Category: Top Ten of 2015 Candidate

The Connection and The Wellgreen

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The Connection

The Connection “Labor Of Love”

The Connection are back and better than ever. Actually, Geoff Palmer and Brad Marino are remarkably consistent with the hit sound that powered their last LP Let It Rock. Once again we get fast tempos, hook-filled melodies and Rickenbacker guitars starting with the title track that pays tribute to Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and the spirit of pub rockers everywhere.

The band has a knack for taking a classic ’60s mod rock sound and updating it for modern listeners. There is not much else to say other than there are plenty of highlights:  “So Easy” and “Pathetic Kind of Man” are catchy hit singles, The Rolling Stones sounds like an stronger influence on “Circles” and “You Ain’t Special.” There even is a bit of honky tonk twang on “Let The Jukebox Take Me” and take-no-prisoners punk pop on “Red, White & Blue.”

No filler to be found here, and kudos from both Little Steven Van Zandt and former Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham make this another easy addition to your potential top ten for 2015. Long live The Connection!

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The Connection

The Wellgreen “Summer Rain”

The Wellgreen are a wonderful Glasglow band that have a piano based sound very similar to The Left Banke. Their last album release Grin and Bear It was put out by another label, and this album has a few repeated songs from earlier releases, but for this review I’m sticking with the digital release Summer Rain. Maybe this is a Wellgreen greatest hits?

I’ll put up with a little confusion because this is simply great pop. “Summer Rain” is a very ’60s styled single, but the building melody of “Maybe It’s The Pressure Of The City Life That’s Tearing Us Apart” is truly great with impeccable harmonies. “Jennifer” once again dazzles with its yearning melody. “Sunday” and “Remember” are Beatles styled songs that will charm you for sure. “Grin and Bear It” has a Beach Boys party atmosphere, and a “Impossible Love” has a James Taylor vibe. While not everything hits the mark, enough does to make it a highly recommended album.

Grin and Bear It | Summer Rain

Michael Sherwood & Christian Nesmith “Groovy Lemon Pie”

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Michael Sherwood Christian Nesmith

Michael Sherwood & Christian Nesmith “Groovy Lemon Pie”

Thanks to an astute reader alerting me to this hidden gem of an album by Michael Sherwood & Christian Nesmith (son of Monkee Michael Nesmith). Groovy Lemon Pie is a richly layered series of songs that sounds like Peter Gabriel singing lead for XTC or Jackdaw4. Starting with the quirky and catchy “Amanda B” a theme about a carnival burlesque dancer with a secret. And virtually every song here has a compelling melody with complex arrangements that will stick in your head, so give it multiple listens to hear the hidden details.

My favorite track is the jangling teen love triangle, “Sally’s Ass” full of longing for the forbidden booty call to a harmony rich ear worm. The poetic verses of “This Way and That” makes the entire song hypnotic. Several songs have a progressive influence like “Look Out Below” and the delicate “I Wish You Well” which compares to early Genesis Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The jaunty “Underlined” with its swaying verse and multiple chord shifts makes this a another favorite, plus a gentle love song to a favorite pet in “Get Around Girl”. The clever homonym lyrics and guitar rhythm make “Supervision” a delight and the middle eight is pure magic with a blistering guitar solo. With 16 tracks it makes my best album of 2015 list, so download this on Bandcamp only.

The Lunar Laugh and Double Naught Spy Car + Stew

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Apollo

The Lunar Laugh “Apollo”

I was really impressed with Jared Lekites single last month, so I guess he had more where that came from. Jared teams up with Connor Anderson forming the band Lunar Laugh and tees up a “must-have” masterwork. Although this album is short, each song is instantly catchy and timeless pop that uses inspiration from the ’60s and ’70s without sounding too retro or imitative.

“Man Against Man” is a quick paced rocker about partisanship in government. “Winsome” slows down just enough to a smoother mid-tempo chorus about looking back on childhood and “Apollo” is the LP centerpiece that recalls Lindsey Buckingham at his Fleetwood Mac peak with all the rich production and layered harmonies. Each song transitions well after the other, “On The Road” and “When I’m Alone” are both excellent pop gems. “Beds On Fire” is a slow atmospheric ballad with majestic piano that breaks things up, but then it jumps back on the bouncy pop wagon. Not a single wasted note here, and easily makes it as a candidate for my top ten of 2015 list. Amazon includes an extra track “Some of Shelly’s Blues.” Don’t miss this one!
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Stew

Double Naught Spy Car & Stew “Panorama City”

Normally I wouldn’t review this, but Stew is someone I really admire. However he’s kinda sleepwalking here. The band Double Naught Spy Car has been described as “surf/roots/jazz/rock/psych/world/whatyougot” and they team up with pop vocalist Stew of The Negro Problem and Passing Strange fame. Panorama City is best described as spontaneously composed songs with improvised melodies. At times it’s both trippy and meandering.

Stew adds his own beatnik free-improv pop lyrics on top of the mess. Often Stew’s narrative is entertaining especially on songs like “Sweet Jackie’s Revenge” or “Bumpin’ Morton Subotnick,” but nothing here is that melodic or memorable. It’s too pop to be called avant-garde jazz music and too structured to be called abstract pop. It falls somewhere in between – and I didn’t really like it. One exception here is the blues rock guitar melody “President” which alludes to Nixon as a Lothario. While this doesn’t redeem the album, it was the one keeper here. Proceed with caution.
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The Orange Peels “Begin the Begone”

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The Orange Peels

The Orange Peels “Begin the Begone”

Its hard to mention this album without the circumstances behind it. The Orange Peels lead singer, guitarist and keyboardist Allen Clapp and his bassist wife Jill Pries were in a near fatal car accident while on the way to a concert. They escaped with only minor injuries, and made it to the stage that evening. But following that event, they rushed into the studio to start Begin The Begone. With lead guitarist John Moreman and drummer Gabriel Coan, the band set about doing things a little differently.

Most of the songs are related to the experience, “Head Cleaner” and “Fleeing the Scene” are aggressive, but detailed pop gems with bright chords, big drum beats and REM-like base lines. With “New Moon” the songs add layers of psychedelic textures and shimmering rhythms. All very much like classic Orange Peels, but just a little darker.

Then the album really takes off with “Embers” built on a great piano melody and angular guitar accompaniment, Clapp sounds great throughout here. Both “Tidepool” and “post and Beam” are compelling instrumentals here, one a casual dreamscape and the other a drum dream sequence that blew me away – definitely not filler. It leads up to Moreman’s guitar on “9” and the catchy verses about the highway driving that takes place after the accident, “when I think of what we’ve been through, it’s a wonder we’re alive…” Clapp intones. Then “Satellite Song” channels the West Coast brilliance of Curt Boechetter and the Millennium. It ends with the symphonic kaleidoscope that is “Wintergreen,” and after a few listens you realize this isn’t your average album, but a modern classic. Makes my top ten list easily and arguably the best Orange Peels album ever.
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Fireking and Graham Czach

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Fireking

Fireking “Double Trouble”

Boston based Fireking rocks it old school, opening with some Led Zeppelin chords and just burning the amp up on the instrumental opener “Futura 2000.” Then “Built to Last” buzzes along, part Southern Culture on The Skids and part Cult with a driving riff that carries the song along and the definition of a kick-ass guitar break. “Just Like Sunday” is another amazing hook filled song with pounding drums. And the hits just keep on coming here on “A Sentimental Education,” another brilliant rocker with a frantic drum and guitar attack. And through it all lead singer Anthony Kaczynski, Smitt E. Smitty (ex-Figures on a Beach) and bassist Drew Morrison makes it sound so easy.

With 22 tracks on this double album, I wasn’t sure how long they could keep the quality of songs going. Like The Satisfactors, these guys are veterans that keep the party going all album long. “Contagious” is a dense rocker with little nods to The Clash and INXS. Included is a cover of Elvis Costello’s “Tokyo Storm Warning” (it was on the tribute LP). Eventually the band branches out with the epic power ballad “Look To The Sun” and the alt. country flavored “So You Lost Your Baby,” fans of Dave Edmunds are sure to love this one. There’s even a nice biographical tune “Power Pop Chords,” with references to Cheap Trick. Overall, an amazing album that puts “Power” in power pop. Makes my top ten for 2015, you’ve been warned!
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Graham Czach

Graham Czach “Star By Star” EP

Chicago based multi-instrumentalist has both a solid voice and melodic gift. Like a modern Howard Jones meets David Bowie, the haunting “Faint of Heart” boasts a soaring lead and a feedback drenched riff along a catchy chorus. “Fake It” adds a little Eastern rhythm and nice multi-tracking; this single will definitely grow on you.

The guitar chaos opening “Full Moon” dissipates almost into a Duncan Sheik-like verse, then the contrasting chorus keeps you attached. Czach is a musical artist of the first order, blending modern and progressive styles with pop hooks on “Out of The Dark.”  If you are looking for something different and really good, I highly recommend giving Czach a spin in your music mix.
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