Allyson Seconds and Rob Martinez

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Allyson Seconds

Allyson Seconds “Little World”

Allyson is based in Sacramento, CA and “Little World” is a great example of California pop, with contributions from Anton Barbeau, Colin Moulding (XTC) Kimberley Rew (The Soft Boys) Beavis Frond and the late Scott Miller (Game Theory, The Loud Family) amongst others. Her silvery timbre is not unlike The Bangles Susanna Hoffs.

The album sticks to environmental themes with a warm energy that doesn’t sound preachy. On the fast paced title track, Allyson’s soft vocal flows over a keyboard melody and on “Sun Don’t Shine,” Barbeau’s psychedelic fuzz guitar dominates. The momentum slows with the ballad “Summer of Gold” and the new age folk of “Great Blue Heron.” But there are several highlights here; the sparse “Octagon,” “Burning Burning” and “Apples Are Falling” all make good use of Allyson’s gentle voice. Fans of The Jayhawks, The Bangles and Aimee Mann will surely want to pick this album up.

Amazon


Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez “New Love Environment”

Rob Martinez is an Albuquerque singer-songwriter with a crisp retro pop style on Adam Marsland’s Karma Frog label, he brings to mind all those squeaky clean pop singers of the early ’60s transitioning to the psychedelic era like Bobby Sherman or Tony Burrows. “Hanging’ On The Line” and “Love Life” are great examples of sunshine pop with just a dusting of psychedelic flourishes.

“Some People Never Change” gets a little more aggressive, with Hollies-like harmonies and the confessional ballad “Hey Girl” are perfectly fine pop singles. While Martinez innocuous vocal doesn’t put himself apart as much as Allan Clarke (The Hollies) he comes pretty close. And some winning melodies break through, like the catchy “When She Comes To Town” with its Rickenbacker flourishes and the multi-layered chorus of “Hard To Take.” By the albums end we finally get a riff heavy power pop tune “Better Get Ready.” Marsland does a great job on guitar here and provides Martinez ample support. Fans of McCartney and The Left Banke will enjoy this too. Highly Recommended.

Karma Frog Records

EPs Reviews: Jim Eyles, The Bishops’s Daredevil Stunt Club, Vista Blue

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The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club “Don’t Buy This Record”

The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club gives us real sweet EP, it features a variety of styles from the angular alt. rock synths of “Have You Met You” to the bright riffs of the anthemic “Succumb To The Blues.” Clearly the band likes to indulge with longer jams but what is interesting here is the 5-minute long “Just Drive” where the first minute is clearly inspired by the theme of the show Stranger Things. My favorite here is “The Sweetest Song” with a whistling bridge to a catchy chorus. And its a FREE Download — this is so good it’s scary!


Vista Blue “October Days (and October Nights!)”

Vista Blue is back in time for Halloween. The Blue boys give us a real treat in a series of fuzz drenched songs based on horror movie locations, like the Beach Boys inspired “Crystal Lake” and “Trick ‘r Treat.” Also enjoy the Ramones-like “Haddonfield Memorial.” Bonus points if you can name the movies these locations are from. This is also a FREE Download — no tricks here, just a power pop treat!


Jim Eyles “Propeller”

New Jersey based artist Jim Eyles delivers a raw rock and roller “It Takes Too Long” and his take on “Slow Down Fast” makes use of a catchy bass riff. While Eyles vocals are a bit rough, producer Steve Butler (Smash Palace) adds some brilliant guitar work on “You Should Know Better” and the reverb rhythms of “For The World.” Overall a fine introduction to Jim Eyles, and a great addition to your playlist.

CD Baby | Amazon

Slow Down Fast – Jim Eyles from Jim Eyles on Vimeo.

Big Star “Complete Third” and Friends & Frenemies

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Big Star

Big Star “Complete Third”

Big Star’s third album is a big deal in that it appealed to fans outside of its loyal power pop base, and its raw emotions cemented the band’s legend. At this point the band was cut in half, with Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens doing what they really wanted, commercial considerations be damned. Chilton’s lyrics showcase deep depression and frustration, and his vision was highly influential in the development of alternative rock, still felt decades later.

Recorded in 1974 but not released for the first time until 1978, Third would be subsequently re-released, renamed and re-sequenced many times over the years. While some demos and alternate versions and mixes of songs have dribbled out on various compilations, all extant recordings made for the album are presented for the first time on Complete Third. This definitive collection boasts 69 total tracks, 29 of which are previously unheard session recordings, demos and alternate mixes made by producer Jim Dickinson and engineer John Fry. The set allows the listener to track the creation of the album from the original demos, through sessions and rough mixes, to the final masters of each song. The box set contains extensive notes from original participants and artists influenced by Big Star. It’s comparable to The Beach Boys Pet Sounds Sessions in terms of its thoroughness.

While this may be overkill for the casual fan, this is a “must have” for serious Big Star fans and music audiophiles. Highly Recommended.

Amazon


Mystery Lawn Music

Assorted Artists “Friends & Frenemies”

Mystery Lawn is a Northern California label that’s home to many great West Coast power pop bands like The Orange Peels, The Agony Aunts, The Corner Laughers, Anton Barbeau and more. But what I love about a compilation like this is I can discover other bands I have not heard before like The Variable Stars on “The Lights Above Los Gatos” and the light airy vocals of Arts & Leisure on “Can’t Breathe.” And its not all rock and pop, examples of classical (Henry Plotnick) or folk guitar (Black Butterfly Gang) are featured too.

If you dig harmonies and female lead vocals you will love The Flywheels (“Counting To Eleven”) and Alison Faith Levy (“Rainbow Tunnel”) who clearly channels Jackie DelShannon. While not everything here is as infectious as “Oh Please” from the brilliant Marshall Holland, I didn’t really find a really bad track among the 18 songs on display here, and many are exclusive – so pick this one up! Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp exclusive

Cheap Star and Bubble Gum Orchestra

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Cheap Star

Cheap Star “Songs For The Farrelly Brothers”

Although Cheap Star started as an offshoot of both Big Star and The Posies (produced by Ken Stringfellow and John Auer) with each release the band has forged its own distinct identity. Guitarist-lead singer Remi Vaissiere as mastered the hushed lead vocal with just enough harmonies to appeal to fans of Nada Surf and Teenage Fanclub.

“Memories” is a great starting track, as it layers the instrumentation and vocals describing a sad passage of time; “all the things you’ll never see again, one by one everyone disappears…” The shimmering rhythm of “Where Do I Live” is another soothing mid-tempo song, and at points that old Posies sound comes through on several tunes “What’s The Point”, “Stay Behind” and “The Other Side.” Without much contrast in the compositions, it can drag at points, but enough here stands out to keep things interesting  like the solid “Disaster” and the catchy closer “Into Your Arms,” with its distorted guitar solo. Another worthy release from this talented group.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik


Bubble Gum Orchestra “Sticky Love Songs Vol.1 & Vol.2”

Short of Jeff Lynne, the best shot of hearing Electric Light Orchestra’s iconic sound is left to Michael Hildebrandt’s Bubble Gum Orchestra. “Sticky Love Songs Volume 1 & 2” is a double album that fills your ELO fix and allows BGO to branch out a bit more.

Each new album finds Hildebrandt’s technique improving, “You Called To Tell Me” opens similar to “Eldorado,” but delivers a very original tune with a catchy chorus. The orchestral arrangements get more sophisticated across the next several tracks, like “My World Blue.” The sunny “Peppermint Smile” has a terrific jangling middle 8 and “Hard Nights” has a driving dark chorus sandwiched between sunny verses.   With 20 tracks there is sure to be more than a few favorite songs here for the ELO fan.

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Freebies and EP Reviews: The Lunar Laugh, Red Cabin, Kai Danzberg, Melanie Crew and David Myhr

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Jared Lekites is back as The Lunar Laugh with a new singe “Work In Progress” and its got great catchy melody. Jared never disappoints, so get this one!

Long island native Jonathan Foster is back with a new Red Cabin EP. “Willow Tree” and “Falling Apart” are solid pop gems. Its a FREE download so add it to your playlist. 

German musician Kai Danzberg has many influences from disco, modern pop to powerpop and “Time Machine” is clearly influenced by ELO. Some hit potential is definitely here, listen also to “You Keep Turning.”

Okay London native Melanie Crew is NOT power pop, but she’s got a calm sweet voice. She’s actually had songs receive airplay on the BBC. If you want to just chill out this is the FREE download for you.

Video Spotlight

David Myhr(The Merrymakers) has a new single “Spellbound” that I promoted on Facebook a few days ago. It’s a very ELO-inspired track that is featured in a Swedish movie “Flykten till Framtiden.” Looking forward to more Myhr! Get it on iTunes