The Cheap Cassettes and Bloodthirsty Virgins

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The Cheap Cassettes

The Cheap Cassettes “All Anxious, All The Time”

Seattle rockers The Cheap Cassettes come out of the gate with guitars blazing on the title track “All Anxious, All The Time” with a garage styled power pop that recalls The Buzzcocks, Redd Kross and The Jam. Lead vocalist Chaz Matthews has the proper attitude on “My Little Twin” as it charms with a tight melody and thick hook.

The anthemic guitar lines on “Reckless” and “Good And Shitty” almost flirts with punk, but they stay in melodic territory. “Get Low” is a working class love song that sticks just fine, and “Disappear With You” has a bigger jangle component than the other tunes. “Black Vinyl” has the classic boogie rhythm that is tailor made for a live show at The Cavern. Overall its unrefined rock and roll that deserves to be heard. Highly Recommended.

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Bloodthirsty Virgins

Bloodthirsty Virgins “Bloodthirsty Virgins”

Like a lost soundtrack to a vintage movie unearthed, Bloodthirsty Virgins isn’t power pop but a rock guitar added to a jazzy lounge sound. The 5-minute opener “In The End” features fuzzy reverb and the silky vocals of Nikki Wonder.

“The Want Of You” and “Fire” showcase the cinematic and torch song stylings of Wonder, who’s is both subtle and seductive here. “So Wicked” is another highlight that emphasizes these qualities. Overall the guitar texture recalls The Jefferson Airplane without all the psychedelic coverings. This is all thanks to talented guitarist Scott Gorsuch (Lollipop Factory). No real filler and it’s definitely a grower for a quiet night, so turn the lights low and give it a listen.

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Brent Cash and Dana Countryman

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Brent Cash

Brent Cash “The New High”

Brent Cash has been very carefully releasing finely crafted pop albums every ten years or so. On his third album, The New High Brent goes for a very sophisticated softness, on the title track it recalls Van Dyke Parks or Burt Bacharach with its orchestral strings. The great piano melody “Out for Blood” brings to mind a classic Todd Rundgren ballad, and its my favorite here. The lighter “The Wrong Thing” and “Dim Light” break up the heaviness of the earlier tracks. “The Way You Were” has a bit of McCartney mixed into its Wilsonesque melancholy.

While this is all beautiful pop, it has a downbeat and serious theme.”I’m Looking Up” is another gem with swirling chord combinations and harmonies and “Edge Of Autumn” flirts with ELO’s classical style. Highly Recommend.

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Girlville

Dana Countryman “Girlville”

Songwriter/Producer Dana Countryman has written and recorded three albums of his particular brand of “retro-pop” but now he’s taken his high-gloss template to girl groups of the early ’60s. Using a variety of vocalists he sets the mood perfectly with Lisa Mychols, Molly Felder, Kathy Hettel, Tricia Countryman, Julie Johnson Sand, Andrea Perry, Kelly Harland, and Lisa Jenio.

Some brilliant songwriting is found among the gems here, “I’ve Run All Out Of Tears (To Cry Over You)” gets the spirit and its catchy chorus stays with you. In the best tradition of these ballads, all songs are strictly from the girl’s point-of-view.  It also hits the bubble-gum style of “How Do You Know When You Love A Boy?” and “Bom Sh’Bom Sh’Bom.” Audiophiles will have a ball picking up each Brill Building cue and reference. However, with 19 tracks it could have used a bit of editing – my guess is Dana was having too much fun here. Fans of the early girl-band era must get this one.

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Friday Vids and stuff: Brent Cash, The Kickstand Band, Public Access TV, Genuine Fakes

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Brent Cash returns with a new album called “The New High” and its a rich melodic piece of pop. Album review coming Monday!


The Kickstand Band “Stay Inside” Music Video is here, one of my favorite summer tunes, just in time for winter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5B_g5u6cFc
Public Access TV‘s “Evil Disco” shows one of the younger power pop bands that debuted last year.


The Genuine Fakes really love Guns N’ Roses, Can’t you tell?

Freebies: The White Oranges, Surf Cassette, The John Sally Ride

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The White Oranges

Indie-Rock trio from Saginaw, Michigan produced by Andy Reed, so you know it will sound great. The opener “Everybody” is a catchy longer rocker, those 5 minutes rush right by. These tunes are long but good. Fans of Weezer will love this too. Get it now!

Surf Cassette

Nice throwback to the grungey-pop of ’90s with this band from Milan Italy. Unfortunately “Lust For Life” can’t compare to the Iggy Pop classic. Skip to “Mess In My Head” and “Maybe I’m Not Sober” for fuzz guitar bliss.

The John Sally Ride

The brilliant pairing of John Dunbar and Sal Maida (Milk & Cookies) with drummer Sal Nunziato. I love this amazingly tight single and B-side that is a preview of the upcoming LP “A New Set Of Downs” Get it now!

The Jigsaw Seen and Thorcraft Cobra

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The Jigsaw Seen

The Jigsaw Seen “For The Discriminating Completist”

For The Jigsaw Seen, this career-spanning retrospective encompasses tracks originally released over their entire career that was previously unavailable. Out of the gate is the fuzz guitar version of Sinatra’s “The Best Is Yet To Come,” sure to please. The catchy gem “Celebrity Interview” has a great riff in the chorus, and the dense instrumentation on a cover of the Bee Gees “Melody Fair” make these songs stick in your head.

While not everything is a gem, there are enough unique melodies here, from the psyche-pop of “When You’re Pretty” to the twisted guitar lead on Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk” to make this a “must hear” collection. Highly Recommended.

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Thorcraft Cobra

Thorcraft Cobra “The Distance”

Despite the colorful name (after a vintage amp), this band is the songwriting duo Billy Zimmer (Brown Eyed Susans) and Tammy Glover (Sparks). No surprise here, the songwriting is excellent and the openers “Carolina” and “Uncoupling” have a mellow start but build to pop perfection with great chords.

“Killing Time” is comparable to a next-generation Fleetwood Mac song, and “No One Believes Her” has a great classic rock energy. It takes a bit more patience for the four-minute-plus songs like “Fade To White” and “It’s OK” but they are infused with a sincerity and thoughtfulness many other artists lack. Check these guys out and you won’t regret it.

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