Category: Top Ten of 2012 Candidate

Grahame Steinberg and The 1840s

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Grahame Steinberg “Grahame Steinberg“
Wow. Who expected that Lane Steinberg and David Grahame grew up knowing each other? Lane finished the masterful 8×8 album early this year, and now this gem. For those of you who don’t know David Grahame, he’s a bit of a legend in power pop circles and this is his first collaboration with Lane.

The album has a series of great songs, starting with the “Big Blue Ocean” and its sweet hook filled melody. Next comes a series of girl songs, Lane’s “Carmen” paints a vivid portrait of a murdering couple, but only the guy seems haunted by guilt. “Denied Tonight” is one of the best ear worms this year, both men have love of the McCartney/Emmit Rhodes style and its magic really shows up here. “Girl’s Gone Deaf” and “Aquila” are bouncy up tempo songs similar to Squeeze, and other than few slow tunes in the middle most of them are sparsely arranged melodic gold. More highlights include “Crazy Maise” and “Italian Where It Hurts.” Essential listening that also makes my top ten.

The 1840s  “Pushing Squares Down Back to Size” EP
This Israeli power pop trio has a hard rock heart and singer/songwriter Avishai Efrat gives a solid performance on his debut. “Rainbow” is part Creedence-part Strokes and “Nobody Knows Me” has a brooding attitude and nice guitar work by Efrat and bassist Eviatar Oren. You’ll hear echos of Led Zepplin on “Sirens” and nothing else here really breaks the mold, but its solid rock and roll. Best of all, you can name your own price on Bandcamp.

Sunchymes and Howl Griff

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The Sunchymes “Let Your Free Flag Fly”
After a good debut LP, Aaron Hemmington has fulfilled his promise of making The Sunchymes album that marries the Wondermints/Curt Boettcher like arrangements to hook filled melodies. The intricate techniques of 60’s sunshine pop are on full display with “Revelations In Her Mind” and the solid hook in “Aquarius Summer” make it sweet ear candy. Most of the album fits stylistically within the genre of British psyche pop and 60’s California sound.

The west coast sounds on “Enchanted Girl” are kissed with harmonies along the lines of Cowsills or the Zombies. Then “Astronomical Clock” mixes Brian Wilson Pet Sounds with a swirling psychedelic mellotron.  This playful ambience is also a big part of “Uncle Alfred’s Slide Show.” Fans of Magical Mystery Tour era Beatles will love “Your Disguise” and Beach Boys fans will enjoy “On A Summer Ride.” Most every track here impresses, and my next suggestion would be to expand his harmonious range, but this is pretty incredible and one of the year’s best retro flavored albums.

CD Baby | Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

 

Howl Griff  “Fragile Diamond”
It’s tough to neatly fit Howl Griff in one genre. The music is a combination of new wave guitar, psychedelic mellotron and classic rock rhythms – with multi-part harmony in English or Welsh. Similar to Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci they have a sound that catches up to you after a few listens. The casual strums and vocals of “Fragile Diamond” is a wonderful sing along and the wicked bassline of “Sharkfins in The Sky” make it another winner.

On occasion a song will overstay its welcome (“You Don’t Have To Leave On Your Own”) but you also have flashes of absolute brilliance, like the epic pop story of “Puppet Operation Time” and the spacey “‘FÜßßBÜKKËR.” You’ll hear the echos of The Kinks on “Runaround” and “She Walks On By The Flame,” and this band is more than the sum of its influences. It’s got what few bands have, a genuine competence in a variety of styles. Bravo.

Mike Keneally & Andy Partridge “Wings Beat Fantastic Songs”

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Mike Keneally and Andy Partridge are both geniuses, and this album is pure magic. Keneally is a Frank Zappa devotee and virtuoso guitarist. And for XTC fans this album is a delicate treat with Andy in top form on the single “I’m Raining Here Inside.” Keneally is known more as an experimental artist, with Andy being a primary influence – so the duo fits together better than peanut butter and jelly.

“Wings Beat Fantastic” is the most pastoral tune I’ve heard since XTC’s Mummer and the best blend of Keneally’s guitar mastery and Andy’s angular composition is “You Kill Me.” Every song may not have a hook, but the gorgeous passages and chord shifts are impossible to ignore. More gems include the ballad “Your House” and the double tracked vocals of “Miracle Woman and Man.” This is also a very accessible album, and even Keneally’s experimental pop tendencies (“Bobeau”) fall within the Partridge milieu. Clearly one of the best collaborations this year.

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Honeymoon Stallions and King Washington

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Honeymoon Stallions “Moonlighting”
Andy Goldberg (The Sun Kings, The Goldbergs) returns with a new band and a new album. The Honeymoon Stallions gallop out of the gate with the opener “If It Wasn’t For You,” a terrific melody with a layer of organ under the guitar riffs. “Radio Song” has a touch of Nick Lowe with its solid hooks. “Driftin'” is a slightly mellower Andy, similar to Jeff Larsons bluesy mid-tempo jangle pop. This newer texture continues on “By The Moon…” and the Beatles bounce with Harrison-styled slide guitar surfaces on “Every Now and Then.” Every song is strong here, and its on par with his previous albums. Overall, a welcome autumn present for lovers of great guitar pop.

 CD Baby | Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

King Washington “The Gears”
L.A. powerhouse vocalist Tyson Kelly has the best rock vocals since Ed Roland, and proves it with this superb debut. Joined by lead guitarist George Krikes, bassist Dylan Cronin and drummer Kyle Turek, The Gears is a triumph of sparkling musicianship and high gloss production. You’ll hear Badfinger-like harmonies and hooks aplenty on the title track, its just mesmerizing. And the Helter Skelter opening on “Fourth Of July” leads to snappy melody full of awesome harmonies and guitars. But despite the nods to rock gods of the past, the bands sound is totally unique. More potential “hits” are “Animal” and “Anybody Home” but it runs out of gas by the albums end. However you can’t deny the great tracks on the albums first half, so I’d highly recommend this one.

 Itunes | Amazon | Kool Kat Musik 

Lannie Flowers and Dahlmanns

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Lannie Flowers “New Songs Old Stories”
Back in 2008, Lannie’s first album Same Old Stories was released.  It was more of a medley of good song snippets, buried in a concept album. Well several years later… we get the cream of the melodic crop. The raw vocals on “Another Weekend” is like Stones track with Pete Townshed guitar riffs, and then we get to the brilliant “Come On Girl,” one of the best power pop tracks I’ve ever heard.

Like the new Shoes album, each track resonates with energy and excellent composition – a great example is “I Didn’t Know” with buzzing riffs similar to The Raspberries. “Give Me A Chance” has a Brydsian jangle with multi-tracking lead vocals and a great bass line in the chorus. “Another Boy Like Me” has a touch of Texas flavor, and I could go on and on. No weakness, and unlike the earlier album not a second of filler. Add this one to your top ten this year and you won’t be sorry.

CD Baby | Amazon
Video is from “Circles”

The Dahlmanns “Dumb Me Down” EP
The follow up to their highly successful album All Dahled Up, this EP features the new single “Dumb Me Down” written by Francis McDonald of Teenage Fanclub.  The Dahlmanns sound has always been a perfect Ramones-styled rock band, with lead singer Line Dahlmann’s vocals being a combo of Debbie Harry and Liz Phair. “Dumb Me Down” is sounds more like Blondie, but the follow up “Go Getter” is more typical fast paced Dahlmanns rock. Add the pretty ballads “I Want You Around” and “This Time” (with some nice twangy guitar in the break) and you have a pretty well rounded EP. I like that the band has expanded its sound here and look forward to the band’s next full length album.

CD Baby | Amazon
Video is from “All Dahled Up”