After our interview, Roger Manning has continued to tour the interview circuit promoting “Catnip Dynamite” and if you wanted to hear even more from him, Phil Andrews got some more in depth from Roger in his interview from Palo Alto Pop Overthrow. There us also an interview with Ricky Free from Blue Sky Secret, a great new pop talent.
Brandon Schott is an LA-based singer-songwriter who has beaten long odds and my friend at Too Poppy blog is very excited about a new series of FREE demo downloads that Brandon is making available on to the public. The first offering is a cover version of Bjork’s “All is full of love.” He’s also got a video too.
Read about it on the Too Poppy blog. You will want to visit the site on the 10th of every month to get a new song. Or you can just download “All is full of love” now.
Reviewed by Mike Z. Let me get this out of the way right now: This is a Ryan Adams album and the Cardinals are studio musicians with instructions to stay nondescript.
Ryan Adams demonstrates the requisite confidence of a lead man in “Take It Easy”, as he sings with a coolness all artists aspire to and few realize. The coda borders on the anthemic, but one of Adams’ talents is that he has the utmost taste in knowing when a song is over and not fishing it dry. Lyrically this faith in what he sings is underscored by a cursory review of his lyrics. He doesn’t ask many questions, he makes declarations almost exclusively. Some border on the heavy handed, but the sparseness of the music lets you know that this is heartfelt and not preachy. I wish I could say otherwise, but “Magick” starts off with a Bryan Adams riff, and the song remains about on par with anything Bryan did. That is, it doesn’t demand too much attention, but it moves just enough to earn respect as a decent power pop song. “Cobwebs” is almost a love letter to U2. The familiar tom tom rhythm and new wave chords work in concert complete with faux grandiloquent vocals, and the next track (“Let Us Down Easy”) bolsters this assertion, sounding like a lost track from All That You Can’t Leave Behind.
Add half a point to this disc if you are impressed (as is this reviewer) with artists of the singer/songwriter ilk who do not indulge in egregiously long songs and three and four syllable lyrics that ruin any sense of directness or the effect of getting lost in the sentiment of the song. The simplicity of the arrangements gives this effort back much of its credibility. “Stop” is also guilty of not being the first song of its kind, but it definitely reaches through to another degree of emotion and immediacy. This is a lilting, melancholy song, yet it is the one you should seek out. It underscores Adams’ particular talent of letting the spaces between the notes and words do some of the most resounding work. I could see leaving this in my MP3 player and saving it for a night of friends, wine and cheese, background music, and the obligatory Dockers commercial (“What the hell happened to us?”) reference. Cardinology is good enough, however, that I could also envision some furtively asking who is the artist playing.
I know this is a music blog, but it’s somewhat related — It’s a variation on the classic Asteroids, that you play directly on your computer (no download needed). Use your flying David Lee Roth to fight your way through the universe. Shoot at Van Halen logos, and head shots of the band (including Sammy Hagar!) Hilarious! Go Play Van Halen Asteroids!
Members of The Roswells, one of the best Canadian pop bands ever, have formed this new group. This new release by The Tomorrows, follows the classic power pop template, with elements of Velvet Crush, Big Star, and Badfinger all come into play here. “Effortless Lee” is everything a fan could hope for in an opening single, with melodic jamming and swirling riffs that take the best of The Roswells sound and add the Beatles/Badfinger elements to the mix. “Love Is Dead” brings forth comparisons to Cheap Trick and The Rubinoos, with great chord changes and impressive backing harmonies. The title track is an expansive janglefest that recalls the past, but follows the band in a light mid-tempo mode about the largest temple in Rome. It follows with the gem “Don’t Worry About Me” complete with heavier guitars and smooth harmonies along the lines of Teenage Fanclub. The subject matter is also fresh, for example “Anime” is fanboy dream theme that sparkles with “You’ve got eyes so big, they’re scary pretty… I wanna be in Anime with you.” Every track here is excellent, without any filler to be found – although the ending six minute opus “Remember” drags into a wandering jam session. But there is enough rock and roll goodness here to have The Tomorrows earn my first nomination to the best of 2009 list! Kool Kat Musik is offering a bonus disc with this release which include live tracks and a Beatles tribute! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge – say no more!
