Mo Troper and Dropkick

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Mo Troper

Mo Troper “Natural Beauty”

Mo Troper is back with his third full-length album, where he opines on relationships, obsessions, love and does it with an unmistakable vocal style. “I Eat” opens the set as a slow-building gem about self-destructive habits. The jangling “Your Boy” has a little DNA from The La’s “There She Goes” and it’s every bit as infectious. Each tune builds this picture of a hopeless romantic like “In Love With Everyone” and the multi-tracked acapella “Everything.” Mo goes on about long-distance relationships in “Jas From Australia” and the catchy jealousy of “Your New Friend.”

Few I know can make regret and loss sound so bright and sunny in under two minutes. “Potential” is another lush melody with strong guitars “we had so much potential when
we were young and stupid/but nothing ever came of it/we left it there and now it’s dead.” You almost wish there were more verses here to fill it out and keep those hooks fresh in your head. Eventually, Mo comes crashing back to sober reality on the church organ dirge of “Business As Usual.” Overall a wonderful album, that will get many repeats on my playlist. Highly Recommended.

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Dropkick

Dropkick “The Scenic Route”

After his stint in last years hit The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness, Andrew Taylor returns to his home-band Dropkick to continue making great indie-pop. The band sounds like Elliot Smith fronting for Teenage Fanclub on the jangling opener “Feeling Never Goes Away.” Taylor’s light vocal floats above the rhythms on “Catching On” and the mid-tempo ballad “I’m Over You, Goodbye.”

The slower tempo rockers “For Too Long” and “Disappearing”  emphasize the guitars a bit more, but overall as the title suggests, the band’s tone is mostly mellow here. After the up-tempo catchy “A Matter of Time,” the songs slow considerably. The ballad “Broken From The Start” boasts great guitar solos between the verses and helps make this an above-average album that deserves to be heard all the way through. Highly Recommended.

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Singles and Freebies: The Empty Hearts, Ex-Norwegian, Kai Danzberg, Chris Catalyst, Richard Turgeon, Rozwell Kid and the TM Collective

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What can I say? The Empty Hearts are a kick-ass power pop band and they’ve got a Beatle on the skins for this nostalgic look back. It’s awesome to see Ringo here, but I liked the B-side “Tell Me Reasons Why” even better. Can’t wait for the album!

Ex-Norwegian is back after his greatest hits LP from last year, and we’ve got this sweet marching tune to chew on.

Kai Danzberg is joined by Drake Bell on this slick pop tune. It’s got some nice orchestration, a cool guitar break and worth a listen. Maybe it’s part of an upcoming album?

UK musician Chris Catalyst gives us a good example of teenage angst played into a positive theme that is really catchy. “Happy” will make you smile for sure, and its a FREE download.

Richard Turgeon gets into Jackson Browne territory with this mid-tempo guitar song. Another FREE download, and totally worth it.

Rozwell Kid is more punk-pop, check out the Weezer-like “Letterman” is loaded with melodic fuzz and  “Let The Spider Chill” is cool and the brilliant closer “Dr. Doom” is another winner. This EP is a FREE download.

Atlanta based TM Collective has been creating a lot of cover albums over the past few years, just a group of musicians getting together to sing and play favorite artists and soundtracks from Devo, Amy Winehouse, to Rocky Horror. The Beach Boys tribute caught my eye and its got plenty of charm. A big FREE download — explore the band’s catalog!

Anton Barbeau and Gary Ritchie

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Anton Barbeau

Anton Barbeau “Kenny Vs. Thrust”

Prolific cult musician Anton Barbeau is the melodic dadaist for the 21st century and proves it with his strongest release in a long time. His poetic, freestyle lyrics and unique vocals are supported by solid psyche pop rhythms. It’s tough to categorize Barbeau, but his distinct style falls somewhere between Robyn Hitchcock and Julian Cope. “Wire from the Wall” is a good start with its memorable chorus and tin can percussion, then we get the XTC-meets-The Velvet Underground gem “Beautiful Bacon Dream” brimming with texture and melodic distortion.

“Jingle Jangle” has an obvious 12 string melody that feels majestic and the nonsensical “Clean Clothes in a Dirty Bag” is a slightly goofy rocker that will get you moving.  Other standouts include  the lush “Back to Balmain,” the quirky and catchy “Popsong 99” and “Mahjong Dijon.” The album title refers to Anton’s backing bands; “Kenny” in the US and “Thrust” in the UK. But I couldn’t tell much difference, as Anton (and the listener) is the winner in this bout. Certainly a highly recommended album.

Amazon | Big Stir Records | CD Baby

Gary Ritchie

Gary Ritchie “Head On A Swivel”

Gary Ritchie is a classic power-pop artist, similar in style to Jamie Hoover or Gary Frenay whose music can light up the room, and lift your mood instantly. The Beatle wig on the cover offers a clue, that Ritchie has a fab sense of songwriting. “Maybe It’ll Be Tonight” does this with a Raspberries-like guitar riff and a chorus that sticks fast to your brain. Next, the title track has echoes of McCartney as it bounces along, and “Emergency Time” is another classic melody with handclaps and punchy percussion.

The album continues to deliver excellent music quickly and cleanly with “Here We Go Again” and “False Alarm.” The tone slows down on the semi-tropical “Lean On You,” but it’s a momentary pause as “Arms Around A Memory,” “Matter of Time,” and “You” are brilliant songs that round out this album. “Record Store” is a great little vignette about trying to pick up a girl at the local shop, and it reminds me a bit of Lannie Flowers. Almost every song hits the mark and after a few spins, it will quickly become your new favorite LP. It’s hard to argue that this shouldn’t be in the top ten for 2020 — and of course, Highly Recommended.

Amazon | CD Baby

Singles and a freebie: Ken Sharp, Brian Jay Cline, Ken Fox, Neil Nathan, Justine and The Unclean, SA Reyners, Cherry Parke

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A massive pile of new music for you all!

Ken Sharp has released the Davy Jones charity single, “Girl” b/w “Forget That Girl.” “Girl” is the song Davy famously performed on “The Brady Bunch” while “Forget That Girl” is a fantastic Monkees track featured on their “Headquarters” album. All proceeds of the sales of the songs will go to Davy’s charity of choice, the Davy Jones Equine Memorial Foundation, which benefits his herd of horses. 


Brian Jay Cline has been very prolific lately, a master musician with guitar twang and pop hooks. He’s got a new EP on his Bandcamp site, but also this thematic single.

Ken Fox (bassist & showman extraordinaire from The Fleshtones and former bassist of Jason and the Scorchers, yes you have read this correctly) steps out front and center with is debut single “One Less Step” and looking to take over the world by storm with his upcoming solo debut.

It’s been a few years, but its good to hear Neil Nathan do a smashing cover of this John Lennon classic. I couldn’t think of a better time to revive this song for a new generation.

Justine and the Unclean are back. They are a talented women-fronted garage/punk/power-pop band with some new tunes.  Fans of Joan Jett wanna hear this one.

On the soft pop side, SA Reyners delivers a single so sweet and catchy I can’t resist it. Dig that bassline! No relation to The Cufflinks (Ron Dante) golden oldie hit of the same name.


OK, I know nothing about this band except they do their best to imitate The Dukes of The Stratosphear. I give Cherry Parke credit for going there and it’s a FREE download.

Rob Martinez and The Lolas

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Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez “Maybe Miss America”

Rob Martinez is a first-rate pop singer with a vocal that reminds me of the late Davey Jones without the English accent. His style will please fans of Paul McCartney or Neil Finn looking for similar melodic pop. His 3rd LP is produced by Adam Marsland (Standells/Cockeyed Ghost) and mastered by Earle Mankey.

The music is similar to previous albums, but with even more polish. Opening with “The Letter” it’s a got a confessional feeling with guitar flourishes. But the big highlight comes next, as “Summer of Love” has lush harmonies that Adam has lots of experience doing as part of a Beach Boy David Marks work. Rob’s strong vocal carries the melody and it sticks in your head quickly. Another highlight, “Free” is a bluesy pop gem that recalls George Harrison with its loose guitar noodling alongside the chorus. Other tunes that stand out are “All I Ever Wanted” and “Seems Like Only Yesterday” with its wistful look back in time. Overall a great effort and classic pop fans will love it. It’s music that deserves to be heard.

Amazon | CD Baby


The Lolas

The Lolas “Bulletproof”

Tim Boykin is a back, quickly after last year’s highly-rated A Dozen Or Seven Tapestries and he’s joined this time by Jacob Walcher on bass and Valis Procházka on keys and drums. The band’s sound is tweaked to more rock than power pop slightly, but Boykin’s solid command of melodies remains a constant.

“Deestroy” has an ELO-like sound, fast tempo, and a socialist message (“I wanna destroy capitalism, take away your desolate vision”) but it’s so darn catchy. The follow up “Fall Away” sounds a bit mechanical, but “Oceans of The Moon” is very compelling with its terrific chord shifts and the crisp vocal. The band uses heavier riffs on “Stand Up and Fight” and “Stop The War,” and while the songs are good, the continuous fast tempos can wear a listener thin. The slower “When The Cold Winds Blow” is a welcome relief and it shifts the mood nicely. I also liked the feminist theme “She Will Shake The World” with its dense guitar riffs, you almost expect this to show up in the next Captain Marvel movie. The solid “L’Internationale” ends with a fine Beatlesque touch. Overall a highly recommended album.

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