Category: Power Pop Review

Rap and Power Pop are seemingly polar opposites. Some groups like Sugar Ray dip their toe in the water by adding urban elements to pop. To really combine them is a challenge. Producers Brian Halverson and Tony Lazzara have accepted this challenge. Like most experiments, Jahir and the Experiment sometimes works really well and you’re suprised. The bright “New York Original” is a nice mix of pop and rap. Jahir has a nice blend of hardcore and hip hop style, alot like Coolio and does the rap over a blend of instrumental pop. “Brooklyn” is an excellent slow jam, and would be at home as a last dance song at the senior prom. “All We Are” is another good mix of pop and rap and my favorite on this album. But sometimes this doesn’t always work. On “3 seconds” and “Little Mac” the music and rap are fighting for your attention and don’t blend as well. “Hustler” has almost no pop at all and is a cliched unoriginal. But when it works best, Jahir is front and center, like on “Be a Man,” he actually sings AND raps and does a great job, even if the theme is a bit sappy. Also, “Rock Star” and “One of A Kind” are the best pairing of Rap and Rock since Aerosmith’s “Walk this Way” with Run DMC. If you want something different, then this disc is for you. Listen to samples on the Cherry Bomb Records site.

Cherry Bomb Records | itunes | CD Baby | Not Lame

Enuff Z’nuff vocalist/guitarist Johnny Monaco’s new solo album has emerged. “Overrated” should really be titled “overlooked” because Johnny obviously is an unsung rock hero that continues the Enuff Z’nuff tradition of buzzing guitar riffs and bouncy melody that Joey Ramone would be proud of. The Cheap Trick vibe is there too, especially on “I’ll take you as you are,” and I dare you not to repeat “drink at the bar” from the chorus! Really strong guitar work just permeates every track here, almost to the point where the vocals get drowned a bit. “The Model of a Woman” is the best track in my opinion, it’s got a head bangin’ groove that doesn’t quit. For Enuff Z’nuff fans this is an essential “must-have” CD for your collection. There is still enough good music here even for non-fans. The album tones down with “Fatal Problem,” and here is where Johnny’s mid-tempo chops are given center stage. The album could have used a few more of these tracks to balance it. On the other hand, the hard-rockin’ tracks are so good you may not notice. The only misstep here is the last track “I can only believe” which is a good song looking for a chorus that never shows up. Listen to some tracks on myspace and get this album directly from Johnny at his website.

MySpace | Johnny Monaco Homepage

Listen to “Tall, Thin and Pretty”

Here is a video from Enuff Z’nuff called “Freak” from Paraphernalia

On a related note, Enuff Znuff vocalist/guitarist Johnny Monaco has come out with a solo album. I have only heard the tracks on MySpace and his site so far, but it has all the makings of a must-have album filled with hook-filled catchy tunes. As expected, it’s close in sound to Enuff, with a bit more on the pop side of things. I hope to review the entire album soon. In the meantime, visit MySpace and download two tracks from JohnnyMonaco.com

If it’s ever been on K-Tel or Ronco, it’s in. If it features hand claps, cow bells, syrupy orchestration, walls of sound, wrecking crews, sha-la-las, toothy teen idols, candy-based metaphors for carnal acts or lyrics about hugging, squeezing and rocking all night long, it’s in. This is a great little site for those songs that are long forgotten. Enjoy! Thanks Martin!

Martin Lampen’s Bubblegum Machine

In January, multi-talented instrumentalist David Vandervelde was on alot of indie playlists as the reincarnation of Marc Bolan and T.Rex. And they are not kidding folks. If you love early 70s glam rock then consider this a musical treat. “Jacket” is a great example of this, full of pounding downbeats and reverb guitar. “Nothin’ No” continues this style with a slow methodical guitar and drifts into classic Big Star territory (it’s a great track). The remaining tracks are okay – nothing to get too excited over. “Feet of a Liar” goes a bit overboard on the vocal reverb and would be much better as a simple acoustic ballad. The same problem occurs on “Can’t see your face anymore” but the chorus is much stronger and reminds me of the Hollies a little. It hurts that there is only eight tracks here and one of them is an instrumental. You can hear the entire album streaming on Vandervelde’s home page and purchase tracks on emusic. It’s worth it for your Glam fix.

MySpace | Emusic | David Vandervelde Homepage

David Vandervelde To ‘Moon’ The World