I get a variety of different bands contributing to my inbox, and some are just too good to ignore. Firstly, a heads up on what I think will be a great album; The Airport 77s are set to release We Realize You Have A Choice on JEM Records, and the opening single simply rocks. Review coming soon, but this was too good a video to pass unpromoted. The Thirsty Curses do a puppet version of Natural Born Killers with a compelling melody. Ines South looks like she’s having fun here, and the song “Sun’s Son” is a fun single too. Another up-and-coming star is MadisonCunningham,her LP is out this week and she reminds me a little of Sheryl Crow. Finally, TAM is LA artist Tommy Mai, and he gives us a cool “mental souvenir” with its late 1970s vibe.
The days of classic rock bands soldiering on with new material are fewer and further between, but Collective Soul has an enviable track record. They have nearly 30 years of solid anthemic rock under their collective veteran belts, and Vibrating continues that tradition. Densely saturated melodies and hooks continue to be the focus of the songwriting, and Ed Roland knows his fan base well. Drawing from the band’s grungey roots, he always manages to craft expressive and emotional statements, and the “power” in this pop is undeniable.
The first 3 songs are easy to love, “Cut The Cord,” and “Reason,” are loaded with that familiar energy, especially “All Our Pieces,” which boasts an excellent sing-along hook. The band then calms down a bit with mid-tempo rockers, “Take” and “Undone” and Roland and the band do a great job with these tracks. Past the midpoint, it gets less predictable as “A Conversation With” reminds me of Peter Gabriel a little. Things aren’t as memorable until “Back Again” a slow-building rocker that seems to be directed at an ex-lover and Roland sells it well with his deep tremolo. Overall, a highly recommended addition to the Collective Soul catalog.
One of the brightest young power pop artists I’ve heard recently is Toronto’s Ben Cook, aka Young Guv. His first EP made my 2019 Best-of list and his continued growth as an artist is heartening to rock fans who fear those classic influences are on the wane. Drawn from the influences of The Byrds, Beatles, Todd Rundgren, and others he creates irresistible melodies than evoke the past without sounding like a tribute band. This collection is a combination of two albums with a bonus track. Both albums were created in the isolated New Mexico wilderness, and are focused on the power of love.
Starting with the opening jangle of “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried” it feels like a lost Teenage Fanclub classic, with a hook that doesn’t overstay its welcome. If anything III is nearly flawless. For example, the Big Star-like “Only Wanna See You Tonight” and the Britpop fuzz of “Scam Likely,” each song is efficiently composed and rendered. Once we get to IV, Ben takes a few more stylistic liberties but the earworms are still here, from the tambourine shakes and handclaps of “Too Far Gone” to the West Coast strum and slide guitar of “Change Your Mind.” Further on the songs get longer, and they don’t always stick (“Overcome”) or feel more like sketches (“Cold In The Summer.”) However, Guv’s batting average over 24 tracks is pretty darn good. Highly Recommended.
Crydon, UK resident Nick Frater follows up his blockbuster Earworms album with a much lighter pop touch on Aerodrome Motel. Opening with the jaunty “The Pleasure is Mine,” it has a sweet melody that reminds me of Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) with its easy-going hook. A power pop crunch comes from “Love Heist” as it pulls out every lyrical police cliche “Calling all cars there’s a love heist happening to me!” But this single is a great earworm with a worthy mix of Elvis Costello-styled organ and guitar punch.
Frater has given us a chorus of upward scales on the Anglophilic “Aerodrome Motel” and lively horns on “Rough & Tumble” but not everything sticks. The lovelorn “No Hard Feelings” is missing the dramatic power needed in a chorus, and “Dancing With A Gertrude” feels like an old 1980s sitcom theme. Despite the misfires, there are plenty of tunes to enjoy, including Beatle-adjacent “Dear Modern Times.” Highly Recommended.
Phil Thornalley has moved beyond his Astral Drive projects and turned himself into a one-man Traveling Wilburys. “Maybe we should have called it the Traveling Phil-burys,” Thornalley jokes, “but I enjoyed the earlier ELO records, and the way they married a crummy beat combo with the grandeur of a full orchestra – it was over-the-top but infectiously musical..”
Taking musical cues from Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), Phil is clearly having fun with the opener “Heaven in a Hash Pipe” with its blues riffs and orchestral flourishes. But Phil’s vocal is much closer to Tom Petty, especially on the follow-up “Hell Bent on Compromise,” with its strat guitar and layered harmonies. It comes together perfectly on “Fast Car” with a killer hook in the chorus, guaranteed to have you singing in a “traffic ja-a-a-am.” The song concepts are simple, and succeed with the catchy “High on Your Supply” and “Stand By Love” as they are also easy to sing along to. While a few tunes veer over into fan service too much, you’ll be having too much fun to notice when you hear the glam rock beat of “Solid Gold Sunshine.” Highly Recommended.
Summer is almost gone, but the great music keeps accumulating. The great Kurt Baker is on “Electric Fire” as he rocks away on this newest single and says you “need a little rock and roll in the soul.” Spanish band Los Imposibles delivers a blistering Beatlesque rocker “Todo Al Revés” (translated “All Upside Down”) and just enough of a retro shine, but if you’d like something a little simpler, The Jangles are just as catchy, emulating classic Everly Brothers, Jan & Dean, or The Monkees (check out “The Letter”) and it’s a FREEBIE! Myles Josephh is a frequent collaborator with Kai Danzberg, and here we have his sweet debut EP loaded with epic melodies. A band that I’ve long neglected but shouldn’t is The BlackWatch, and lead singer John Andrew Fredrick has been a crack songwriter for years. I love the rich sound of his newest EP. Hopefully, you heard the top-ten sounds of Dave Scarbrough‘s debut — well he had a few more songs hidden away on the “Happy Ever Extras” EP. The featured video is Late Cambrian with an early pop tune “It’s Always Something” from their upcoming album “Future Snacks” – Tasty!
Sun Sawed in 1/2 is a St. Louis band founded by brothers Ken Rose (bass) and Tim Rose (lead guitar) with vocalist Doug Bobenhouse. They road the resurgence of power pop popularity in the late ’90s (with the standout of 1997’s Fizzy Lift) and are often compared to Jellyfish, The Posies, and XTC.
They are back after a 9-year break with a series of digital-only EPs (Beaches In Bali, Sirens, and Before The Fall) now compiled into a 20-song set called Triptych. The band is in fine form overall, with many ideas and hooks stuffed into each song, like the opener “Dried Cherry Blossoms,” with its hand-clapping chorus, and “Soft Away” with its dreamy harmonies. Sometimes the music follows dramatic winding paths, like “Sirens” and “Call For A Good Time.” Some songs are more immediate than others, highlights include “Twist of Lemon” and the atmospheric epic “The Cool Ivory Wonderful.” They also don’t stick to a single template (“Too High Strung,” “Sitting In A Tree”) as they stylistically shift things often. Overall, an excellent collection – highly recommended.
Songs that last less than a minute or so get viewed as filler and can be perceived as lacking the scope or power of longer songs, but it’s a current trend I’m seeing more of with our micro-sized attention spans. The Beatles’ “Her Majesty” count as a hit in this category, and artists like 2nd Grade, Ryan Allen, Mo Troper, and Nick Frater have done albums full of it. But writing excellent music which doesn’t break the minute mark is a skill in and of itself. West Bay native Tony Molina has made it his mission to excel in this niche.
Molina has been doing this since 2014, perfecting his Beatlesque bedroom melodies and fuzzy jams. His newest In the Fade, is very much a concept album about leaving a relationship from different points of view. “The Last Time” has a low fuzz and bouncy rhythm similar to Weezer, “Leave This Town” and “Burn Everyone” effectively channels Teenage Fanclub. “Years Ago pt. 2” is a lovely closing melody, and each song works to effectively support the entire collection. The short phrases are well written and begs multiple repeat plays. Super Highly Recommended.
