Category: Power Pop Review

The Vague Ideas and Caleb Nichols

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The Vague Ideas

The Vague Ideas “New York Letters”

UK singer-songwriter Glenn Prangnell (Groovy Uncle) and New Jersey musician Mare Rozzelle formed The Vague Ideas and came up with a rock musical based on the book ‘The Songs of John Lennon: The Beatles Years.’ The songs were started by book author and Berklee professor, John Stevens, but Glenn finished the project in 2021 after his passing. The songs are based on imaginary letters written or received by John Lennon during his post-Beatles time in New York. The cast of Jonh’s life is all here; Cynthia, Yoko, Julian, Sean, Paul, Mimi, May Pang, and even Richard Nixon.

The Lennonesque vocals and arrangements are stunningly accurate and well written. This is a musical salve to Beatle fans, and you’d swear John wrote these tunes himself. The tender love song format fits “I Had To Go (Letter To Cynthia)” perfectly, and the pounding piano works on the funny “Nixon’s Listening (Letters to Tricky Dicky).” You will spend hours playing “spot-the-influence” with each tune, but it tells a straight narrative and there isn’t a note of filler here. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik


Caleb Nichols

Caleb Nichols “Ramon”

Caleb Nichols’ solo debut, Ramon, is more than a tribute to The Beatles, McCartney’s Ram, or John Lennon’s Imagine.  It’s a love story between The Beatles’ Mean Mr. “Ramon” Mustard and a ship captain named Jerome Custard. Using the fictional characters from Abby Road’s songs, Nichols weaves a tale of gay love, loathing, and tragedy.

The first track, “Listen to the Beatles” with its “Dear Prudence” rhythm makes clear the middle school atmosphere, and his inner thoughts while listening to his favorite band. A standout here is the McCartneyesque “Run Rabbit Run” with its quick-witted lyric and catchy chorus. The aching ballads (“Ramon” and “I Can’t Tell You”) are closer to Elliot Smith than the former Fabs. But the pounding bass on “She’s The Beard” clearly illustrates closeted anxiety. “Jerome” is another highlight which feels like a Beatles-Prince hybrid. However, some themes feel too repetitive (“From a Hole in The Road”) or are just boring. But overall a good album worth exploring, especially if you’re a Beatles fan.

Amazon

Mid July singles, freebies, and more: Johnathan Pushkar, Wesley David, Neal Mehta, Fernando Perdomo, Vitsa Blue, The Amplifier Heads

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Nashville singer-songwriter Johnathan Pushkar was inspired by the new Thor movie to make a song about everyone’s favorite Asgardian hero. While it doesn’t mesh well with the Guns N’ Roses music the movie used, it’s a pretty cool song on its own (and who doesn’t love Legos?) Old Town Crier does a damn good job with its new EP “You,”especially that guitar break in the title track. Also, check out “Coal River Mountain.” Wesley David is a recent discovery, and count me impressed with his songwriting ability – check out “I’ll Be Damned!” Another potential star Neal Mehta has a rich harmony and dense instrumentation on “Lonely Cloud.” Guitarist extraordinaire Fernando Perdomo has “greatest hits” of sorts with Jangle, and if you aren’t familiar with him — this is a perfect primer. Everything here is great, I love “Girl With A Record Collection” and “This Can Be You.” If you want a dose of Ramones-like rock, then you can’t do better than Vista Blue. Stay Gold is a FREEBIE made for blasting out the car stereo with the windows down on “Friday Night.” Finally, Sal Baglio of The Amplifier Heads wrote the single “Space Cadette” for the Nashville show They Came To Rock. Woo! Enjoy the summer!






Rogers & Butler and Kevin Robertson

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Rogers & Butler

Rogers & Butler “Brighter Day”

Edward Rogers and Stephen Butler are a great pairing of rock veterans who work seamlessly together on their second long-player. Influences range from Ray Davies to Tom Petty, but this pairing feels like a modern update to those classic artists and the music is both immediate and inviting. The duo also benefits from a terrific band; Don Piper on guitars, backing vocals, and percussion, Sal Maida on bass, Konrad Meissner on drums, Joe McGinty on keyboards, Joe Chiofalo on accordion, and Chris Carmichael on strings.

Many of the songs early on feel like a reaction to the world during the pandemic, as the title track opener wishes for a “Brighter Day” and the cabin fever restlessness of “Where Does the World Hide” impresses with its catchy chorus. “Last Reply” is a moving piano love ballad and the gentle jangle of “A Perfect Market Day” has Rogers gives us a nice slice of life, which has a Beatlesque touch. Another big standout is the dramatic midtempo “The Sun Won’t Shine” which flows beautifully, and the folky “Oh Romeo” has that lovely mandolin tremolo. Not a bad song here, although the weary “Cabaret,” feels like it belongs on a different album. Overall, a great album that’s highly recommended.

Amazon

Kevin Robertson

Kevin Robertson “Teaspoon of Time”

Scottish singer-songwriter Kevin Robertson(Vapour Trails) specializes in delightful 12-string jangle pop and psych-pop. Obviously, fans of the Byrds and CSNY will love this. The warm “Tough Times (Feel Like That)” and his double-tracked vocal harmony blend is so cool, that you could listen to it on a loop. Kevin also enlisted a contingent of expert sidemen like Nick Bertling, Andrew Taylor (Dropkick), Dave Morgan (The Loft / Weather Prophets), and many more. “Psychedelic Wedding Song” is exactly what you’d expect – wedding vows set to trippy backward guitar riffs. “Forty-Five Losing Street” starts to feel like the Byrds'”My Back Pages” until the break in the chorus changes the tempo completely. The next song “Rather Hide” also uses this technique to prevent predictability.

Robertson does his best to keep things fresh, “Sleepy Island Sound” has a bouncier tempo to prevent things from drifting too mellow. It starts to feel more influenced by Gerry Beckley (America) on “Magnify The Sun” and “Misty Dew Soaked Mountains.” Overall, an improvement over Kevin’s debut Sundown’s End, and it’s also highly recommended.

Kool Kat Musik

Gymnasium and Lund Brothers

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Hansen's Pop 'n' Rock Music '22

Gymnasium “Hansen’s Pop ‘n’ Rock Music ’22”

What can you say about a guy toiling away in obscurity who deserves more exposure? That would be the Boston-based band, Gymnasium, and it’s lead creator Charles Hansen. He’s gathered a large contingent of guest musicians to help create this massive 22-song double album. Who? Let’s name drop a few: Anthony Kaczynski (Firekings), Mike Gent (The Figgs), John Powhida (The Click Five), and many, many more. If you love guitar-based power pop and rock, you’ll definitely find some favorite songs here.

Styles vary across the album, but I loved the Cheap Trick-styled “Tavern at the End of the World,” and the layered guitar rhythm of “Sad Country.” The grand epic vocals of Chris Cote on “Arguing with the Setting Sun” help make it a new heavy rock classic. The fast fuzz of “Little Disaster” is another compelling rocker, along with the wicked lead guitar of “Coast to Coast Companion” with its spacey verse breaks along the way. My favorite here is “Down to a Glimmer” which resembles a Pink Floyd slow ballad, that slowly turns into a Joe Walsh-styled guitar solo, and it’s a true thing of beauty. So much here lands perfectly, and yes it could’ve been trimmed a little – however as a music fan, you’ll love sorting through these tracks. Highly recommended.

Amazon

Lund Brothers “Across State Lines”

The hard-rocking brothers Chris and Sean Lund have entertained fans for over 40 years with their brand of melodic guitar rock. It’s been a few years, but the new album Across State Lines continues the tradition. Opening with “Flyin” it boasts the chord shifts and harmonies that have wow’ed many, and fans of early 80’s rock bands (like 38 Special and Zebra) and power pop classic influences (Big Star, Beatles) will enjoy this as well. But keep in mind, most of this album is mid-tempo ballads. Explore earlier LPs for harder rock.

“Red, Blue, and Gold” and “Killin Me” are timely standouts, especially the latter tune about the frustrations of technology. “Love U” is another one, with those sweeping riffs and echoing verses, and the self-promoting “Want Your Money” has some of that Big Star DNA, as they sing “we know what it takes to make a hit.” While other songs aren’t that strong, there are enough tracks here to make this an album that deserves your attention. Check it out.

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July Singles, EPs and Freebies: Any Version of Me, Dana Countryman, Eric Barao, Anatomy Class, The Valery Trails, Supercrush, Ryan Hamilton

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July is here and the AC is on full blast. This is why I like to check on new music from old friends. French artist Any Version of Me does his best Brian Wilson tribute with “Away,” perfect for the beach. If you’d like classic pop greatness, you have the talented Dana Countryman offering up a FREEBIE that you can’t miss; made of assorted selections from his catalog, and “Summer Sand” is another sweet Beach Boys-styled gem. It’s been a long time, but Eric Barao has a delicate ballad that just tugs at your heart; “Whoever You Are.” Aussie rockers Anatomy Class impressed me with its anthemic rich melody, fans of Lemonheads, Swervedriver, and Pixies will adore “Expo 88,” and another band from down under The Valery Trails celebrates the summer with “Jaisalmer,” a bouncy rocker stocked with guitars and horns. Seattle’s Supercrush seriously reminds me of Superdrag and other late 90’s power pop on its perfect EP Melody Maker. and finally, Ryan Hamilton is back and he tells you to write your troubles down, then fold your worries into “Paper Planes.” Hope it flies far!