Remembering Ducky: One of the best power pop producers

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Last month, Ducky Carlisle passed away. One of the most loved behind-the-scenes players in Boston’s music scene, Ducky Carlisle, was an engineer who won three Grammys, a popular producer, and a drummer who played for several decades. Eric Barao, often featured on our site, wrote a fitting obituary.
Living in Medford, Carlisle ran his basement studio, Ice Station Zebra, for many years. He worked with and was a client of many artists, including The Major Labels, Animal Talk, The Figgs, Modern Day Idols, B.B. King, Susan Tedeschi, Rooney, Parks, Mike Viola, Bleu, Waltham, Air Traffic Controller, The Flashcubes, Bang Camaro, The Sheila Divine, Andrea Gillis, and a host of others (too many to mention them all).

Bleu wrote a birthday song about him, and I think it says it all.


If you’d like to dive into Ducky’s life, here are a few worthy links:

Meet Ducky

Bleu Sessions with Ducky

 

Thomas Walsh and The Pozers

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Thomas Walsh

Thomas Walsh “The Rest is History”

Thomas Walsh (Pugwash), a musician who has a lot of great inspirations (XTC, ELO, etc.), put out his first record under his own name. Walsh moves beyond his Pugwash oeuvre a little and adds his own spin on some stylistic sounds, with additional help from heavyweights like Michael Penn and Neil Hannon.

The Jeff Lynne-like single “A Good Day For Me” is a brilliant opener that once again proves Walsh’s talent. His songwriting remains strong on highlights like “All This Hurt,” which boasts a great jangling melody. Even better is the sublime “Take Your Time,” with its fantastic bridge. He also excels at trippy psych-pop with the hypnotic bassline of “Everyone Back in the Water.” He also does a fair amount of experimental pop with the unexpected chord shifts of “Love in a Circumstance” and the tribal chanting of “This Is My Fortress.” Add the poignant counting of his blessings with “To Be That Child Again” and the orchestral sweep of “We Knew,” and there you have it. More hits than misses, and not a single dud. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Pozers

The Pozers “Something Pop”

This Texas band makes the most of recording at Abbey Road Studios in London and opens up with “And You Love,” a five-minute epic with soaring guitars and synths. Despite the studio gloss, lead singer-songwriter Jim Richey effectively gets across a variety of sounds with a punkish garage style.

The Pozers’ style works best on fast-tempo catchy tunes like “Alison With An Edge” and “It’s All About You.”  The ballads here are also well written, like “Make Up,” but the percussion needs to be toned down a little in the mix. The ambitious harmonies on “Her Facade” aim a little higher than the band’s ability to do it, but it settles into a nice mid-tempo groove. A big highlight is the Merseybeat and handclaps of “Missing You (Missing Me),” and the slow groove on “Ease Off My Heart.” This is a band that definitely deserves to be heard.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Cupid’s Carnival and Dave Kuchler

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Cupid's Carnival

Cupid’s Carnival “Rainbow Child”

Do you remember when power pop’s defining characteristic was that it sounded like the Beatles? Bands like The Vinyl Kings, The Weeklings, and Spongetones did it right, and now Cupid’s Carnival firmly plants its flag in that realm again. Their 2016 LP Everything Is Love was a love letter to the sound of the Fab Four. Loaded with hooks and jangling gems, why fix things that aren’t broken? So here we are for a second helping, but the production and mixing got even a little better. And even the songwriting has improved! These songs were singles collected over the past 3 years.

While they are Beatlesque, they aren’t slavish and manage to be completely original. Very similar in approach to Andrew Gold’s The Fraternal Order of the All, the songs lean heavily on the hippie aesthetic; “Rainbow Child” and “Flower Power Revolution” manage to be Lennonesque gems. But the best highlights have a more McCartney vibe: “You’re So Cool,” Thinking About You Girl,” and the harmony-laden “Every Single Day.” Highly recommended, and it fills a slot on my top ten list for 2023.

Sony Music Japan | Kool Kat Musik

 

David Kuchler

David Kuchler “Love & Glory”

Like Mike Viola or Nick Piunti, Kuchler masters the 3-minute gem with a minor chord progression but with a distinctly brighter vocal. “In It With You” is the first song and the big single here, loaded with a great power pop hook and a sweet guitar solo in the break. It’s a very high bar to climb for the rest of the songs. The songs were developed over the course of a 3-year period. The last tune written, “Labor of Love,” is a short, catchy tune that gives David a rationale for becoming a musician.

The passionate approach of “She’d Rather Be With You” about giving up someone you’ve been obsessed with is another gem, with a classic power pop song structure. After this, it’s not as consistent, but still very good. David’s vocals also lend themselves to the more country-styled “All I Need” and “Slow Day.” His inventive slice-of-life lyrics are enjoyable on the Nick Lowe-styled highlight “Lovers Talk.” The mandolin lead “This Old Car” describes the scene of junking memories of mid-life, and “Chasing Glory” gives us a spirited jangle pop gem. The effort and great songs make this highly recommended.

Kool Kat Musik | Amazon

November Singles and EPs: The Dollyrots, Timmy Sean, CLONE, Wild Arrows, KC Bowman, Wyatt Funderburk

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A very big month ahead, we start with The Dollyrots, likely the coolest rock and roll parents, bassist/vocalist/mom Kelly Ogden, and her husband, guitarist/dad Luis Cabezas. They released the Night Owls LP last month, and this cool song, “Hot Mom with the Skinny Pants On,” is likely this decade’s “Stacy’s Mom.” After that, with all the hoopla over the “new” Beatles single, I found someone who covers it better than The Threetles, and that would be Timmy Sean! Next CLONE has it all: Glam guitars and a kick-ass female band. Check out “Queen” on the new EP, Knock Out Drops Vol. II. Next, NYC’s own Wild Arrows has a neat 80s vibe and a strong, catchy group of songs that deserve your attention. Then we get a very cool freebie from KC Bowman (Corner Laughers) and it’s a full album of 16 gems—so much good music I can’t just pick one song to highlight. Finally, in advance of his new LP, producer and songwriter Wyatt Funderburk returns with two singles. “November” is very subtle and light, but the follow-up “You’ll Know” is another gorgeous ballad that Wyatt does so well. More releases, and I’m behind again!




The Blood Rush Hour and SLD

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Roger Joesph Manning, Jr.

The Blood Rush Hour “Sanity Fare”

Musician and songwriter Robert DeStefano returns with a new Blood Rush Hour LP. He’s recruited a fine group, including producer and musician Willie Dowling (Dowling Poole). The melodies are as grand and intricately constructed as those in a progressive operetta. The opener “Within This Tragedy” bounces along about the modern obsession with the spectacular, while “My Invention” is a chord progression and key change odyssey following a narrative stream of consciousness.

The band has two different lead vocalists. Joseph J. Tobias, Jr. is an effective vocalist on songs like “No One’s There (At All).” However, in songs with Scott Evans, his higher vocals soar on “Here We Go Again,” recalling a young Jon Anderson. The album’s second half (neatly split by an instrumental “Intermezzo“) doesn’t have as many highlights. But the songs are just as strong; “Billy Boy” and “Tunnel’s End” have gorgeous harmonies and soaring guitars. These songs need repeat plays to be appreciated. Fans of Skeleton Staff, Spygenius, and Martin Gordon (Sparks) will all enjoy this cerebral pop. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

Sounds Like Digging

SLD “Like Sunshine”

The duo of cousins Paul Costanza and Tom Parisi formed the band SLD (short for the original name “Sounds Like Digging”) The untimely passing of Tom in 2022 meant that gathering these songs was not an easy task, but a welcome reminder of both talents and their ability to craft dense, glossy 60’s-influenced rock.

“A Perfect Day,” “His,” and “Friend of a Friend” boast some great Beatles-styled guitar flourishes and codas. Other songs have moments of greatness, like “Like Sunshine” and “Matter of Time,” with their sunny minor chord shifts, but they lack the hooks needed to remain memorable. Paul’s lead vocals shine across the album, especially on the McCartney-like ballads “Anita” and “Cold Level Heart.” The DIY spirit is evident here, and fans of bands like The Toms will enjoy this collection of final songs by the duo. It remains music that deserves to be heard.

Kool Kat Musik