The Philadelphia-based The Swimmers put out a new release “Fighting Trees” is a tight collection of a dozen well produced tracks constructed with sparse instrumentation and satisfying Beatleseque melodies. Fans of The Shins and Spoon will enjoy the opener “It’s Time They Knew” before diving headlong into the aforementioned strummer “Heaven.” I would swear Ringo is on drums here. Then we get the Wilco meets New Pornographers pop in tracks “We Love To Build” and “Miles From Our Fears.” The Swimmers have become a bit of an “under the radar” sensation locally, and with the synth popped ballads and the kind of dreamy harmonies, handclaps, piano runs make it easy to love. This is primarily pop music that is easy on the ear and ipod friendly. Raggedy guitars and pounding drums enliven harder-rocking songs, like “It’s Time They Knew” and “St. Cecilia”. Infectious melodies run through the entire album, although the ending ballad “Fighting Trees” gets a bit labored. Through it all lead singer Steve Yutzy-Burkey has focused on three of the great themes of pop music: lost youth, thwarted love and the fear of death. The tandem of “Your Escape” and “Goodbye” hit this spot right on. This is serious stuff, yet couched in such likeable, easily absorbed musical settings that you hardly notice the angst. And in a way, isn’t that the secret of great power pop? You’re humming along to philosophy’s most serious questions…but with a big smile on your face.
Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic
Goo Goo Dolls "Vol.2"
One thing you can say about The Goo Goo Dolls is they do not take the fans for granted. This is a follow up to it’s first Vol.1 of “Greatest Hits” but to fans who only know the hits, this is like a treasure trove of songs, B-sides and covers that aren’t heard on the radio. With over two and a half hours of music and video, it touches on the bands entire career, from the early punk roots of “Torn Apart” to the demo of the popular single “Iris.” It’s not generally known that The Goo Goos have done a ton of movie soundtrack songs, and for fans this puts a bunch of them in one disc (like “Lazy Eye” from the Batman and Robin Soundtrack). The covers are also pretty good with the highlight being The Plimsoul’s “Million Miles Away” and they make Fleetwood Mac’s “I Don’t Want To Know” their own. If you’re not a huge Goo Goo fan then this will give you a shorthand into the depth of it’s musical history beyond the hits. Otherwise stick to “Vol.1” – – By itself it’s a good collection of music, but the addition of a DVD full of 17 videos and a “Live At Red Rocks” concert makes this a real bargain. Until a Goo Goo’s retrospective box set is made, this will satisfy most. Diehards may protest at the lack of “missing” near-hits, but that will have to wait.
Goo Goo Dolls’ Site | My Space | Amazon
The Quarter After "Changes Near"
The sound you hear is brothers Dominic and Robert Campanella (Brian Jonestown Massacre) with prominent twelves string Rickenbacker and rich melodies that are all over the Quarter After’s latest exercise in psychedelic revival. They are joined by a collection of LA musicians including power pop faves Ric Menck (Velvet Crush), Matthew Sweet, Eric Heywood (Son Volt), Probyn Gregory (Wondermints, Brian Wilson Band), and Matthew Sigley (Lovetones, Daytime Frequency). Most of all this is an album that will appeal to fans of Roger McGuinn and The Byrds in all their psychedelic glory. The sonic details in the opener “Sanctuary” set the tone and period-perfect effects take the listener back to 1968. Using the Byrds template is just the beginning for the Campanella brothers, as “She Revolves” swirls with dynamic melodies and CSN styled harmonies. “Counting The Score” has a bit of Graham Parsons country folk style. Another standout is “See How Good It Feels” with cavernous echoing chorus and guitar solo. It is a definite improvement in songwriting over the debut album, as almost everything works here. Some navel gazing songs can also go a long way toward boredom if you’re not too careful (“Winter Song”), but this album is essential listening if you are a fan of The Grip Weeds or The Pillbugs. Listen to the entire album here. Groovy, man.
Jim Boggia “Misadventures in Stereo”
Jim Boggia makes a welcome return with “Misadventures in Stereo” full of hooks and harmonies, with lush descriptive stories that beg repeat listens, in a similar way to Mike Viola. The album was planned as an LP with two distinct sides — the first five tunes focus on love, relationships, and other personal affairs, while the second half concerns itself with the bits and pieces of other people’s lives. The opener “Johnnie’s Going Down” is a catchy foot tapping single and the follow up “To and Fro” is more like Viola, with a variety of studio magic and sonic textures (like Spanish castanets). The song also features a steady beat and solid guitar riffs. Then the songs get slower and more bittersweet (“No Way Out” and “So”) about failed relationships, like a male Aimee Mann. The rockin’ “8 Track” is a Boggia classic with 70s styled guitars and shouted breaks – lots of fun to listen to. Fans of Emitt Rhodes will flip for “Listening to NRBQ” that includes a guitar solo from NRBQ’s Al Anderson on the fadeout. Then an excellent song about a geek getting even with the school bully (“Chalk One Up for Albert’s Side,” co-written with Beach Boys lyricist Tony Asher) It ends with the somber blues of “Three Weeks Shy” about a solider struggling to come to terms with the death of a young soldier who was due to be shipped home from Iraq in less than a month that feels a lot like a Black Crows ballad. Overall an excellent album that will feel at home in your power pop music collection.
Jim’s Web Site | My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik
Listen to “To and Fro”
Listen to “On Your Birthday”
Listen to “Listening To NRBQ”
Readymade Breakup "Alive on the Vine"
Last year I reviewed Readymade Breakup’s debut album. I was impressed then, and they suffer no sophomore slump. In fact, the group has raised the bar and jumped over it. The rousing opening on “One by One” is full of great energy and Lead singer Paul Rosevear turns it into an anthem along the lines of U2 and Squeeze. Then you can groove to the Abbey Road guitar riffs of “Honey, you might be right” with a McCartney-like vocal wailing (somewhere, Lenny Kravitz is kicking himself that he’s not doing this kind of music anymore). The songwriting is steadier here and less of the debuts stylistic shifts, terrific bass-driven leads are all over the album. A perfect example is “Surrender” that plays like Glen Tilbrook backed by Jason Falkner. The mid tempo songs are mixed well between the heavier rock, so the album flows nicely from one style to another effortlessly. This is followed by the Queen-like ballad “I Don’t Mind” minus Brian May, but Rosevear gives his best performance. Another standout is “Stretch Your Head” with it’s 70’s rock ethos and blues falsetto. The Freddie Mercury style continues on “Quiet” and the band gets quite a smooth groove on the soulful gem “Ugly” which recalls Badfinger. It ends off on a high energy note with the “Back To The Bubble,” a rousing tune that recalls the Faces and Rooney combined. With not a single dud here in a very tight set of ten songs, this is crunchy power pop at it’s best. It also makes it easy to recommend as a top ten for 2008. Don’t miss it.
My Space | Itunes | Not Lame
Listen to “Talking To Myself”