The Disciplines "Smoking Kills"

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I was listening to this new Norwegian glam garage rock band The Disciplines and thinking “it’s pretty good, hard guitar riffs pounding drums and a lead singer that snarls and screams like Henry Rollins in a bad mood..” then I looked at the liner notes and did a double take. Lead Vocals: Ken Stringfellow. The Posies Ken Stringfellow? Holy crap. Well I guess Ken wanted to explore this side of his musical personality, nothing wrong with that. If you are looking for a tougher version of The White Stripes or Jet then you’ve come to the right place. Ken teamed up with the Norwegian band Briskeby consisting of drummer Claus Larsen, bassist Baard Helgeland and guitarist Bjorn Bergene, and they quickly developed this aggressive style. The group struts it’s stuff with the opener “Your For The Taking” and summons some glam goodness with “Get It Right.” After a few listens it reveals Ken’s melodic tendencies underneath all those riffs, on “Best Mistake” and “Falling Knives.” I guess it’s a trend to do harder stuff, after all it seems to work for the recent Superdrag album, but this doesn’t feel forced at all. More highlights include, “Hurricane” and the retro flavored “Like So Many Times Before.” Both the latter song and “No Vacancy” comes closer to The Posies sound that any of the previous tracks. The songwriting here aims for both the head and the heart and succeeds in bringing across the message with a ballsy gusto once reserved for guys like Ian Astbury (The Cult). Kool Kat Musik is having a special on this album, you get an exclusive 13-song “Live in Finland” album with each order. For these tough times, sometimes power pop has to get tough. 

My Space | Second Motion Records | Pre-order from Kool Kat Musik

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Broken Promise Keeper "Ice Cold Pop"

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Rob Stuart is a man with a mission. Also known as Broken Promise Keeper, he wants to deliver some “ice cold pop” to your ears. If I had to make a direct comparison, Broken Promise Keeper sounds very much like cult pop favorite Anton Barbeau. It’s fair to say Ice Cold Pop begins with a confident bounce and jangle filled riffs of “Directions.” The song has some elements of mid eighties production, similar to early REM or The Shoes sound, so fans of this style will be sure to enjoy it. The driving piano chords of “Worship From Afar” sparks a great song with beautiful cascading harmonies in the chorus. The tracks here are full of rich effortless hooks, especially on my favorite track, “Kristine.” The next song “I Blame James” is a interesting lament on how all his childhood heroes (James Dean, James Bond, etc.) are setting an example that he can’t follow. The quick bass and rhythm guitars of “Look Out Hollywood” recall early Joe Jackson quite a bit. Stuarts vocal is serviceable when the songwriting and arrangements are clicking, but at certain points, the DIY nature of the production poke through (“Fake It”). Some tracks seem to be workman efforts, like “Amusement Park Lover” and “Once” but don’t quite have strong enough hooks. The album ends strongly with the gentle acoustic gems “Secret” and “Goodbye.” For most pop fans this one is worth the effort to track down and listen to.

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Golden Bear EP and The Test Dream EP

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Golden Bear “Everest” EP
Golden Bear was a well-received band that recently played SXSW and went on a tour of the East Coast. The band has a fresh sound with fuzz guitars and catchy songs structure with “Night Lights.” This is modern power pop you can dance to and it has a free form quality with varied instrumentation and just the right amount of distortion. You never quite know where a song is going to go, and that unpredictability makes Golden Bear lots of fun. Like a funky mix of Mother Hips and Apples In Stereo, this band doesn’t neatly fall into any genre category. Golden Bear has a compelling sound and tons of potential.
MySpace | C-side Records


The Test Dream “Self Titled” EP
This Long Island band produces good sunny styled contemporary pop. Starting with “Open Wide” it’s a melodic mix that takes the best influences of The Beatles, Shins and Drake Bell. “Directing Traffic” remind me a bit of the recent Secret Sky, with it’s bouncy keyboards and light horns in the production. The group makes an effort to rock a bit more with “Someone” and it contrasts that with a Billy Joel lounge style vocal. The sugar content of  the vocals and chords on “Look for The Boy” go off the charts into Andrew Gold territory. An excellent start for this band, and I hope to hear more soon. 
MySpace | CD Baby

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The Webstirs interviewed by Powerpopaholic

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It’s a two-fer! I also interviewed the duo of Preston Pisellini and Mark Winkler of The Webstirs. They are expected at 4/24 to play for International Pop Overthrow in Chicago. The release of “So Long” has made the top ten this year as well. These guy were candid and funny. To read the interview directly, click here.

power pop reviews, power pop and rock and roll opinions. Power pop and even more power pop and rock and roll.