What do you get when you combine power pop pros Kai Danzberg and Dana Countryman? Probably one of the sunniest, most optimistic slices of pop ever, and a perfect theme to start your summer. Get this gem today!
Trip Wire‘s founding duo Marty Schneider and Bill Hunt are joined by newer band members Stu Shader on drums and Jeff Shelton (The Well Wishers) on bass. This is a great new single from the band. Check it out!
David Myhr‘s new LP remains on my summer playlist. Check out the album review here. And this is his new video for “My Negative Friend”
Another prominent pairing is this special single from The Red Button featuring the legendary Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits). It was a truly an A&R miracle thanks to Marty Scott of JEM Records. Get the single here.
The Weeklings are back! It’s a new single that was recorded during the Abbey Road sessions for Studio 2 last year and has never been released. Look for it now on Amazon. Dominique Leone sends us some wonderful piano songs with complex arrangements and solid melody. Check out “Domestic Bliss” and the rich multitracking on “I’ll Always Be Right Here.” And yes it’s a FREE download on Bandcamp.
Ben from the band Onward Chariots, has a new project called Ancient Babies with a mix of melodic rock, disco and electro dance pop. Yeah, this isn’t what I usually feature here but definitely check out the last track “Rolling Like A River” a rocking garage styled theme.
Spygenius of Canterbury, England, last album Pacéphale (pah-say-fahl) is being re-released in the USA. The band plays pop in the jangly, hooky, mold of XTC or Robyn Hitchcock and it’s accompanied by an illustrated storybook — check it on Big Stir Records or Amazon.
Dana Countryman is a treasured talent that has devotes himself to the lost art of 70’s styled AM pop, his songwriting and compositions are a perfect amalgam of Richard Carpenter and Neil Sedaka on his latest Joy of Pop. The opener “Perfect Sunny Day” is a excellent example of Beach Boys styled sunshine pop, full of bubblegum and rainbows. “No Other Guy” is a great follow up, a sugary mid-tempo love song with great rhythms and criss-crossing harmonies. Dana gets help from Dee Long (Klaatu), Matt Tyson, Chad Quist, Mike Marinig and his wife, Tricia Countryman.
Most of the songs are romantic yearnings, like the near-obsessive “Can’t Stop Thinking ‘Bout You” and “Oh, Roxanne” about crushing shyness. Dana goes doo-wop “With All My Heart” and “Hang On Little Girl,” so you’ll hear some Four Seasons influences too. A harmony duet with Tyson “Tell Me That You Love Me” is a very Everly styled gem. Unfortunately, with 14 tracks Dana loses steam towards the album’s end as the songs get more saccharine, and overly sentimental. Like gorging on cotton candy, you can only take so much. However, a majority of the music is pure magic. Get it!
Canadian music icon and former Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page will be touring again, here is the video from his recent solo LP “Surprise, Surprise” They Might Be Giants are back with “I Like Fun” and they sound better than ever. Album drops on January 19, 2018.
Some of my long time favorite artists are coming out with new material, so I figured I’d break protocol and share some singles and videos:
It’s been too long, but Spirit Kid is back with a kick-ass single “To My Romeo,” and hopefully a new album cannot be far behind.
Nicole Atkins has been touring a lot lately and after some notable collaborations, she’s started a funding effort for a new album Goodnight Rhonda Lee.
Chris Merritt is a classically trained pop wunderkind and after a series of innovative albums, he took a career break. But now he’s working on”Be Minor” from the upcoming album Time Is Real. Give a listen.
The lovely and talented Lisa Mychols always seems to have something cooking. Her great vocals are featured on the new single “He’s Got Me Dreaming” and it’s available on CD Baby.
I predicted it and it came true! R. Stevie Moore and Jason Falkner backed by the British indie band Happyness at SxSW 2017
Aimee Mann’s Mental Illness shows off her rich, incisive and wry melancholia in an almost all-acoustic format, with a “finger-picky” style inspired by some of her favorite ‘60s and ‘70s folk-rock records, augmented by haunting strings arranged by her longtime producer, Paul Bryan. Aimee remains a student of human behavior, drawing not just on her own experiences to form the characters in the songs but tales told by friends.
Beloved power-pop songwriter Peter Holsapple (The dB’s and Continental Drifters) is self-releasing a new vinyl 45 record, “Don’t Mention the War” b/w “Cinderella Style” on his own Hawthorne Curve Records. “Don’t Mention the War” is a poignant look at one man’s post-traumatic stress syndrome and how it affects his adoring nephew. With low, somber brass (Mark Daumann on tuba) and echoes of battles past, this is another engaging Holsapple story-song, steeped in dark emotions and vivid character assessment.
A new video from The Campbell Apartment is cause for celebration. “Something In The Way” is a refreshing and upbeat tune starring Dana Mandolesi and filmed by fantastic filmmaker Shahrzade Ehya. It was part of the band’s EP “Sundogs” which you can get on Amazon. Great stuff!
