The Trolleyvox "Your Secret Safe/Luzerne"

Let me start by saying The Trolleyvox are consistently good. They have produced four albums, each with the smooth professional vocals of Beth Filla, and the Byrdsian guitar work of Andrew Chalfen. And to add to this rarity, we have a double CD album. The discs are musically from different worlds, “Your Secret Safe” is power pop, and “Luzerne” is ambient folk instrumentals. If you’re familiar with this blog, you’ll understand as I will put aside “Luzerne” and talk about “Your Secret Safe.” After the success and positive critical reception of the last album “The Karaoke Meltdowns,” the Trolleyvox have accelerated to the forefront of the Philadelphia indie scene. Chalfen’s songwriting and pacing has only improved with time here. Unlike earlier records, the melodic guitar stylings are more prominent and early Peter Townshend seems a bigger influence than Roger McGuinn. This is evidenced by an awesome cover of “Our Love Was” (from The Who Sell Out). Beginning the album with “I Call on You” it sets the tone as jangle pop similar to REM, Dream Syndicate or especially, The Blake Babies. The band’s combination of moody sixities guitar and free form lyrical approach works well for songs like “Rabbit in the Sun” and “Jean Jacket.” Both are standouts here and with great hooks that warrant repeat listens. Beth’s vocals are hypnotizing and carry every tune along. There are plenty of nods to psych-pop lite with the understated brilliance of “Fume of Sighs” – a gentle mid-tempo song with wonderful harmonies and lyrics, it’s my favorite song on this album. Toward the end of the album it mellows a bit with songs like “Can you find a way down?” and the 11 minute jam of “Cricket in Euphoria” after which you could easily put on the “Luzerne” CD and sip coffee and read a novel in your favorite Starbucks. It beats the “song of the day” any day of the week.

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Listen to “Jean Jacket” from “Your Secret Safe” CD

Listen to “Call on You” from “Your Secret Safe” CD

Milton & The Devils Party "How Wicked We’ve Become"

Philadelphia’s Milton and the Devils Party is an enjoyable power pop album that’s a combination of literary angst and melodic cheer. The lyrical smarts here are not obvious, but the band was founded by two English professors, Daniel Robinson and Mark Graybill. The opener “Coward of Conscience” is the catchy jangle-filled alt-rock that I grew up with, and resembles the Smiths, The Decembertists or even The Ocean Blue. The lyrics of the angry “I’ve Had Your Wife” are offset by the changing tempos and is a perfect example of pop music with a “wicked” bite. My favorite on this album is the seemingly biographical “Too Old To Die,” a soliloquy by a mid-aged musician complete with a Morrissey reference. “Perdita” is wonderful ballad with dueling electric guitar harmonies. The bouncy “Muse of Mundanity” reminds me of any great Joe Jackson song from his early period, with even more insight into lonely bitterness. Every track here is good, if you can get past wierd lyrical subtext on songs like “The Gods have given up on Immortality” and historical analogies on “Reformation.” Graybill does a fabulous job on guitars here and Robinsons’ vocals are full of longing and rich emotion. And each song tells a distinct message to the listener clearly. For me it’s more than enough to recommend this album.

Transit of Venus Website | My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat | Emusic

Greg Summerlin "All Done in Good Time"

Indie favorite, Greg Summerlin joined producer Ed Ackerson (The Replacements, Golden Smog, Brian Setzer, Juliana Hatfield) in a Minneapolis studio to produce the latest album “All done in good time”. It’s an ambitious and grandiose 50 minute symphonic melodrama that tells a somewhat linear storyline. It comes with a booklet that describes the plot, but I was more interested in the music. Summerlin’s sound is a mix of U2 and The La’s with a dash of Brit-pop thrown in. After a sleepy intro, it rocks hard in the opener “Shine on Where You Want” and really delivers the goods. The hook-laden, ringing guitars here really grow on you. It follows with “Redemption,” a epic of post-punk pop that remind me of The Sundays a little. Ackerson’s guitar work here is amazing throughout the album. Janey Winterbauer’s supporting vocals recall Susanna Hoffs sweetness, and she does an excellent job here. Also helping out is John P. Strohm (The Lemonheads, Blake Babies). Hints of The House Martins meet The Bangles flow through “Just Listen Tonight.” The narrative really works on “Please Don’t Tell” with Greg and Janey’s intertwining chorus, a song that is closer to a real stage musical number than the other tunes here. Almost every track here shines and the problem is that it’s alot to absorb. This would’ve been a truly great 10-track album. But with 14 tracks, trying to follow the story with the tunes may take more effort than you expect. It’s easier here to enjoy great melodies like “Atmosphere” and the epic theme from “Shine on Where You Want” reprises in the closer “The Final Plan.” Summerlin is also the founder and owner of Superphonic Records and has amazing talent that should not be ignored.

Greg Summerlin Website | MySpace | Superphonic Records | Emusic

Listen to “Unlucky in Love”

The Frauds "Hiding Out Loud"


This Baltimore quartet play plenty of honest punchy rock music. The Frauds remind one of Jet, The Clash, Love and Rockets, but mainly they compare well to Superdrag. The opener “Nothing to Say” has all the swagger of the first Jet album’s “Are you gonna be my Girl”. The bass leads are great in the following tune “Strawberry Soul” and continues the theme of teen defiance. “Pull me Over” is a real standout and combines the sound of Jet and Jane’s Addiction. After these three awesome tracks in a row, it’s hard to believe they can top it, but they do with Superdrag-like “Asphalt Dungeon” an amazing transitional melodic rock ballad. Then it settles into a nice groove with the Bachman-Turner Overdrive lifted bassline from “Takin’ Care of Business” twisted into the song “Days Go By” and then the next few tracks tread a bit harder into Foo Fighters territory, like the meaty “Love Me Don’t.” Later on the band mellows on the Beach Boys-esque laden harmonies of “Palm Tree Baby. The ballads are also pretty good and things never get boring. Overall a great album worth getting if you like melodic rock and roll. This is a great emusic pick as well. Still not convinced? Listen to the whole thing for yourself.

The Frauds website | MySpace | E music | Itunes | Not Lame

Fugu "As Found"


A while ago I reviewed Fugu’s first album. Well e-music has picked up his entire catalog including “As Found” and it’s a wonderful follow up. This French power pop genius mines the Rundgren-McCarntey sound just perfectly here. The opener “Here Today” is similar to Emmit Rhodes with a classic Rundgren-styled mid-tempo chorus. “You Pick Me Up” is another bouncy piano melody with a great hook that reminds me of classic Left Banke. In fact, the following songs “Blackwall” and “Back to The City” comes even closer to The Stories, a later incarnation of The Left Banke’s driving force Michael Brown. The ballads here are pretty good, but come up a bit short compared to the other songs. “I Give Up” is a stronger effort mid way through and uses organ, guitar and shimmering harmonies to move the song along. One exceptional ballad here is “Parking Lots” which seems to end just as it gets good. “The Flow” is a great nod to John Lennon, but sometimes the vocals get lost behind the guitars. “She’s coming Over” has the right amount of baroque rock that it could fit fine on an Andrew Sandoval album. Then the pace picks up with “People” – a Jason Falkner styled rocker, complete with handclaps and layered vocals. Overall, this is an excellent album and if you have an e-music account, it’s a “no brainer” — included is a new single “Morning Sun” a great Beatlesque tune with drumming that would make Ringo proud.

MySpace | E music Fugu page | Fugu Homepage

Listen to “Here Today”