With the help of friends Nigel Clark (lead singer of classic Brit-pop band Dodgy) and Darren Finlan, Englishman Tony Cox has put together an 11 track debut full of sweet surprises. Fans of classical power pop influences (Beatles, Beach Boys, Bryds) will find a goldmine of melodic pop here. The production was recorded at Hijack Studios and has a clean updated style, unlike some musicians, I’ll bet Tony did not play these songs on vintage instruments. “Sweet Elaine” has a simple pop structure draped over a “Heroes and Villains” styled baseline. This is followed by “Feel Real Love” and it has a Dave Clark/Cliff Richards approach, with horn accents and driving drum beat. The superb “Fallen” has a great melody, like a sunny Revolver-era Beatles track. The modern pop of “Sacred Woman” is another standout here, with a rich multi-tracked chorus and “Chills” showcases Tony’s vocals which remind me of a young Ian Hunter. It has a few missteps, the 80’s styled “Life is Hardcore” is filled with heavy synths that seems a little out of place on the album. And the production suddenly gets very sparse on the second half, which hurts some excellent songs, like “Say The Word” which really deserves a big wall-of-sound type treatment. I sometimes wondered how some of these tunes would sound with a bigger budget. Someone should give Tony that chance, as he’s got great song craft talent. Tony is not signed to any label, but shows you the wealth of riches some record companies need to pay attention to.

Baby Scream “Ups and Downs”
Baby Scream is a London based band originally formed by Juan Mazzola in Argentina. Mazzola has an affection for several classic pop influences like The Byrds, John Lennon, and The Replacements. The album goes through many moods, from fast tempo punk guitars of “Everyday (I Die a Little Bit)” to the mid tempo jangle of “Suddenly,”and then the somber Jeff Lynne-like ballad “One More Chance.” All 8 songs are full of great classic hooks and interesting chord changes that I know pop fans will cherish. Juan’s vocals have the same gentle delivery of Lennon and the melodic qualities are excellent here. Lead guitarist Cristian Basualdo does a great job here too, as the duo recall Let It Be-era Lennon-McCartney on a pair of tracks (“The Riots” and “Ups and Downs”). The ending track, “Morning Light” owes much to Big Star and Badfinger, the music coming from a deeply emotional place. I would also encourage you to look for the follow up Monsters EP. This one is a short album, but you won’t be disappointed here — this is highly recommended to power pop fans.

MySpace | CD Baby| Baby Scream site

Great Northern “Remind Me Where the Light Is”
It’s been a while since I last heard from Great Northen. Sharply produced and highly polished, the singer/songwriting duo of Solon Bixler and Rachel Stolte sound tighter and more focused on hitting the commercial sweet spot here. The album starts off strong with “Story” and it’s immediately clear that the catchy beats and multi-tracked chorus angles along the lines of Depeche Mode and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Then the track “Houses” hits us with Rachel Stolte’s smooth sensuous delivery, it recalls both Spinerrette and PJ Harvey. Then the album gets even better with “Fingers” full piano-driven, string-laden pop rock – this is the high point. After that arrangements start to get too thick, the track “Mountain” manages to channel both Abba and Enya. Unfortunately, the album doesn’t even stay that consistent. For every good track, like “Warning” you get the snooze-fests like “Driveway” and “Numbers” sounds like forced album filler. The pulsing synths and wails of “33” didn’t work and I found myself going back to the albums’ first half. This would have been an excellent EP.

MySpace | Itunes