With an excellent debut and some luck, Family of The Year got to share the stage this past October with Ben Folds and The Boston Pops. I spoke to lead vocalist Vanessa Jeanne Long and talk about how the band got started and other cool things. Check out the interview on The Rock And Roll Report.
Research Turtles "s/t"
Born on the bayou of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Research Turtles are a band with buzzing British Invasion styled guitars layered on top of Foo Fighters styled grunge pop. It’s a natural mix that takes elements of the past guitar greats (Beatles, The Who) and fits it into chunky rock melodies that grow on you like moss on a tree. Founders Jud and Joe Norman channel the melodic magic on the opener “Let’s Get Carried Away.” The heavy guitars plunge listeners into the Green Day-styled “Damn” full of both distorted guitar solos and harmonic choruses. “Mission” is a great straight ahead power pop single that should garner attention from a few radio stations that value good music. The southern style of the band emerges on the power ballad “Kiss Her Goodbye” and aggressive guitars race ahead on the excellent “Cement Floor.” It tends to bog down on “The Riff Song” into a Led Zeppelin-esque gumbo of riffs and vocal distortions. The sweet “Into A Hole” is another highlight, with both melody and riffs on equal footing. The musical hooks tend to take a back seat on the albums second half, but for a debut this is more than enough to get excited about. Fans of Teenage Fanclub, You Am I and Bowling For Soup will also find a lot to like about these Turtles.
Goodbye to The Eye in The Sky
The great Eric Woolfson has passed away on Dec.2 from cancer. Eric was the creator and writer (and often lead singer) of the ten Alan Parsons Project albums. Since then, he has written five stage musicals (Dancing Shadows, POE, Gambler, Gaudi and Freudiana) which have been performed world-wide. A quick bio is here. His talent continued way beyond the heyday of APP. Hear the genius that was released this past April.
The Tripwires and Clare & The Reasons
The Tripwires “House To House”
Ex-Model Rockets leader and Minus 5 guitarist, John Ramberg leads an all-star trio of Seattle veterans including Mark Pickerel (Screaming Trees) and Jim Sangster (Young Fresh Fellows). The Tripwires latest is a clinic in classic guitar rhythms and first class hooks. It’s deceptively easy to listen to and enjoy from the opening riffs of “Drawing A Blank” and not get caught up in the chorus. “Something In A Friday Night” has a bit more of those fast paced beats and pub rock guitar solos that made Seattle a music mecca. There is more than a bit of Rockpile in the mid-tempo ballad “Another Planet Now” and my favorite here, “Ned Beatty’s In Love” full of great bass lines, hand claps and solid harmonies. Fans of early 80’s new wave (Elvis Costello, Squeeze) will appreciate the song composition of “Look At It This Way” and the incredible lyrical honesty in the slower paced “Soundalike.” They even go Ramones meets Dave Edmunds on the last track “Dismantled.” It’s one of those albums that makes time fly – and then you’ll just want to hit repeat on your player. Honestly, every single track is a winner here and essential listening for the power pop fan.
Clare & The Reasons “Arrow”
Brooklyn’s own Clare & The Reasons had a strong melodic streak on 2007’s The Movie. The combination of Clare Muldaur’s sweet vocal and the light breezy chamber pop make for a charming twee pop confection. Opening to the plucking strings of “All The Wine” is a good lead in to the album’s highlight “Ooh You Hurt Me So.” The Beatlesque touches and ethereal chorus here are just gorgeous. It winds down with a casual whistle and Clare’s vocal coos. More highlights here are “Mellifera” in which a guitar is needed to really bring the song to life. “This is the Story” starts deliberately slow, and then builds with a lush full orchestral texture. But some songs are so numbingly without hooks (“Our Team Is Grand,”) they fade into the wallpaper. The orchestral touches mixed with electronic loops resemble Stereolab on “Murder They Want Murder” are so light and repetitive it could easily lull you to sleep. A horn version of Genesis’ “That’s All” fails to excite and even the last track “Wake Up (You Sleepy Head)” does the opposite of what it’s supposed to do. The albums highlights are definitely worth investigating, the rest of the tunes however make a good auditory sedative. But maybe I’m too critical here, after all the arrangements are exquisite and Clare has one of the sweetest female vocals I’ve ever heard.
OK GO’s Tim Nordwind. The Powerpopaholic Interview
Behind the paisley outfits and innovative YouTube videos (with literally over 10 million hits for “Here It Goes Again”) this is a band that has made some of the catchiest pop music around. Ok Go have a strong connection with their fans, and after a long tour last year, settled into the studio to produce a new album. “Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky” is on track to release January 12th on Capitol Records. I spoke with bass player and vocalist Tim Nordwind and we get into details on how this album is different – you can see the video for WTF? here. And we’ve also a few extra things – you can see Tim’s most embarrassing moment during the Silversun Pickups concert or you can play a drinking game with this interview – anytime Tim says “like” you drink. Guaranteed drunkenness. You can listen here to the entire interview streaming
(18 minutes).