Lisa Mychols and Three Hour Tour

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Lisa Mychols

Lisa Mychols “Sugar”

The queen of Power Pop is back! Mychols blend of catchy melodies and girl group harmonies are in full swing on the appropriately titled Sugar. Her light vocal blend and psyche pop groove on the opener “One Revolution” does remind me of Karla Kane in spots. Stylistically Lisa visits different directions from the bubblegum of “Loving You Baby” to the coy balladry of  “My Friend And Me.” I did notice that “Endless Daydream” is a medley of three different songs stitched together.

Like most of Lisa’s discography, there is no filler here. The highlights include the rocking “Domino,” the sunshine pop of “Don’t Wanna Close My Eyes,” “Goodbye All Carousels” and the jangling gem “He’s Got Me Dreaming.” It’s tough to pick out favorites here, as the songwriting is strong all around. Highly Recommended and a contender for my top ten list of 2018.

Amazon | CD Baby

Three Hour Tour

Three Hour Tour “You Never Know”

It’s another tour of duty for the Champagne, IL band lead by singer/songwriter Darren Cooper. He’s joined by Adam Schmidt and Brad Elvis (The Elvis Brothers) to create a clean sound that will appeal to fans of Tommy Keene, Matthew Sweet, and The Well Wishers. He’s always created reliably catchy hooks, and starting off with the title track “You Never Know.” The mid-tempo gem describes a meeting with a classic rocker and closes with a sweet guitar solo. “Fallen Angel” is more typical, with a sing-along chorus and descending bass line. The chiming riffs of “Gray Waves” is another highlight, full of beautifully layered guitar rhythms.

Cooper gets notably Who-like on the brilliant instrumental “Pascal The Hypnotist,” and the starry-eyed hero worship of “The Ballad of Buddy Rich,” reminded me of Weezer a little, but overall there isn’t any real filler. This is a Three Hour Tour you’ll want to repeat often. Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Saturday Night EPs: Wilkerson, Brad Marino, Lia Pamina & Dario Persi

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The first single from Danny Wilkerson‘s forthcoming album Wilkerson.  The album produced by Bleu and featuring Roger Joseph Manning Jr. will be released July 20, 2018. I like this one a lot, its got the goods!  Get it on Amazon

We saw this coming from Brad Marino (The Connection) last month and now his solo EP is here! Brad plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals. Fans of The Connection will not be disappointed.”Hey Girl” has got a little Stones-like R&B guitar lead, and “Special Friend” is also charged up (and also has a Stones reference!) His first Ramones styled single “C’mon C’mon C’mon” is also available. Get it on Bandcamp or Amazon.

A perfect European combination! Spain’s Lia Pamina and Italy’s Dario Persi (Radio Days) recreate a sweet sixties sounds on So Far Tonight. They shared the songwriting, and the result of this joint effort is pure magic. “So Far Tonight” and “Time’s Passing By” are real Beatlesque gems and “Midnight Walk” is a catchy tune that takes advantage of Lia’s hushed vocals.

Get it on Bandcamp or Amazon

The Vinyl Skyway and Alex Bloom

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The Vinyl Skyway “Long Cool Journey”

Cambridge, MA band The Vinyl Skyway (singer/songwriters Michael Hayes and Andy Santospago) are back with another fine album. It opens strong with the catchy gem “She Don’t Worry,” where they almost brag “I got my hooks in you / What are we gonna do?” It indeed hooks you. It then steps back to a more thoughtful indie ballad on “Old Route 9,” it’s a beautifully subtle composition about wandering the Boston streets with bitter memories. The next few tracks are sparse but emotionally resonate, notably “Wasteland” and the country folk of “Reach into My Heart.”

Midway through the guitars and tempo pick up again on the fine “Travel King,” which has some ELO-like echoes. Santospago’s vocals have some nice double tracking on the sad portrait of an ageless hipster on “Subterranean Hearts” and the acoustic “Indian Summer” is very reminiscent of Paul Simon or Tom Petty. The rich sound on “Everbody Wants To Say Goodbye” is another highlight, with the added vocals of Kristin Cifelli. Stylistically, it doesn’t always work – it feels like 2 different albums mixed together. But the songwriting earns your respect with repeated listens. Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp Only

Alex Bloom

Alex Bloom “Blue Room”

Roger Manning Jr. recommended I listen to Alex Bloom (he is currently helping produce his next album). I wasn’t disappointed, as Alex is a singer-songwriter very much in the mold of Elliot Smith or Chris Price. He’s got a distinct melodic gift and high vocal register that really impresses. The soaring harmonies and ageless melody of “Eyes In The Back of Her Head” is a real keeper and the ethereal pop gem “I Don’t Know You Anymore” will stick in your head for days.

The aching piano ballad “Change Your Mind” is another huge highlight, but the remaining tracks on this short album struggle to reach those lofty heights of greatness.  “It’s Alright” injects a little indie soul, the slow-building “One More Shot” has a fine chorus, but it drags out a bit long. With what I heard, I expect greatness on his next album (No pressure, Alex).

Amazon

The Spindles and Talkie

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The Spindles

The Spindles “Past and Present”

Chicago band The Spindles have everything you look for in a power pop band. The debut album has a distinct sound that marries the British Invasion and ’70s power pop bands together. Fans of The Raspberries, Hollies, and The Records will really enjoy it. They starts with the catchy “Prisoner of War,” driven by the steady percussion and jangling guitars. Next, a sweet cover of The Hollies “Look Through Any Window” lets us know where the band’s heart lies, and the excellent “Whenever We’re Together” is a big highlight with its rich harmonies and tight composition.

It evens out towards the middle, and the music is consistently good. The title track “Peace With The Past” teases us with the world’s most famous opening chord, before it goes into its compelling case for nostalgia. More highlights include “Annette,”  “If I Fall In Love” and the Elvis Brothers cover “Santa Fe.” Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik | CD Baby

Talkie

Talkie “Fundamental Things”

San Francisco pop band Talkie is back. It starts out on a low key, piano version of the old pop standard “As Time Goes By.” Then it shifts into the funk-pop “Fuzzy Disco,” a catchy track with a thick bass line that leads everything. The easy-going “Marcy” has a sun-soaked melody line, with a neat fuzz solo.

“Sorry, Shy” is another bright shimmering tune, but things slow considerably with “Costa Rica,” that plods along with its aimless rhythm guitar. It devolves from that point. You’ll hear influences like Air and Maroon Five as it wades into this ambient territory. None of the stellar harmonies that marked the band’s debut are present. Hopefully, we’ll hear some on the next LP.

Amazon

Starbelly and Roger J. Manning, Jr.

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Starbelly

Starbelly “Four”

Like many power pop icons from the ‘90s, Starbelly has finally released their long-awaited reunion Four. Anchored by the duo of Cliff Hillis and Dennis Schocket, they are joined by Bryan Ewald (guitar) and Greg Schroeder (drums). And like similar mature artists (Matthew Sweet, David Myhr) they look back on life a little mellower, but the melodies are as sharp as ever.

It opens with a low key “The Boy Who Learned How to Cry” about a father’s passing and moving on from the past on “Lay Low.” Good tunes, but greatness starts out on the subtle ballad “Sleep” with its rich ear-worm chorus and Ewald’s George Harrison-like slide guitar. With “The Stars of Constantine” it sounds like the glorious Starbelly of old, with dense guitars and harmonies. The upbeat “Strange Constellations” and Posies-like “Yes I Love Her Again” are also great songs. But the amazing thing is the music all get progressively better as the album continues.

The five-minute-plus “Danny Opus” is a musical suite similar to Abbey Road, with distinctive melody lines that tell the tale of a rock star’s obsession and it is simply awesome. The songs after this put it over the top as “Emily Says,” “Jesus Freak” and “Don’t Wake Up” are also excellent. No filler and this does make my top ten for 2018. Super Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Tallboy Records | Kool Kat Musik


Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. “Glamping” EP

It’s hard to believe but it’s almost 10 years since we heard any solo work from Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.  Playing within Beck’s touring band with Jason Falkner (another Jellyfish alum) is how he spends his day job. I interviewed Roger recently about why it took this long to get an EP out.

The new 4 song EP called Glamping starts with “Operator,” a catchy Jellyfish styled tune with a telephone theme that has some great hidden references to Steely Dan and Tommy Tutone. This is an excellent start, but “Funhouse” doesn’t quite match it. The dark theme about budding puberty seems mashed into an overly sunny chorus. Next, “Is It All a Dream” is light synth-pop that feels like filler and the six-minute “I’m Not Your Cowboy” is like a slow building  Elton John-styled tune.

While it’s comforting to know that Roger Manning still sounds great and has some Jellyfish magic left in him, I look forward to him really letting loose. As per our interview, Roger will be coming out with new music more regularly and I can’t wait. Fans should pick it up and he’s packaged it with newly re-released versions of his last two solo LPs Catnip Dynamite and Land of Pure Imagination.

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