Category: Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic

Sparkwood is one of a rare few bands that take the Jellyfish power pop model to the next level. As their last two album, the bands love of Jellyfish, Queen, ELO and Beach Boys shine through each track here. I would consider “Kaleidoscopism” the best release yet. You know it’s going to be special when you hear vocalist Bart Padar’s multitrack a capella Beach Boys inspired intro “Welcome”- the rest of the parts were arranged and performed by Joel Nesvadba and Jonathan Nesvadba, Sparkwood’s bass player. Thus begins pure ear candy so sweet, the cavities may rot your brain. Enough cannot be said about guitarist Mark Doroba, who channels Brian May perfectly in each tune. The bouncy and playful “Ooh Sha La” leads to the Squeeze-meets-Queen “Losing my Mind.” The following tune, “Bop Bop Song” could be a children’s theme song, and my only problem here is that it seems lyrics were not written for it and a lot of “la la las” and “ba ba ba’s” placed instead. Things slow down a bit by the end of the album, but everything here shines. Included is four bonus tracks with demos and a perfectly good cover of Queen’s “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy.” In some songs the mixing is a bit uneven and I feel Bart’s vocals get lost on a few tracks. The harmonies are really ingenious and catchy and that’s what great pop is all about. I could wax poetic on every track this album has even more, but you get the idea. This is a Japan only release right now, so the only place you can get it is from the Sparkwood site. I’m sure it will arrive in the US soon at the usual vendors. For those who cannot wait: Tasukete!

The Sparkwood Site | My Space

FYI: I have a handful of albums that need to be reviewed and then on 12/24 the First Annual Powerpopaholic Album Poll begins!

Pittsburgh’s Cynics, are one of America’s longest-running—and greatest—garage bands. Punk Pop done right since 1983 and now they add some power pop into the mix with the newest album “Here We Are.” Like other true garage acts, The Fuzztones, or The Chesterfield Kings, they take a hint from the great bands of the past and keep the punk DIY spirit alive. Like label mates The Ugly Beats, they add just enough pop to the stew to keep me interested. Gregg Kostelich has kept The Cynics a tightly tuned machine here, with the title track opener a nice mid tempo folk rock tune that could’ve fallen off the Nuggets box set. Then the fuzz-toys come out for the Chocolate Watchband-like “Coming Round My Way.” Amazing still is “The Ring” a song that is the Small Faces reincarnated and would fit nicely on “Odgen’s Nut Gone Flake.” A wonderful Byrdsian guitar based “Me Wanting Her” follows that and is the poppiest Cynics track I have ever heard. The track “Slide Over” complete with harmonica accents is like a lost Beau Brummels track. But things then get heavier with “Hard To Please.” The true spirit of power pop punk is in the track “What She Said” and my favorite track here. Michael Kastelic’s vocals are a refined rooty howl and fit the songs perfectly. It ends out nicely with the ballad “Courtney” (a poem about Cortney Love?) and although every song has great energy and are played with swagger, something is missing. Most of the choruses don’t have that neat pop-harmony hook and that’s my only caveat here. On the other hand, most really good punk music doesn’t need it and if you’re looking for tracks to be played loud and with killer rythym and beats look no further.

The Cynics Page | My Space | eMusic | Itunes | Not Lame

Listen to “What She Said”

Hailing from Brooklyn, The Attorneys are a talented trio poised for stardom with their energetic and engaging debut. In fact the My Space page indicates that they will change their name (good move). The band’s sound owes alot to The Strokes and Queen, with meaty guitar leads and singer William Ryan George’s very Freddie Mercury styled vocals. The album “Stereocracy” opens with the frenetic energy of “On a Whim” complete with bouncy piano and high powered guitar riffs. This is followed by “Open Up” – a great bass line that leads to a Scissor Sisters meets Maroon Five mix. Followed by the excellent “Poppies” – with it’s trippy falsettos. Another standout is “The Way I Want” which is a Cars-styled New Wave Do Wop tune with fast paced guitar breaks. The best song here is “Stay” with one tight sounding melodic hook after another that should propel them to the top. Fans of Weezer also take note, these guys really deserve to be on your playlist as well because it’s great modern power pop. Lyrically, the band channels Wings-era Paul McCartney on ocassion. “Anytime” is a breathy ballad that really brings the Freddie comparisons front and center. Get this CD and you will not be dissapointed.

The Attorneys | My Space | CD Baby | Itunes

Breakup Society lead singer Ed Masley sings about something we all have thought about. The fear of a life wasted as a “failure” and an obsession with celebrity envy. Sounding a lot like the Vandalias meets Michael Shelley, “Nobody Likes a Winner” stretches the theme around 14 songs. And most of the tunes are upbeat with great power pop hooks and layers of harmonies. The title track opens with the energy of a classic Replacements song. This is followed by a real nice standout “How Failure Saved Me From Myself,” which emerges as a repeatable dirge that shows how we are defined by our failures even more than our success. The anthemic “Strictly Biological Heart” has pleasing orchestral touches that compliment the hopeful lyrics. The “13th Angry Man” doles out some Cheap Trick meets Elvis Costello energy about an angry guy who blames everyone for his lifes troubles, including a suffering wife. Some of the songs aren’t always that memorable, and some editing may have made this album a little better. Thankfully, there are plenty of gems here, like “By a Thread” a tale of a high school reunion and eternal optimism. Included is my favorite track, “I Didn’t Mean to Wreck Your Day” – with a killer hook and amazingly clean arrangement. This is definitely worthy of your ipod list.

The Breakup Society site | My Space | Kool Kat Musik

Listen to “This Little Tragedy”

Since we’re in the psychedelic pop section, we might as well mention another great band with the field. The Tucson, AZ based Resonars are singer/songwriter Matt Rendon and friends, who can fashion a perfect psyche-pop tune with ease and authenticity. It opens with the title track, a perfect British Invasion-era pop/rock (circa 1964-1966) nugget with a decidedly more garage-y feel than most. The tracks “Your Concern” and “Places You Have Been” deliver Mod styled power pop complete with jangling guitar and harmonies similar to the early Who. “Games OF Fear” is a good hybrid of The Monkees and The Dave Clark Five. This is easily the strongest Resonars album, as the song writing has gotten stronger and the musicianship is perfect. Every song is under three minutes and catchy as hell, no fillers here either. It’s very hard to highlight a single song here, but “Sinking is Slow” mixes the right amount of rock, harmonies similar to The Choir (a proto version of the Raspberries). Great stuff here, as the other songs on the albums second half (“No Problem At All” and “Soar Snippet”) gets more garage sound, and owe more to The Kinks/Pretty Things than the “Sgt. Pepper-isms” present in The Pillbugs CD I reviewed last week. Things get downright acid on “Three Times Around” and if you’re like me, you’ll get this album and turn on the lava lamp. Dude, it’s like so groovy!

My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik | E-Music | Get Hip Records

Listen to “Three Times Around”