Spooky Singles and a bagful of treats: Descartes a Kant, Willie Dowling, Wesley Fuller, Cold Expectation, Linda Lindas, and many more!
Kurt Baker and Somerdale
Kurt Baker “Rock N Roll Club”
Kurt Baker is back, and he’s got a badass leather jacket and sneering toughness on the opener, “Hittin’ Rock Bottom,” with its hard-hitting riffs and standout chorus similar to Oasis. Kurt’s emphasis is on the “power” here and less on the pop. The title track and the power ballad “She Don’t Wanna Be Alone” are closer to the traditional Kurt Baker sound, both impressively written songs.
From there it mines influences from the ’80s, as “Love Express” seems to go all synth dance club, similar to The Orion Experience, and “Good Feeling” has a similar vibe. Then “Bright Blue Sky” goes back to those heavy bass riffs and an arena anthem. Even with the heavier production, you can’t dilute Kurt’s solid hooks; “Missed Connection” is another catchy guitar/synth gem. Produced and mixed with the talented help of Wyatt Funderburk, he helps keep Kurt on track. This is the strongest Kurt Baker album in a long time; almost everything here sticks!  Highly recommended and nominated for my year-end top ten list. Don’t miss it!
Somerdale “Let’s Get Started”
It’s been 7 years, but we finally have a good follow-up to Shake It Maggie. New Jersey power pop phenoms are back on the Kool Kat label. “Let’s Get Started” is a winning opener, as they rock a Who meets Cheap Trick-inspired sound that hasn’t aged a bit. “Come Enjoy” is a simple party theme, but it works just fine. While “Crooked Road” is a more traditional rocker, the chorus brings it together. “Missing You” has all the right elements but feels repetitive, much better is the ballad “Lulu,” a solid example of a great rock vocal setting the mood.
“Good Enough” and “Better Without Her” are consistent melodic rock with some nice musical hooks thrown in, as “Taking You Back” feels inspired by The Sweet. While nothing here is too deep, the music is wonderfully performed and keeps Somerdale in the mix of your power pop playlist. Highly Recommended.
October Singles: Portable Radio, Golden Richards, The Lunar Laugh, The House of Jed, Deer Friends, Super Cassette
October starts the busiest month, as music floods my inbox and doesn’t let up until Christmas. That’s okay. We start with the bouncy Sunshine pop “I Feel Like A Dog” by Portable Radio taken from the forthcoming LP Counting To Three. Gotta love those harmonies and cascading chords. A missed summer hit, Golden Richards rocks that ice cream truck with “Hey Mr. Softee,” and its power pop perfection. The Lunar Laugh has a new single “Born Weird,” with its cool song structure and a neat psyche-pop break. The House of Jed offers up an EP that deserves some attention, rock funk “Coming Off Pretty” and the danceable “Everybody Lies” are excellent. Our freebie “Magic Fruit” from Deer Friends has a bit of glam guitar and honey-sweet hooks, it’s a keeper! Finally a sneak peek at Super Cassette‘s new album with the single “Continue?” which feels akin to Dowling Poole! Rich melodies that deserve to be heard!
Do you love Yacht Rock? Then check out Yächtley Crëw.
While we love power pop here, we also cover a few other genres (indie rock, jangle pop, bubblegum), and one of them is yacht rock. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Yacht Rock came into being. It has a smooth, melodic, and often soft rock sound, with pop, R&B, and easy-listening influences. Most yacht rock songs have rich vocal harmonies, polished sounds, and lyrics that often talk about love, leisure, and living the good life. We promoted a great collection of Yacht Rock songs several years ago with Andrew Curry’s compilation of covers (by mostly power pop artists.) Available on Amazon.
Yächtley Crëw “Seas The Day”
But Yächtley CrĂ«w have dedicated their entire existence to these songs, and they tour the country promoting it. And it’s much more than your average cover band. They have an entire persona built around it, with stage choreography, and audience participation, and they started to add to the genre by producing original music. I got to see the band in action last weekend, and like Jimmy Buffet they cultivate their fan base. People attend in captain’s hats with drinks in hand swaying to the music. Available on Amazon.
