Category: Top Ten of 2008 Candidate

Mike Elgert and Brad Jendza have added a big dose of funk to the power pop genre, that I haven’t heard since Roger Manning Jr.’s Imperial Drag.  This is pure power pop, no doubt with all the right touch points (Beatles, Beach Boys, Big Star, etc.). Everywhere I look on the internet, “Horses for Courses” is getting raves and kudos, and for good reason. Big thick guitar hooks on “Storm’s Comin'” kicks out the jams, with glam organ and Hendrix-styled rhythm. “Chasing The Rabbit” takes the McCartney melodic chorus and adds a 10cc/Queen styled guitar attack that is pure bliss. “Sunshine” is mostly a smooth Queen-like ballad with sweet harmonies on top of orchestral strings and guitar solo breaks. Every single song here cranks up the goosebumps meter, even the ballad “Show The World” with it’s “Mother Nature’s Son” strum, shines with brilliance. The theatrical “Reptiles” with it’s snarling guitar and elegant piano, drumbeat rhythm is on par with Bryan Scary and the Sheddding Tears. More 70’s funk is found on “Porn Addict” and “Lex Luther” with a wah-wah sound that requires bellbottoms to dance to. The more muscular “She Can’t Make A Decision” is a rocker along the lines of Kiss meets Stone Temple Pilots with the lead guitar swaggering along. With all this abundance of great music on one disc, Class Three Overbite easily makes my top ten of 2008 list this year. It should be on your list as well.

My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik

It’s a real shame when you discover a great new group only to find out they are history. This Washington D.C. pop combo is a supergroup of sorts, parts of former bands (Velocity Girl, The Saturday People, Swiz) and then the day job of Jim Spellman (who works for CNN) got in the way when he was relocated to Denver. The group released “Long Gone and Nearly There” in May and now it becomes another legendary one album wonder (like “The La’s”). The short ten song debut is a collection of near flawless two minute power pop gems delivered with an irresistible guitar-pop fizz. “Ten Lonely Words” and “#1 song” borrows from the best of Bob Mould and Sugar, The Undertones, Velvet Crush and Teenage Fanclub. Add to this the Beach Boys harmonies all over each chorus throughout the album. “#1 song” has a good lyric about the disposable nature of power pop singles (I can recall Joe Jackson’s “Pop Single” saying the same thing). Amazingly, it never drags, as every song here is a short, snappy standout from the early Beatles stab of “There’s A Place (In The Back of My Mind),” to the fast tempo beat of “Bright Idea.” Lead singer Spellman’s Evan Dando-esque vocal inflections backed by woo-woo harmonies and those big fat pop hooks don’t get any better. The only drawback here is that it ends way too soon as the entire album is only about 25 minutes long (including the Well Wishers, this looks like a musical trend). Despite this it’s contender in my book for power pop album of the year. I’ll stop writing and just urge you to listen to the song below – it’s a MUST.

My Space | emusic | Itunes | Listen on La La

Listen to the “#1 Song”

Here is the video for “Ten Lonely Words”

Jeff Shelton has always been a pop favorite with The Spinning Jennies and his current band, The Well Wishers. The new album “Jigsaw Days” brings Jeff back to his power pop roots, and it’s obvious here that The Well Wishers are the heir apparent to The Posies. “Heroes” is a dead ringer for that classic sound, full of buzzing guitars and sweet hooks. “All The Suckers” continues this template, with Shelton’s vocals anchoring the chiming melody. And there is much more where that came from. The acoustic, folk-pop styled “Florida” has a wonderful jangle and it’s instantly memorable. “Moving Mountains” and “Love Lies” are additional standouts with an upbeat tempo and harder guitar sound. Some tunes get more contemplative, like “Drunk On The Tilt-O-Wheel” which recall Teenage Fanclub’s best ballads. Fans of Matthew Sweet, Nada Surf, Bob Mould will also find a lot to love here. Other than “Poor Old Man” (I felt it was a bit long) every track here shines like a diamond. With only ten tracks here, Shelton has cut the fat from this album and has given us power pop fans the red meat we crave. This is a worthy of top ten album for 2008 as well. A great release that will please fans and casual listeners alike.

My Space | Not Lame | CD Baby | Jam Recordings

Greg Pope, the lead guitarist of Edmund’s Crown has a new solo CD out now. As much as I loved Regrets of a Company Man a few years ago, this album is even better. In fact, this is outstanding power pop that blows the doors off most other bands out there. He fires off a great leading track “Sky Burn Down” has the buzz and crashing cymbals of The Who and the guitar licks that recall Badfinger’s best moments. This template continues with “I Got A Life” which rips through the chorus with infectious glee, kind of like Sweet and Lenny Kravitz on speed. Every song here is a choice cut, “Lost My Friend” and “Playing Nashville” being closer to Edmunds Crown style with a more diverse pattern of instrumentation, the latter resembling Robert Pollard playing for The Monkees. Another highlight, “Burden” has a nice 70s roots feel as he sings “I can’t tell my Dad. I can’t tell my Mom. Tell me, who can I dump this on.”, one of the best songs about teen guilt ever. “All Day Long” really pushes the Who/Badfinger buttons for me, with power chords and harmonies interlaced together. I could talk about how “New Song” has hotter guitar licks than anything Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) has done lately. I could go through the entire fourteen track list, but lets just say to quote comic book guru Stan Lee, “Nuff Said!” This is also one of the rare moments Steve at absolutepowerpop blog and I have reviewed the CD at the exact same day, and we both agree it’s an amazing “pop monster” of an album. Great minds think alike, it gets a Top Ten of 2008 nod.

My Space | CD Baby

The Smith Bros. are back — fans of Velvet Crush and Posies should rejoice. I enjoyed the debut and this is a solid follow up showing both musical and songwriting growth. The buzzsaw riffs and subdued vocals are back in all it’s hook-filled glory. “How Wrong You Are” is a Posies styled mid-tempo guitar lead single that does everything you’d expect. The vocals of the brothers Smith come close to a combination of Evan Dando (Lemonheads) and Tim Rogers (You Am I). The follow up “Down To You” is similar but “She’s Under My Skin” takes it up a notch gets a little funky with a Jellyfish-like quality in the chorus. The next song “Talk of the Town” is just brilliant –in that combines the lyrical wit of Elvis Costello and the sighing harmonies of the Beach Boys with the support of a wall of Rickenbacker guitar chords. The following tune “Restless” seems also cut from that cloth and the tone gets more hopeful. “Every Day Gets Better” is the template of a power pop song and manages to inject a real enthusiasm and freshness in the standard three-minutes plus pop song. There is a lot of music here too (13 tracks). Each one filled with ultra-melodic guitar hooks and simple, memorable melodies. Best here is there is no drop off in quality of the music. Even the ballad “Little Things” is interesting and the sunshine pop of “My Great Regret” is another excellent Costello-meets-Beach Boys flavored single and would have been a perfect ending. By the time we get to the “bonus” country-pop song “Daydream” (which sounds like a holdover from the first album) you realize you’ve been on a musical journey. And what a trip – I highly advise you get this if you like any of the bands I mentioned above. This also makes my crowded top ten of 2008 list this year.

My Space | Itunes