Neil Nathan "Do Ya"

Neil Nathan’s cover of ELO’s “Do Ya,” which is featured on the Californication Season 2 Soundrack. On his upcoming album, The Distance Calls, Nathan enlisted the help of The Go’s Bobby Harlow to produce and an all-star Detroit cast of players which included Dean Fertita (The Dead Weather, QOTSA), Kenny Tudrick & Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras), John Krautner (The Go), and Ross Westerbur (Deadstring Brothers). The album is coming out soon (8/24/10), so get all the good links at http://www.neilnathan.com/

Quakers on Probation "Every Living Thing"

I reviewed a father and son duo earlier this year, so here is another combo: Daniel A. Craig and his son Daniel F. Craig joined by the Wrecking Crew legend Larry Knechtel in one of his final recordings. The band calls the genre they play “TwanglePop” (bit of twang and jangle I suppose) that borrows from the heyday of 60’s and 70’s country rock. The studied rhythms that open “Pay It Forward” are pleasing and Knechtel’s organ playing recall Protocol Harum. The twangy “Your Favorite Song” compares well to The Jayhawks and Wilco. But the focus changes on “I Know A Woman” and the title track, where horns and synths evoke those cheesy AOR lounge tracks that make even Robert Lamm fans cringe.  Thankfully, the album takes a brilliant turn on the descriptive “Yard Sale,” where the gentle harmonies tug at your heart. The album just gets better as it goes forward, with the strong atmospheric “Marysville” and even the drum machine sounds great on the excellent “Hollywood Walk Of Fame.” A lot of fun ends out the last track “Lament For The Aging Rocker” where a familiar guitar ditty speaks the truth here as it names names (“Do you think Def Leppard’s deaf?/When you’re way too old to fake it and you got no hair to shake, boy/Your medication starts kicking in…). The band also covers Sammy John’s “Chevy Van” quiet well. Listen to the album streaming at quakers on probation.com.

My Space | CD Baby | Amazon

The Power Popaholic Interview: Mark Bacino

Meet the man behind the “The Queens English”. I was lucky enough to be in contact with musician Mark Bacino this week, and we do go into detail about his last album and his experiences with computer based recording methods.  Read the interview with Mark Bacino here.

In addition, I have re-posted my Virign.com interview with Seth Swirsky in the Power Popaholic interview archive.

Win the Two Hours Traffic album Giveaway!


It’s easy to win a FREE copy of the new Two Hours Traffic CD “Territory”. Become a fan of Power Popaholic on Facebook. Then leave your comment on the contest announcement post of the Facebook fan page by next Friday (6/18/10). Only two (2) lucky fans will be chosen at random the next day as album winners! (Winners will need to send me a mailing address).

 Read our review of Two Hours Traffic from January.

Emerging pop talent for June with FREE downloads

Here are some indie debut albums, EPs and emerging talent this past month that you might want to check out…so much great music, so little time!

A Fragile Tomorrow “Tripping Over Nothing”

This slick indie band opens with “Man With A Bottle,” a Goo Goo Dolls styled standard. But I was really impressed with the Rickenbacker jangle on “Peaceful Days” and the descending harmonies in the chorus on “Something To Say” recalling The Rembrandts. The soothing rock ballad “Tupelo Song” is a favorite here with a wonderful guitar break and gorgeous 3-part harmony. “Dear Abbey White” is an unconventional surprise, with loud guitar riffs and low key vocals. The album shines best when it concentrates on mid-tempo pop like “I Never Said Enough” and “Captured.” The heavier blues oriented rock songs (“Thirteen”, “Hey Mother”) are okay, but didn’t stick in my head like the earlier songs. The band needs more consistency, but the talent is definitely there.
MySpace | CD Baby | Amazon | Itunes

Graham Czach “Lucid”

Graham Czach is a creative and accomplished musician, composer, upright/electric bassist, vocalist and guitarist. “Lucid” is Graham’s debut album where he combines influences from being raised in a household where Led Zeppelin and the Beatles were playing constantly, to being educated and trained as a classical and jazz musician. If you’re tired of John Mayers antics and want to hear a man with more talent, give this a shot. The classical composition is evident on the awesome “Abide” and the string filled “True Love.” Fans of baroque pop and Eric Matthews will flip over this artist.
MySpaceAmazon | Free Download of “Gather Round”

J.D. Reager “The Repechage”

A buddy of The Bulletproof Vests, J.D. Reager is also from Memphis and has his own label to boot (http://www.makeshiftmusic.com/).  His debut is sporadic, but the dense production is effective on “Wading In.” Fans of Adam Merrin (The 88) will enjoy the smooth multi-tracked vocal ballad “Knoxville Song.” Sure some of the songs overindulge in production techniques, but a few gems are to be found here like the piano lead “Ballad of Max and Grace” and the quirky “For Now” brings to mind Sugarplastic a little bit. This is an artist worth exploring and the album is FREE online too, so give it a try.
MySpace | Free Download at Bandcamp

The Maybenauts “Big Bang” EP

Fans of Girl in A Coma or Veruca Salt may love this band, a female lead glam outfit full of energy. The EP consists of 5 hard rock songs and lead singer Leilani Frey gives it her all. The songs are short, sweet and full of great harmonies as well. Their debut single “My Head Is A Bomb” was co-produced by Jane Wiedlin, the rhythm guitarist of The Go-Gos. So what is with the Panda on the album cover? What’s up with the token male here, guitarist Vee Sonnets dressed like a Panda at shows? Does he eat bamboo too?
MySpace | CD Baby | Listen at Maybenauts.com

Jac & Jill “s/t”

These girls are plenty talented when it comes to modern pop. Jaclyn Quatela and Jill Winter are New York artists with a strong music background, influenced by Motown R&B, hip hop, and rock & roll, but they don’t pretend to be anyone else. The autobiographical “Listen” is catchy as hell and unique to them. The cool “Mm’ Mm’ Good” starts with a solid structure and a fast-paced chorus. The single “Can’t Stop” is already getting lots of well deserved airplay. Fans of Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Beyonce should be paying attention to this duo now.
MySpaceLooney Tunes