Glad to bring you some new songs, as we close out July. First is a neat freebie, The Morning Line‘s collection of outtakes. The opener “Straight Lines” is a solid single, and the rest aren’t shabby either. Mo Troper‘s freebie is the grinding grungey single “Ballad of Big Nothing” in the best Posies tradition, with a bit too much texture. Voltz from Sheffield, UK gives us a bit o’ glam mixed with pop on “Glitterbomb.” German band Eddie Mooney & The Grave has an 80s-styled pop gem with the catchy “Telephones.” I was also impressed with this debut EP from Seattle’s BPM Collective; “Adelaide” hooked me right away, and “Mr. Congeniality” has fantastic chord changes. I so much missed the music of Andy Bopp, and his single “Camera” is worth the wait. The first song I ever heard from Michael Carpenter gets a remix treatment, and Sofa City Sweetheart does a sweet Brian Wilson cover. Vista Blue‘s Ramones-styled pop returns with an Olympic-themed freebie and Reno Bo rocks both “Count Your Karma,” and a Todd Rundgren cover. Quiet a nice mixtape we have here.
Category: Power Pop Review
The Peppermint Kicks and The Aerovons
The Peppermint Kicks “The Peppermint Kicks”
The Peppermint Kicks are Sal Baglio (The Stompers, The Amplifier Heads) and Dan Kopko (The Shang Hi Los, Watts), and very much like chocolate and peanut butter, they blend together just fine. The two share a love of classic power pop and punk, as evidenced by the opener “When Rock & Roll Met Your Dad” a huge love letter to many, many bands, especially the Ramones. You could spend days picking out all the references, but the song itself is a fine example of a “teenage tragedy song” updated for middle age. Next along similar lines “Hey Fanzine!” recalls a fondness for those homemade band newsletters and rock magazines (Creem, Circus), and it’s got sweet hooks too.
I thought “I Don’t Hear A Single” was a theme for a popular blog, but it’s more about “pointless rock and roll.” Fans of Cheap Trick will eat this album up, as the beats and nostalgia are once again the targets on “Shag ’72.” Every track here will speak to rock and roll fans’ experiences; from visiting old venues like “Johnny D’s (Play It Again)” to playing in bands that aren’t “loud enough” on “Stooge” and “Rock and Roll Rampage.” It also looks back to history with a fondness for the last era of independent rock and roll, prior to the domination of corporate rock on radio airwaves. There are more than enough gems here to make this a highly recommended pick.
The Aerovons “A Little More”
The Aerovons secured their role in rock and roll history with only a few singles. Signed to The Beatles’ label Parlophone, The Aerovons recorded “Resurrection” in 1969 at Abbey Road, and were hailed by the UK press; “It’s like hearing newly discovered Beatles tracks!” Beatles’ sound engineers Geoff Emerick, Alan Parsons, and Norman Smith worked on the sessions. The album was produced by their prodigious 17-year-old leader Tom Hartman. But it remained a “lost” classic until it was finally released in 2003.
Tom left the rock and roll life back then, but he’s back for “A Little More” and has proven that age hasn’t dimmed that talent. The eight songs on the album make for a smooth transition from the ’60s to today’s adult pop format. Unapologetically Beatlesque, the tracks “Stopped!” and “A Little More” was written in 1969 and are the big highlights here. Tom proves skilled at bringing The Aerovons back to life, and like Dana Countryman remains a skilled producer in retro pop sound. The newer songs don’t feel entirely out of place but do feel written by a more mature voice. “Swinging London” looks back on those times, and “The Way Things Went Tonight” is a lush ballad, perfect for a wedding anniversary. As a whole, it’s a transitory album with enough for fans of the original and proves you can come home again. Hopefully, Tom will not make us wait another 50 years for more. Highly Recommended.
Listen to the 1969 classic “Resurrection”
Summertime Singles, Freebies and EPs: Dan Israel, The Glad Machine, Golden Richards, Kevin Robertson, The Blendours, Believe It – It’s Easy, Robby Miller, The Foreign Films
It’s a hot, humid week in NYC and I am waving the white flag of surrender. Too much heat and too much music. I’m far behind on album reviews, but as far as singles and EPs we have a treasure trove of power pop goodies. I’m proud to start it off with the excellent Dan Israel single “The Hang of It,” which is a perfect highway traveling song, and he’s got a video too. The Glad Machine/Golden Richards split singles are catchy gems all on their own, and Kevin Robertson (Vapour Trails) has been super active recently, he’s got a new solo album, EP, and single. All great jangly treats. The Blendours are a duo from Iowa that resembles an acoustic Bowling For Soup, and they serve up some fun-filled folk punk. A new band Believe It, It’s Easy from Connecticut has its moments on the first 3 songs of this freebie. Robby Miller is another rookie with a hook-filled love song. Finally, The Foreign Films’ next LP ‘Starlight Serenade’ is almost ready, so here are 2 tracks early to keep you cool this summer.
Brent Seavers and Eric Bazilian
Brent Seavers “BS Stands For”
Brent Seavers (The Decibels) has written an impressive collection of songs for his debut album. “Play” is a bright upbeat tune, with a Beatlesque jangle and a solid hook about early video arcade memories. It’s followed by “My Little Girl,” a terrific power-pop single that sticks fast to your brain. Seavers style is like a combination of the DBs and Paul Collins, so he’s got a lot of versatility packed in here. The garage jangle of “Flatline” and retro style of ” Running Me Down” is similar to The Decibels sound, but Brent adds his own personal twist to many of these songs.
The goofiness on “I Wrote A Song,” is so engaging, it’s hard not to sing along to the “la-la-la-la-la” chorus. Many of the tunes are quick and designed to be danceable. The quirky “All the Better” is like They Might Be Giants on speed, with Brent’s offbeat lyric running similar to John Linnell’s narrative style about getting superpowers. This approach is also on “Unlike Superman,” and it makes for unpredictable fun. Without a single dud in the dozen songs here, you should definitely give this one a chance to make you grin. Highly Recommended.
Eric Bazilian “Bazilian”
In my interview last month with The Hooters lead singer Eric Bazilian, he hinted at a new solo album after nearly 19 years. Last year’s pandemic isolation has created plenty of anxiety and creative productivity for artists, and ‘Bazilian‘ feels very much like a product of that time. Eric is very reflective, even the high-energy opening “High Note” is about making the effort to succeed and “hit that high note again.” Hooters fans will really enjoy “Back In The ’80s,” a nostalgic romp back through the decades, but the question is “why can’t we hold on to all those things we love.” The song has a solid hook and if radio stations had any brains they’d make this song a top 10 hit on Adult Oriented Pop charts.
Next, “Heaven Ain’t Gonna Save Us” is very loosely based on The Beatles’ “Revolution” and it’s an enjoyable romp about the chaos in the world, and only humanity can fix it. “I Miss Everything” is very specifically about loss during this pandemic, and “Where Home Is” is a soulful rocker on “being stuck in the city.” Eric’s vocals have aged, but he’s not sounding like Bryan Adams yet. The melodies throughout are crisp and the instrumentation will be familiar with Hooters fans. While it loses a little momentum at the end, it includes a very Hooterized version of The Beatles’ “Help,” which is pretty cool. Overall, a very good album that feels like a visit from a long-lost friend. Hopefully, a follow-up is not as far away. Highly Recommended.
Underwater Sunshine and Richard X Heyman
Underwater Sunshine “Suckertree”
It’s safe to say this band isn’t named after a Counting Crows album, but it does sound like an amazing lost Posies or Sloan album. Underwater Sunshine is a Vancouver quartet from the ’90s that never got a proper shot at stardom. They almost got signed by a big label in 1997, but it never happened. Lead vocalist/guitarist John Nikolic preserved the tapes of the band’s songs and with the time afforded during the pandemic, had Evan Morgan Productions re-mix the songs and finally release them. Fans of similar Canadian power-pop bands like Sloan and Grapes of Wrath are sure to find a lot to like.
Opening with “Verse 2” it’s a dead ringer for ‘Frosting on the Beater’-era Posies, with a killer chorus “When you come in with this song, you rock and roll” and the follow up “It’s You” keeps the same layered guitar and dense drum rhythms. “Baby Blue” (no relation to the Badfinger classic) slows the tempo a little, paints an expansive picture about mediation and projection with a wicked guitar break. There are elements of grunge not-so-hidden in a few songs, but the hooks are there and they stick more often than not. Despite the four-minute plus running time for most songs, it goes by quick as there are plenty of recommended tracks; “Who You Are,” “Rusty Crown” and “Listen To Reason.” The similarity between the aforementioned bands might have kept them from getting signed before, but it’s great to hear them now. Highly Recommended.
Richard X. Heyman “Copious Notes”
The prolific DIY rocker Richard X. Heyman is back with familiar pop themes and musings on his 14th(!) album. Opening with a choral harmony, “Nearly There” is everything we love about RXH – a melodic gem about hope and happiness that is “nearly there.” The jangling acoustic guitars and horns on “Choices We Make” showcase Richard’s adept skills as a songwriter with a Motown soul, as he also does for the songs “Sink or Swim” and “The Greater Good.”
The gentle bounce on “Tell Me When” is another magical tune that will put you in a good mood, and RXH sounds like he’s having a ball playing it. Additional standouts include “The Oval,” and “Return To You.” However, like past recent work, some ballads (“Cedarbrook Park,” “Ransom,” and “But Our Love”) are bathed in nostalgia or dour mood and it slows the album’s momentum. It’s just my opinion, but I would like to hear a little more of Richard’s wild side solo, or does he only save those songs for The Doughboys albums? Still, a very entertaining collection of songs that deserve to be heard.
