Category: Top Ten of 2018

Power Popaholic Top 40 for 2018

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Top 40 albums of 2018

This year was an abundant one for power pop, as it was very difficult to sort out the top 25. And I expanded my list to 40 artists. As it has happened in the past, my #1 is the same as absolutepowerpop.com (I swear this list is compiled without looking or collusion!) Overall I heard a trend towards heavier guitars, like on Caddy, Dot Dash or The Well Wishers. I also heard more male-female harmonies like on Parks and The Grip Weeds. While the power pop genre no longer has the broad reach it did ten years ago, it has become a more prominent part of the indie/alternative rock scene.

    1. Starbelly “Four”
    2. David Myhr “Lucky Day”
    3. Sloan “12”
    4. Rob Bonfiglio “Trouble Again”
    5. Caddy “Ten Times Four”
    6. Bill Lloyd “Working the Long Game”
    7. Bird Streets “Bird Streets”
    8. Danny Wilkerson “Wilkerson”
    9. Parks “Parks”
    10. Lisa Mychols “Sugar”
    11. Linus Of Hollywood “Cabin Life”
    12. Valley Lodge “Fog Machine”
    13. The Grip Weeds “Trip Around the Sun”
    14. Nick Piunti “Temporary High”
    15. Caper Clowns “A Salty Taste To The Lake”
    16. The Genuine Fakes “Issues”
    17. Chris Richards & The Subtractions “Peaks and Valleys”
    18. Oberon Rose “Tell Me About It”
    19. Kai Danzberg “Pop-Up Radio”
    20. Greg Pope “A Few Seconds Of Fame”
    21. Chris Price “Dalmatian”
    22. Paul Collins “Out of My Head”
    23. The Supahip “The Two-Sided Face”
    24. The Innocents “Teardrop Kiss”
    25. The Beths “Future Me Hates Me”
    26. Creamer “Creamer”
    27. The Well Wishers “A View From Above”
    28. Tony Molina “Kill The Lights”
    29. Michael Simmons “First Days of Summer”
    30. Mark Lane “New Memory”
    31. The Incredible Vickers Brothers “Torch Songs for Swingers”
    32. Dot Dash “Proto Retro”
    33. Tommy Lorente “Stupefaction”
    34. Paul Steel “Carousel Kites”
    35. The Davenports “Don’t Be Mad At Me”
    36. The Connection “We Wish You Success”
    37. Everet Almond “Everet Almond”
    38. Vegas With Randolph “Legs & Luggage”
    39. Matthew Sweet “Tomorrow’s Daughter”
    40. The Magic Gang “The Magic Gang”

Top EPs of 2018

  1. Magpie “Picasso on a Log”
  2. William Duke “Quatro”
  3. Nick Frater “Goodbye Kayfabe”
  4. Jackie Daytona “She’s So Hot” 
  5. Cupid’s Carnival “Clapham Junction”

Top Compilations of 2018

  1. Various Artists “Altered Sweet: A Tribute To Matthew Sweet”
  2. Various Artists “International Pop Overthrow Vol. 21”
  3. Assorted Artists “White Lace and Promises: The Songs of Paul Williams”

My year-end of power pop of 2018 is coming soon!

powerpopaholic

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. I will do my best to put out a comprehensive listing by the end of this week. As I sort through the finalists I am also preparing reviews for January. I always end up with a handful of artists where I ran out of time in 2018 to review their work, and they get first consideration. On top of that, some bloggers put out their lists early and I have to note who I completely missed. Thank you for your patience.

The Grip Weeds and The Cherry Drops

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The Grip Weeds

The Grip Weeds “Trip Around the Sun”

The Grip Weeds are easily one of the most successful power pop bands from New Jersey, featuring Rick Reil ( rhythm guitar), Kurt Reil (drummer, vocals) and his wife, Kristin Pinell Reil (lead guitar). Add to the mix, Dave DeSantis (bass) and you’ve got the complete package. The band doubles down on its musical influences from ’60s psyche-pop, hard rock,  jangle and folk on this “Trip Around The Sun.”

Starting with the shimmering melody on “Vibrations” recalls 2013’s positive vibes from “Speed of Life.” It then goes to the slow-building gem “I Like Her,” and the folk-rock strums of “After Sunrise” with steel pedal accents. Psyche-pop has always been a specialty of The Grip Weeds repertoire and the groovy “Mr. Nervous” and Byrdsian “Truth Behind The Lie” stands with the band’s best work. Reil’s anthemic skills continue on the gems “Times I Wasted” and “She Tries” with its sweet harmonies and angular riffs. Overall no duds and nothing feels forced either. This is a band cruising along on a magic ride and it earns a top ten nomination for best of 2018. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Cherry Drops

The Cherry Drops “Good to the Last Drop”

On the third album from the retro-loving The Cherry Drops (Vern Shank, Josh Cobb, Jamie Markowski, and Jimmy Mason) they are joined by an array of guest stars. Ron Dante of The Archies, Dennis Tufano of The Buckinghams, Mark Dawson of The Grass Roots, Steve Boone of The Lovin’ Spoonful and the late Gary DeCarlo of Steam.

The opening “Cherry Drops Theme” features pitch-perfect Beach Boys-styled harmonies. “One More Try” is a bouncy theme that hits all the right optimistic buttons, with layered harmonies, guitars and booming percussion. “Tiger Feet” is another toe-tapper, similar to The Bay City Rollers that deserves its own custom dance moves. The band’s harmonies peak on “Feels Like Summer Love,” and “Rockin’ At The Hard Rock” with a genuine nostalgic glow and superior musicianship that really impressed me.

It’s fine that the guest stars play their respective “hits,” but a few songs do suffer from a little too much saccharine, like the Ron Dante (The Archies) led “Happynessville.” Thankfully the superior production lifts the cover material and helps make the music sound timeless. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | CD Baby

Parks and Van Go

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Parks

Parks “Parks”

Seems like a million years ago Boston musician Brian E. King gave us Oranjuly but his new band is finally ready to hit prime time. Parks has Brian joined with Eric Bolton (Guitar), Andrew Jones (Drums), Rob Johanson (Bass), and Robin Melendez (Vocals). A true group effort it boasts several different styles of indie pop, starting with the pensive “Fools” where it’s “been a long time coming” as the band layers its synths, booming drums, and wailing guitar rhythms. King seems to concentrate his sound in pop jams that reference the new wave ’80s.

While it starts out good, it gets progressively better as we hit the guitar hooks on the brilliant “Sweater Weather,” with its lovely bridge chock full of harmonies and finger snaps. The catchiest gem “All We Have” has an infectious beat, as it mines deep emotion that expresses the frustration “tired of waiting, tired of hanging around.” The beauty (and sadness) of “Escaping Together” combines an idyllic ballad with the silence of heartbreak after “everyone’s dead” to you. It’s another huge highlight. The other songs don’t hit as high, but come close with “3×5” sounding like a lost 10cc track, and the jangling guitar melody of “Prove It” makes good use of Robin’s call and response vocal. No filler anywhere, and it provides a deep listening experience. Makes my crowded list of top ten nominees for best LP of 2018.

Amazon


Van Go

Van Go “Everyone Loves You When You’re Gone”

Chicago rockers Van Go come out swinging on their newest release, which is like Foo Fighters and Cheap Trick jamming with Material Issue. The guitars are loaded with tight, hook-laden power pop gems like summer anthem “Live Through This.” Each song is uptempo, with an attitude like on “Black Luck” as Van Go singer Dave Sippel croons like Dave Grohl. If you love sweet guitar riffs, this album is for you!

The band cruises through these 12 tracks, with some dark lyrics making its way toward the album’s midpoint with  “The Grim Life” and “Dead Already.” Continuous fast tempo barrages get chaotic on “Tell Us How You Really Feel,” but the catchy  “Schrodinger’s Cat” is a dynamic gem that you can sing along to. The title track gets a little denser with its psychedelic verses over its 4-minute run. And a cool cover of Paul Collins’ “Walking Out On Love” ends things. Highly Recommended!

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Bill Lloyd and Creamer

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Bill Lloyd

Bill Lloyd “Working the Long Game”

Bill Lloyd has been a power pop paragon since his 1987’s Feeling the Elephant, but hasn’t emerged with new original music for a while. To remedy this he signed on to Spyerpop Records last year and put together a cover LP, Lloyd-ering. But now Bill brings us a classic LP that is his best yet. Each tune is carefully constructed, evokes all the right influences, and features guest songwriters Aaron Lee Tasjan, Buddy Mondlock, Graham Gouldman (10cc), Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick), and Scot Sax (Wanderlust).

Opening with the catchy “Satellite” it’s an easy going melody that recalls Tom Petty, then it goes straight to the glorious Beatlesque title track which explains Lloyd’s obvious persistence. Each song is a distinctive treasure, riffs disguise the subtle bass line of the joyous “Make That Face” and they work just as well with the acoustic heartbreak of the ballad “Wake Up Call.” There is a healthy dose of retro-hits like “Go To Girl” and “What Time Won’t Heal,” but when Lloyd rocks he doesn’t fool around. “Merch Table” is a solid rocker about playing live, he sings “It’s been a decade since you bought new music, got rid of all your old CDs/ You want to clutter up the house with new songs like these?” If it all sounds like this, then absolutely. No doubt here, it makes my top ten list for 2018 and is super highly recommended.

Amazon | CD Baby

Creamer

Creamer “Creamer”

Nashville singer-guitarist Philip Creamer is a new force to contend with in the power pop community. His distinct sound gets its style mining classic ‘70s influences, just imagine if Elton John joined Big Star playing The Raspberries. If that sounds like an earful, you are correct. Creamer starts with the epic scope of “Daydreamer,” with its gentle building melody, deep chords, and impressive crooning. And power pop fans will find the opening bridge of “Record Machine” irresistible with its “ooh-ah” bridge, riffs and handclaps that sound timeless. Creamer tends to extend his songs for both dramatic effect and musical variety, as demonstrated on the infectious “Drugs No More” and “Ride or Die.”

The album’s first half can do no wrong, and he starts to spread beyond the Power Pop and Glam genres on the second half. He gets funky on “Magic” where he’s looking for some “real rock and roll,” and dazzles with Queen-like bravado.  In fact, there isn’t a weak song on the album, except the overtly religious ballad “White Dove.” Overall another contender for top ten album of 2018. Highly Recommended.

Amazon