Powerpopholic

Julius C and Manatee

August 11, 2010July 7, 2024 powerpopaholic

Julius C “Don’t Want Anybody” EP
A couple of kids from NYU met up in 2003 and kept playing until they formed this tight unit. Fast-paced and fun, the opening title track is as catchy as hell and demands repeat spins. “My Broken Heart” is a funky throwback that is shadowed by a fuzzy bass line and a solid disco orchestral touches. Plenty of energy on “OK, OK” and the marching piano jam of “You & Me.” Overall these are bright, shiny pop songs with hooks-a-plenty. One of the hottest EPs this year, so when is that full release guys? Check out the video here!

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Manatee “s/t”
This band marries the Velvets, The Band and a touch of Codeine to form a indie/slowcore hybrid. The guitars certainly prod along at a weary pace on “Distance To Mars” that seem better suited to Neil Young, and the harmonies feel dry and out of place. Ironically a highlight here is called “Scapegoat,” with it’s slow jam and vocals matching the solid composition, it’s the most compelling track. The pace picks up slightly on “The Unsuccessful Rapist” with some strong drum work by Russ Thompson. The guitars slow building riffs also work well on “Fluorescent Eyes” but the biggest issue here is that the vocals are indistinct and the entire tone of the album is a downer. I hope they cheer up enough for a sophomore release.

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Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Soundtrack

August 10, 2010July 7, 2024 powerpopaholic

The soundtrack is such an important part of this flick’s overall critical success, it took nearly two years to finish. If you can deal with the movie-band Michael Cera’s Sex Bob-Omb and it’s amateur punk goodness with Beck’s songwriting help, the soundtrack offers several sweet treats. Plumtree puts forth the catchy theme “Scott Pilgrim” and Frank Black (The Pixies) gives us a masterful “I Heard Ramona Sing” which makes it worth getting alone, with it’s smart melodic progression and steady rhythm. The ethereal croon of “By Your Side” by Beachwood Sparks is another winner and “O Katrina!” by The Black Lips is deliciously decadent garage pop.

Scott Pilgrim’s “movie bands” Crash and The Boys (aka Broken Social Scene) and Sex Bob-Omb are brief humorous distractions, and every other track here works great. The T.Rex string heavy opus “Teenage Dream” fits here nicely as well as the Rolling Stones “Under My Thumb.” “It’s Getting Boring By The Sea” is a solid rocker by Blood Red Shoes with tons of energy and Metric’s “Black Sheep” follows it as another potential big hit. The solid ballad “Ramona” penned by Beck (in both acoustic and full orchestral versions) shows he hasn’t fallen off the earth he’s just channeled the band Air. In keeping with movie’s video game effects, it ends with “Threshold (8bit)” a fuzzy electronic game composition. If you’re into the hip and cool, you could do much worse than this. Listen to the whole album streaming.

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The Bubbles "Daydreaming in Technicolor"

August 9, 2010July 7, 2024 powerpopaholic

Austin, TX band with a panache for lazy indie power pop that’s smarter than it sounds at first listen. Starting with “Never-ending Summer” and the catchy follow up “It’s You” the tunes recall the tradition of the Elephant Six neo-psychedelic pop bands. Lead by William Glosup (guitar/vocals) and bandmates Chris Balcom (guitar), Marc Hoegg (bass) and Casey Seymour (drums) they take us on a pretty amazing musical journey.

Musical influences include The Flaming Lips, Pavement and The Velvet Underground with a strong current of Beach Boys spirit all over the album. “One” boasts solid songwriting and composition that brings to mind Ray Davies jamming with Olivia Tremor Control. The minimalist “I Belong to the Stars” is a lo-fi treat with a simple acoustic rhythm and background vocal “bum-bum” harmonies that morph into a full blown spaced jam. “Rewind” boasts a echoing vocal and hook-filled guitar jangle with it’s memories of summer nights. Compared to their previous albums (which are good too) you find a growing sophistication, similar to Ween’s development from a quirky melodic duo to a quirky melodic duo with a cult following of millions.

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The Shamus Twins and Alejandra O’Leary

August 6, 2010July 7, 2024 powerpopaholic

The Shamus Twins “Garden Of Weeds”
The duo of Jerry Juden and Tim Morrow aka The Shamus Twins had a pretty good debut in 2004, so you have to wonder why this follow up took so long. It could be that both guys are still active in other bands (The Murder Bros., The Most, The Moondogs), so I’ll give ’em a bit of slack here. The sound is straight ahead garage-styled power pop that will appeal to fans of The Grip Weeds, The Beatles, Kinks and other guitar centric bands. “You Know My Name” is a tight catchy rocker, and “Garden Of Weeds,” a standout on the IPO Vol.10 compilation, remains a great track here. “Life Is Strange” has that great jangle and sha-la-la harmonies that you can sing along to. Like The Spongetones, the juxtaposition of strum, melody and a well timed hook in the chorus make most of the tracks here easy to enjoy. But I love it when they bring out uncommon rhythms and harmonic structures on “Did You Have To Change.” The song brings out the best in the band, and some of the other tracks just can’t touch it. A few tracks don’t quite have the hooks (“Beyond You,” “I Never Been Happy”) but overall the Twins are leaps and bounds better than most bands. Highly Recommended for sure.

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Alejandra O’Leary “Nothing Out Loud”
Maine native Alejandra O’Leary creates a pop album that goes through the frustrations of a relationship from a personal perspective. The guitar sound is influenced by the British sixites, but the lyrical angst is closer to 50’s icons Lesley Gore and The Shangri Las. Her vocals tremble slightly as she croons “Ever After” the standout track here. It’s your girlfriend unloading her anger on you with a beautifully jangling guitar as accompaniment. “Love I Been In” is a slower lament on her sour date where “to kiss you is as far as I can go.” The song compositions are good, but occasionally it doesn’t work with O’Leary’s vocals (“Tremor”). The next best song here “Rally” is a retro-styled track, with catchy hand claps and a Phil Spector studio echo. From there most of the songs are ballads that don’t quite stick. The confessional “People Like Me” ends it on a positive note where collaborator guitarist Doug Kwartler is able to bring out the best in Alejandra, and it’s comparable to Liz Phair. I hope for future offerings closer to this style, because “Nothing Out Loud” seems to wander all over the place.

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Joey Sykes and Vitamin-D

August 5, 2010July 7, 2024 powerpopaholic

Joey Sykes “Human, Being Human”
I remember Joey Sykes played guitar with Elektra label artists Coward in 1996 and he had help back then from Roger Manning, Jr. (Jellyfish). Since that time he’s played for Meredith Brooks (“I’m A Bitch”),Tommy Henriksen and has been a busy session man for many years. Well, Joey’s come back to familiar territory with his solo album, and once again Manning is lending a hand here. Similar to Matthew Sweet or Butch Walker, Joey’s sound is a radio friendly guitar melody with layered rhythms. “Loveless Crowd” is a solid opener that proves his talent is ageless. The heavy production sound almost approaches arena rock, but remains very accessible on the title track and the standout “Where Did Everyone Go?” is a nod to his Coward years. And this being a more mature artist, you get plenty of solid power ballads like “I Love The Love We’re In” and “This Is My Battlecry.” No filler here as the tracks stay true to the melodic rock milieu. Another standout “It’s Good To Be Alive” should be required listening for every discouraged soul out there. It ends out with an Eagles cover “Try And Love Again” which fits the albums theme perfectly.

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Vitamin-D “Bridge”
This album is a little different, but it’s melodic goodness will surprise many. Brooklynite Dennis Cronin is the trumpet wielding composer who is blessed with a gift for mixing jazz and classical elements with his pop songs. Opening with “Keeper” it marries bits of Beatles and Bacharach, so fans of Eric Matthews should take notice. Cronin’s subtle melodies are just delightful on “Bartlett Bridge.” The slowly building “Upstaged” draws you in and has you toe tapping by the first chorus. Vocally he’s closer to Peter Gabriel or Lawrence Arabia without any falsetto. “Astoria Bridge” is another standout that combines a punchy beat with horn florishes. Many of compositions are meticulously constructed, making this a definite “headphones” album with soothing instrumentals (“Trumpet Moment 2,”) but after the albums midpoint the tempo slows to crawl and you may drift off to sleep. Beautiful orchestral pop that’s a bridge to a “Solid Day.”

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