Doug Gillard "Call From Restricted"

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Doug Gillard is best known as the lead guitarist and songwriter in Guided By Voices. An Ohio native, Doug began his solo career with his 2005 debut “Salamander,” but has been in several other bands (Death of Samantha, Gem and Cobra Verde). Doug’s skill and musicianship are impeccable here. Everything that gave GBV a melodic sheen is shown on the opener “Time is Nigh” with steady jangle melody and ascending chords. The title track, “Call from Restricted” has that up-tempo energy and catchy riffage that recall the “Isolation Drills” era. But the crown jewel here is the memorable “For What I’ve Done” – crunching guitar energy that is one of the best garage tunes I’ve heard. It strays from the GBV sound, with “Entwined” sounding a bit like Todd Rundgren’s Utopia. The gentle finger picking style of “Gibraltar” brings to mind Big Star or McCartney at his most wistful. Other highlights include “Gogol Was Rollo” and the “Sun Glow (They Don’t Know)” There are a few spacey excursions (“Without This Light” and “Contractors”) but overall this is a brilliant album. For GBV fans, and if you are getting all of Pollard’s new stuff – then this is a “no-brainer.” Even GBV non-fans will love the variety in tone and pop smarts here. Highly recommended for sure.

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Robbie Fulks does Fountains of Wayne

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Robby Fulks, a fantastically talented country pop singer does his best parody of a typical FOW song here. Called “Fountains of Wayne Hotline” Fulks dissects each part of Adam Schleinger’s typical songwriting approach perfectly. On a sadder note, it was recently reported that the outdoor furniture/sculpture store that bears the original name “Fountains of Wayne” is out of business. It was kind of an New Jersey icon, located on Route 46 in Totowa just before the Willowbrook Mall. Urban legend has it that lead singer Adam Schleinger was related to the owners, but it’s not true. They just lived in Wayne, NJ and thought it was a cool name for the band.

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Glen Tilbrook and The Fluffers "Pandemonium Ensues"

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Squeeze stalwart, Tilbrook has always been one of my personal favorites (and my best concert experience), so I am happy to review his first full album with his band The Fluffers. Unlike earlier solo works, Glenn goes everywhere with this set, but it’s far from “Pandemonium.” Starting with the jaunty Cajun melody of “Best of Times” it starts off a bit like a Dan Zanes album for grown ups. The songs are short and sweet, and even Fluffer bassist Lucy Shaw gets to sing lead on “Product.” Glenn is back with an angry rant on “Slaughtered Artist” but it doesn’t sit right. However I enjoy his mid-tempo melody much more on the compelling “Still.” The soaring group harmonies of “Relentless Pursuit” are pleasing, but again I enjoy solo Glenn more on “Melancholy Emotion.” He still has that awesome pop vocal and songwriting smarts. Another ballad “Little Ships” is another quality song where Glen again explores the transient nature of performing. More highlights are on “Happy Disposition” and light breezy pop of “Black Sheep” but if you are still longing for a Squeeze record, you’ve arrived about 12 years too late, as this is more of an ensemble piece. The Fluffers include Johnny Depp (yes, the actor), who speaks over a lot of psychedelic effects and spacey instrumental keyboards in “Too Close to The Sun” and while it’s interesting in a Syd Barrett sort of way, it’s ultimately forgettable. There are enough Tilbrook signature tunes to keep fans interested here, but for others it may fall flat.

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Major Label Monday Reviews

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Plenty of great new power pop albums have emerged on major labels recently. They are all excellent and too important to ignore.

Wilco “Wilco”

On the seventh disc Wilco seems to have found its sweet spot with more recent albums, the songs are both gentle and melodic. The self titled track (“Wilco, the song”) is a love letter to all of Tweedy’s fans. And it journeys from the subtle introspection (“Country Disappeared”) to mid tempo love songs (“I’ll Fight”). A great example of the old experimental sound is the building chords of “Bull Black Nova.” But for pop fans nothing comes close to the beauty of “You Never Know” and the awesome “Sunny Feeling” which recall the Summerteeth era. Finally a Wilco album that needs no apologies – just praise.
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Cheap Trick “The Latest”

The godfathers of power pop continue to show why they are masters of the genre, from the opening chords of “When The Lights Go Out” you’ll be sold. Robin Zander’s vocals are as strong as ever, and the band sounds exactly the way fans have come to expect. Another high-powered gem, “Miss Tomorrow” is classic Trick, and “Sick Man Of Europe” is a louder punkier tune that holds it’s own with bands like Jet and The Hives. Plenty of hooks and overall much better than 2005’s Rockford. In fact this album stands out as one of the best Cheap Trick records in many, many years.
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Silversun Pickups “Swoon”

One of the most underrated releases this year, the band combines the ethereal textures of Arcade Fire and the mesmerizing vocals and melodies of Smashing Pumpkins. “There’s No Secrets This Year” starts a majestic journey into fuzz guitars and orchestral strings. “Panic Switch” is comparable to Propellerheads and the catchy pop of “Substitution” are hard to ignore. The bass leads the listener across this multi-layered production that will capture your attention for sure. The slower tunes tend to blend in a bit, but this is meant to be heard as an album, not a bunch of singles.
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Sugar Ray “Music for Cougars”

Opening with a forgettable hip hop remake of The Everly Brothers “Girls are Made To Love,” Mark McGrath makes pop that your mom can play in the car stereo. In fact Mark has the hots for your mom with “She’s Got The (Woo-Hoo)” and it recalls the laid back sound of the hit “Someday.” Thankfully the commercial sound gives way to some catchy music as “When We Were Young” is a hand-clapping gem. The latter half of the album does a great job, as the excellent guitar riffs of “Going Nowhere,” faux country ballad of “Love 101,” and “Morning Sun” will get you singing. This is fun, lightweight music made for the beach. Play this and have a cold one.
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Green Day

“21st Century Breakdown”
Probably the most anticipated release this summer. It will be hard to top the Grammy winning “American Idiot” – but it does follow a similar thematic template. In fact, they continue to split the album between their punk roots and fully embraced hook-filled power pop melodies. These guys just get better with each album, and they continue the winning streak here. “21st Century Breakdown” goes all Sweet and Queen with driving guitars, and “Know Your Enemy” is classic Green Day pop. There are plenty of piano and sweeping guitar ballads like “Before The Lobotomy” the wonderfully Beatlesque “Last Night On Earth” — and I openly wonder if an Extreme/Green Day tour wouldn’t be the greatest ever. Plenty to love here as almost every song shines with those patented speedy riffs set to a full blown rock opera. Most likely the best major label release this year.
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