Yes, Keanu is a popular meme now with his John Wick movies and Richard Turgeon is riding that popularity with his new single “Keanu Reeves.” And a FREEBIE too!
Ken Sharp‘s newest single “Rock & Roll Supershow” is a love letter to Glam Rock with the help of Fernando Perdomo. For fans of T-Rex, Slade, and Sweet this is a “must-buy.”
While I expected something funny from Ballard, “I’ll Drop My Trousers To The Ground” is the bleakest, darkest, and most depressing song I’ve heard all year. You’ve been warned.
Shake Some Action has a new release coming very soon, and here is one of several good singles: “Stanger In The House” has this awesome echoing surf guitar. Check it out.
I have to say that Big Stir Records is doing a tremendous job. They have monthly singles out (currently at #32) and the artists keep getting better.
My favorite of the new bunch is Butch Young‘s “Captain Serious” b/w “Beautiful Dreamer”, the first new music from him in three years since Mercury Man. I don’t have a sample to post, but trust me this is good! Visit The Big Stir Digital Singles Page to hear it.
Nick Lowe is like a fine wine — and his ability to craft catchy melodies with meaningful lyrics get better with age. Supported by masked guitar greats Los Straitjackets, Lowe has penned three original tracks: “Love Starvation,” “Trombone,” and “Blue on Blue.” The A/B sides have a Spanish flavor similar to Richie Valens. However, the real classic here is the tender ballad “Blue On Blue.” Highly Recommended.
San Francisco, CA-based The Morning Line delivers a follow up to 2017’s Smoke. They start with the slow building “Antennas,” a droning guitar melody with reverbed basslines. “Given Up” has a good guitar riff, with a 90’s style very much like Collective Soul.
The band picks up the speed a bit on “1982” and lead vocalist Stephen Smith is like a mellowed Elvis Costello at times. Wistful midtempo songs like “Complicated” and “Sickness” are good, but the folk-rock “Tripwire” slows the momentum. Thankfully the energy level is just right on “Nostradamus” and “No Love Lost.” The catchy “South Carolina” is another highlight. Check it out! Kool Kat Musik
Sofa City Sweetheart “Super(b) Exitos”
LA musician Juan Antonio Lopez (and assorted bandmates) have made a deeply personal statement and a hell of an album. “The Same Old Song (You Were Always On My Mind” is a great low-key opener comparable to Elliot Smith with its “la di da” chorus and “Stanely Waited” is a richly textured character study with a western rhythm that soars during the bridge. Acoustic guitar and strings echo along with the verses of “Annie Stays Home” and the gentle falsetto and harmonies all by itself carry “Floating” along. Every song here is a pocket symphony with really high peaks like “Stop The Thinking” that are simply catchy power pop with the addition of Spanish horn accents that takes it over the top.
“In This Lifetime” is another brilliant single that’s a hopeful pep talk, and following that are the melancholy “I am On My Own” and “Song For Alex.” The album slowly unwinds with more balladry, but it remains compelling musically, especially the ender “So Long / Lucky Nuff.” Lopez pours his heart out in the lyrics and even on the few instrumentals. He designed this album to be listened to as a complete concept, a little adventure that begins when you drop the needle down before the first song and isn’t over until you hear the record crackle at the end. It serves that purpose and earns praise as one of the best LPs of 2019. Highly Recommended.
Ryan Krga (vocals, 6-string acoustic guitar) gives us this very Big Star-ish single. and it’s a FREEBIE too, so it gets very high marks. Also, get his “Testament” EP.
The always excellent Vegas With Randolph delivers a slowly building love song that soars when it gets to the chorus. Bravo!
I have really missed Peter Balderachi. It’s been a few months since his Change. Hope this leads to a new LP, its a great richly melodic rock single.
S.A. Reyners is our “Man On The Scene” and he makes a good impression with this energetic single. The B-side “Jinx” is also pretty catchy.
The venerable Bryan Estepa has a talent for putting emotional anxiety to music. Thank goodness for that.
Stourbridge, England’s Amoeba Teen are back and the songwriting team of Mark Britton and Mike Turner continue to craft catchy tunes, but the band stretches its boundaries and colors outside the lines on Medium Wave. The pop sophistication on the opener “Clementine,” starts out like an Anton Barbeau gem with a mid-tempo narrative but it then launches into a Beach Boys-like coda.
“Babycakes” and “(Coming On) Stronger” mines the familiar Beatles meets Nilsson influences perfectly with driving hooks and sweet guitar breaks. The acoustic folk-like “Wandering Bullets” boasts strings and harmonies comparable with Wilco about life’s everyday addictions. Then it’s back to crunchy power pop with the middle-aged anxiety of “Suit and Tie,” but the band revisits roots pop on “Ship to Shore” and “Hickory Hill,” the latter being a gentle jangling melody that sticks with repeat plays. The Lennonesque ballad “Save” is another tune that dazzles. Each song reveals more and Amoeba Teen proves to be much deeper than the surface. While a few songs are immediate, this is an album that grows on you and doesn’t let go. Highly Recommended.
San Francisco band Talkie continues to formulate lush California soundscapes and pick up right where they left off with 2018’s Fundamental Things. “Headphone, Pt 2” is perfect summer beach music, almost dream-like where “Everybody’s hanging out for the weekend.” But all is not bliss and we start to hear on “Boring Now” that “something is wrong” with that new job… all set to sweet harmonies. The band constructs its catchy narrative perfectly on “Bummer Summerrr,” an anthem for slacking as lead Christopher Isaacs croons “I can’t seem to find my way.” The story takes a dark turn after this.
The reflective “Proper Way” hints at an “easy way out” and the energy level moves up on “Eraser” a catchy guitar gem with just the right amount of guitar fuzz buried in it’s desperate lyric “I wish I could erase myself.” But the band doesn’t wallow in the negative, as the laid back “Turning Over” looks at realistic solutions, and the frantic tempo “I’m Alright” gets into acceptance and “Walk Away” approaches self-renewal. Talkie seamlessly blends each song into the narrative with hints of surf rock and folk. The album coda leads us to the opening piano chords of Fundamental Things, so for the “full concept” listen to both albums in order. Highly Recommended.
Geoff is a power pop veteran from numerous bands (The Connection, New Trocaderos, and The Kurt Baker Band) in addition, he has written and performed many of their biggest hits. So when Connection bandmate Brad Marino went solo earlier this year, Geoff decided to go solo too and throw in the kitchen sink when it comes to pop punk and melodic rock anthems. Geoff delivers his signature sound but without a dominant bass vocal, so he layers his songs in harmonies and rich guitar rhythms.
“This One Is Gonna Be Hot” sets the template with a quick tempo and take-no-prisoners abandon, akin to an early Green Day hit. “Cha-Ching” is a soundtrack to a fast-paced bank robbery, then it slows a bit for the amazingly catchy “Giving In.” The non-stop action continues without everything sounding alike, “I Got The Skinny” could be a Kurt Baker tune with its punk energy and “We Can’t Do It” is another gem with a Beach Boys-like intro about turning down a gig while touring (Maybe this was about 2016?) It was hard to find anything that felt like filler, “All The Hits” is a great sing-along tune, and my favorite song was “Velcro Shoes” about a dude “past his prime.” He even shouts out to Kurt (I believe) when he sings “Punker Than Me.” With 16 short and sweet tracks, it’s a perfect party album for summer and a nominee for best album of 2019.
Rick Gallego (aka Cloud Eleven) makes music for himself and we are blessed he is able to share it with us. It’s pure bedroom-psych-pop from the Brian Wilson/Wondermints school of soundscapes. “On Pismo Beach” has a lovely building chorus with soaring harmonies, and “Aural Illusion” attempts to explain that “magic to my ears” with slow swirling chords and strings similar to ELO. “Bound To Follow” embraces the California sound with lush melody lines, overlapping vocals and sleigh bells.
The poetic folk of “For Weal and Woe” and “L.A. County” is a slight shift in approach, with brightly strummed chords over a light percussive rhythm. Gallego looks back philosophically at his career with “Skywriting” and then “One Big Hideaway” feels like an interpretation of Brian Wilson’s mid 70’s isolation. The title track explains Rick’s contentment to be a “Footnote” in music history. Overall, while the album’s theme is slightly melancholy, it’s not too depressing either. It appears these melodies are just right for quiet contemplation with headphones. Check it out.
