David Brookings and the Average Lookings “Scorpio Monologue”
David Brookings took the slow road to power pop stardom. His eighth album shows how much he’s grown as an artist. Scorpio Monologue goes further with both melody and musicianship compared to his past work. He also experiments with a variety of styles; power pop, rock, folk, and even Bossa nova.
The jangling rhythm anchors the opening progressions of “And It Feel Like.” The song carries a maturity with its solid chorus and shredding guitar solo. But the seriousness eases with the catchy “I Grow Up Fast,” a breezy autobiographical strummer where “the future catches up with the past.” The buzzing power ballad “Time Takes You By” makes the mood with relatable and hopeful lyrics. Brookings also has a good sense of fun with the folky “Silicon Valley” describing the area like a goofy travelogue of Northern California, ending with the choral hymn “Steve Jobs!” The band lets its Chuck Berry flag fly next on “She’s Mad At Me Again,” and it’s simply infectious. Its also takes guts to cover one of the most covered songs ever, but David makes Badfinger’s “Without You” work just fine. Overall not a single weak track, and easily a candidate for my top 10 of 2019 list. Super Highly Recommended.
The Lund Brothers “Loser” 1993-97′ – Remasters and Rarities”
Chris and Sean Lund, aka “The Lund Bros” occupy a unique place in the annals of power pop. In 1995 they were bankrolled by Geffen Records to produce six tracks, but ultimately they were rejected for sounding “too much like the Beatles.” While objectively the band’s music fits more between bands like Extreme or Zebra, what the hell is wrong with The Beatles? The virtuoso guitar shredding skills and multi-track choruses are simply great. The duo continues to produce material, and perform around Washington state.
The demo tracks used these recordings as a basis for their first full-length record, the self-titled “Loser” released in 1998. Chris Lund’s Demon Studios have remastered all these tracks, including songs that were never released! Favorite tracks: In My Hands, Invisible Man, Told You So, Such A Ride and You Know. Highly Recommended.
Milwaukee-based The Last Bees are a project from the mind of singer-songwriter Ian Ash. Playing perfect Beatlesque pop music is comparable to Bushnell’s Law; “easy to learn, but difficult to master.” Very few bands have done it right (The Red Button is one of them) and I’m proud to say The Last Bees deserve to be part of this exclusive club. The Last Bees stick to the Fabs mop-top era (1964-66) for inspiration, and it would’ve been nice to move forward in time, but we can get to that on the next EP.
“I Can’t Wait” is pure infectious joy on par with the Wonders. The Beatles may be the starting template, but Ian makes sure each song has a unique catchy-as-hell chorus that finds the melodic sweet spot. The songs also tap into a kind of youthful vulnerability that has all but vanished from today’s pop music. Care is given to each song so it doesn’t become repetitive and at under three minutes — they never overstay their welcome. A big highlight for me was the mid-tempo ballad “The Final Sting,” with its glossy acoustic strums, recalling The Beatles “I’ll Be Back” in technique. Without a doubt one of the best retro pop EPs you’ll hear in 2019.
Remember power pop in the ’80s? While Pezband’s original Cover To Cover was released in 1979, it foreshadows the mid-80’s production techniques (big bass, delays, loaded reverbs) that gained popularity at that time. Fans will love this remix; the vocals are more prominent and other sonic details are clearer. I talked with band leader Mimi Bentinis earlier this week about the album.
Pezband’s great melodies are still guitar loaded, but they add some synths on “Stella Blue” and the title track adds a steel drum intro. The vocal work is also passed around a bit more. The band’s songwriting is solid, “Meika” should have been a huge hit. The band puts the “power” in power pop on “Back In The Middle,” and “Don’t Look Back.” In addition, “Unexpected” is another excellent tune that deserves repeat listens.
But you can also hear the band’s frustration with its lack of commercial success. One clue; “Make Me Happy” ironically doesn’t sound too happy. Betinis’ mid-tempo “Didn’t We” makes that frustration clear “why’s it all wrong / tried for so long / didn’t we?” It wasn’t that surprising that the band shut down soon afterward. But this rare LP from the Illinois power pop legends definitely deserves re-discovery. Fans of The Beat, 20/20, The Plimsouls, and The Flashcubes will love this. Highly Recommended.
The Un-Teens are classic sounding power pop band with infectious hooks tipping their hat to early punk from Hamilton, Ontario.
Steven Fox’s band Secret Friend is back with a sweet single. Linus of Hollywood (guitars) and Roger Manning Jr. (keyboards) contribute!
Jeff Shelton is busy at work with both The Well Wishers and Trip Wires. “Feelin’ Fine” is a strong single paired with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Second Hand News.”
Chicago band The Embryos resemble Teenage Fanclub on the standout “Wasting All Your Time,” and the other tunes are good too! FREE Download!
French retro pop enthusiast Any Version of Me is back. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we have a way to download the music – but we can stream these tunes. “Thinking of The Days” has a very Lennon-Harrison vibe, and “Look What You’ve Done” is a hybrid of The Four Tops and The Hollies!
Pezband was an American power pop band formed in 1971 in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. The original lineup consisted of Mimi Betinis (guitar and lead vocals), Mick Rain (drums and vocals), John Pazdan (guitar, piano and vocals), and Mike Gorman (bass and vocals). A recently remastered and remixed third LP, Cover To Cover is out now, and I talked with Mimi Betinis about this LP and what happened after that album.
The Maureens are from in Utrecht, the Netherlands with influences that recall The Beatles, The Byrds, Teenage Fanclub, and The Jayhawks. Over the years the band’s line-up has been thinned to a core four: Hendrik-Jan de Wolff (vocals/guitar), Wouter Zijlstra (vocals/bass guitar), Martijn Vink (guitar) and Stefan Broos (vocals/drums). Their songs are structured around blended harmonies and catchy melodies, and the Something in the Air album is their best one yet.
“4 AM” has a brilliant Rickenbacker jangling melody with a swelling chorus – a great standout. The tight harmonies on “20 Years for The Company” is like a mix of R.E.M. and Cast with its catchy folk chorus. The guitars get a little heavier on the ballad “She’s A Dreamer” and the easy-going “Can’t Stop” but the constant dual harmonies of Wolff and Zijlstra are what keeps things sweet. Another good comparison is The Spongetones — most songs are neat and short, with a only a few missteps. The jangling chords on the albums first half give way to rootsy acoustic ballads and some steel pedal guitar. “Trying To Reach You” and “Turn The Page” add guitar distortion to the compositions, and fans of The Grip Weeds will appreciate this. But despite all the retro techniques here, the music doesn’t dwell in nostalgia and sounds fresh and new. Highly Recommended without a doubt.
From sunny Spain, this trio formed in 2015 but longs for those skinny tie pop days when Paul Collins and The Jam ruled the airwaves. Lead singer Joseba “Joss” Aranburu explains “There are just three ingredients to define the Beatpunkers’ sound: a search for melody and vocal harmonies, power-pop guitars and a genuine garage-rock or even punk-rock drums all around.” It’s basic three-chord pop that starts out pretty straight on the opener “Lonesome Heartbreaker.”
It moves into 80’s styled garage pop with “She’s The One” and “No Reverse.” It’s these efforts that will resonate with power pop fans and the strong riffs on “Little Judas,” are another early highlight. Other songs get a bit too generic; “Come On Over” and “Lady Moon” are perfectly constructed but fail to make an impression. However, the band’s worship at the Paul Collins alter is fulfilled with “Sometimes” and “Hey Misses.” The garage Merseybeat “Missing You” is a pleasant surprise, and there while there is no “punk,” there also no clunkers or fillers. Highly Recommended. Amazon | Kool Kat Musik
