn present for lovers of great guitar pop.

 CD Baby | Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

King Washington “The Gears”
L.A. powerhouse vocalist Tyson Kelly has the best rock vocals since Ed Roland, and proves it with this superb debut. Joined by lead guitarist George Krikes, bassist Dylan Cronin and drummer Kyle Turek, The Gears is a triumph of sparkling musicianship and high gloss production. You’ll hear Badfinger-like harmonies and hooks aplenty on the title track, its just mesmerizing. And the Helter Skelter opening on “Fourth Of July” leads to snappy melody full of awesome harmonies and guitars. But despite the nods to rock gods of the past, the bands sound is totally unique. More potential “hits” are “Animal” and “Anybody Home” but it runs out of gas by the albums end. However you can’t deny the great tracks on the albums first half, so I’d highly recommend this one.

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The Blood Rush Hour “Shrink”

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The Blood Rush Hour “Shrink”
Welsh combo lead by Robert DiStefano, The Blood Rush Hour  is a carefully crafted pop album that draws from 10cc, Jellyfish and Andrew Gold. But this band doesn’t just take influences, it twists them in knots. “The Way Back Home” is a smart opener with keys, horn accents and a little theatrical guitar solo. A great example of the shifts in tone is “Into The Fire.” It starts with a beatnik beat and sax, then shifts into a harmony filled chorus with a guitar heavy hook. My favorite “Came To Believe” is a gorgeous melody, that sounds a lot like Supertramp mixed with Roger Manning Jr.

Nothing here is predictable, and its simply hypnotic. “Delme” and the bright “Portrait of Jane” are reminiscent of Klaatu. The fact that you have two distinct vocalists here means, that you’re taken a back when Peter Tomlinson’s “The Nancy Song” and “Upon Losing A Kindred” prove to be a pleasant surprise. The jazzy swing undercurrent is throughout the album, with brass and brush drum and piano – it pops up occasionally. Another gem here is “The Tale of Lancelot” with its minor chord melody and it all comes together on the end track “Show Me Yourself” which ironically is the most power poppy song here. Definitely one of the most inventive albums this year. Fans of the mentioned influences, Martin Newell and Spygenius will love this. Highly recommended.

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The Connection and Kurt Baker

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The Connection “Seven Nights To Rock” EP
Those boys from Portsmouth NH continue to burn through classic rock and roll with a little rockabilly bend here on the title track.  “I Think She Digs Me” is a simple retro rock tune that’s all about teen innocence, with it’s “yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” chorus.  If you loved the debut album, then this will be a great addition to your track list.

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Kurt Baker “Want You Around” EP
Another young gun in power pop circles is Kurt Baker and he continues to impress with this EP, the title track cracks with energy and bouncing riffs – part Elvis Costello, part Paul Collins.

Kurt’s faithful cover of Billy Joel’s “Sleeping With the Television On” is so good my ears did a double take. The other tunes,”News At 10″ goes at very rapid tempo and the defiant “Hollywood (Down On Your Luck)” adds some angular guitar and synths. Say hello to the new “Angry Young Man” of melodic rock.

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Wanderlust and Dan Miraldi

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Wanderlust “Record Time”
The reunited Scot Sax and Rob Bonfiglio bring back this classic 90’s power pop outfit into the spotlight. “Lou Reed” displays the grit and melodic riffs that got them noticed in the first place. Sax and Bonfiglio look back wistfully in “Blow Away” and brings some Raspberries nostalgia on the brilliant “Friend Tonight.”

The album’s theme is no doubt autobiographical, “Fork In The Road,” “Easy Street” and my favorite here, “We Need A Drummer” could be the soundtrack to a rock musical. The song starts slow, then builds to a Cheap Trick styled guitar and keyboard attack… “We need a drummer or this band will suck!” A Ziggy Stardust gospel number “Illuminate” is another sweet tune. The last few tracks don’t quite stick, but it’s worth celebrating another rock reunion – dig in and enjoy it.

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Dan Miraldi “Sugar & Adrenaline”
Cleveland rocker Miraldi (Silver Liners) has followed up his 2009 EP , with a pretty good full length album. The improvement in songwriting and vocals are noticeable on “Now Is The Right Time” and “Road Warrior.” A few missteps, like the faux hair metal “Few Rock Harder” and “Revenge” didn’t work for me.  But enough does, like the Cars styled “Record Collection” and sneering chorus of “Vampire Girl” bring to mind Tears for Fears. Give it try if your tastes are more the classic rock genre.

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Lannie Flowers and Dahlmanns

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Lannie Flowers “New Songs Old Stories”
Back in 2008, Lannie’s first album Same Old Stories was released.  It was more of a medley of good song snippets, buried in a concept album. Well several years later… we get the cream of the melodic crop. The raw vocals on “Another Weekend” is like Stones track with Pete Townshed guitar riffs, and then we get to the brilliant “Come On Girl,” one of the best power pop tracks I’ve ever heard.

Like the new Shoes album, each track resonates with energy and excellent composition – a great example is “I Didn’t Know” with buzzing riffs similar to The Raspberries. “Give Me A Chance” has a Brydsian jangle with multi-tracking lead vocals and a great bass line in the chorus. “Another Boy Like Me” has a touch of Texas flavor, and I could go on and on. No weakness, and unlike the earlier album not a second of filler. Add this one to your top ten this year and you won’t be sorry.

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Video is from “Circles”

The Dahlmanns “Dumb Me Down” EP
The follow up to their highly successful album All Dahled Up, this EP features the new single “Dumb Me Down” written by Francis McDonald of Teenage Fanclub.  The Dahlmanns sound has always been a perfect Ramones-styled rock band, with lead singer Line Dahlmann’s vocals being a combo of Debbie Harry and Liz Phair. “Dumb Me Down” is sounds more like Blondie, but the follow up “Go Getter” is more typical fast paced Dahlmanns rock. Add the pretty ballads “I Want You Around” and “This Time” (with some nice twangy guitar in the break) and you have a pretty well rounded EP. I like that the band has expanded its sound here and look forward to the band’s next full length album.

CD Baby | Amazon
Video is from “All Dahled Up”