An experienced musician and active commercial producer, Chris English weaves a lush sonic tapestry on “Dreamtown.” The sound is reminiscent of Colin Moulding of XTC with a dash of Peter Gabriel prog folk. Opening with the REM-like title track, Chris makes it clear he uses the harmonic elements of both electric and acoustic guitars, with delicate female vocal harmony in the background. A bit of electric folk pop is evident in “I Can See Everything” and the lovely follow up “Autumn” sounds like it came off XTC’s Mummer. These sweet delicate tones are made for perfect relaxed listening. “Without You” also seduces the listener with wonderful harmonies and chord changes here. Occasionally a bit of Alan Parsons styled AOR shows up (“Downtime” and “The Letter”) but it fails to make much of an impression. Another highlight is “I Can Take It” with it’s smooth piano chords and layered melody. Later in the album the songs pick up tempo, with the Beach Boys-like “Summer Revisited” and “Sunshine Routine” – I just wish Chris’ vocals were stronger here, as they float above the melodies, like having two sets of backing vocals. The epic ending track “God Is In The Silence” is a great celestial ballad with some Dark Side Of The Moon production techniques. Jeff Larson, Andrew Gold and Jeffrey Foskett fans will want to pick this one up for sure. If you enjoy highly textured baroque pop, you will love Chris English.

My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik

Are you looking for a group that knows how to rock with a sense of humor? The Ragamuffins of Love played at IPO this year and have the musical chops to show off on the opener “Kiss Those Good Times Goodbye.” Sung and played by the likes of Eff Dupp, Amadou Schbag, Kaye Seurat and Saul Goode. I think Bart Simpson will be calling Moe’s bar looking for these guys for sure. Eff (aka Sandy McKnight) has a slurred quality to the vocals that recall Joe Walsh or Randy Newman a bit. The riffs and melodies here are no joke though. The next song, “Tangerine” get into your head pretty well, and the “Plastic Yellow Raincoat” is a great song here in the Elvis Costello vein. The skinny tie jangle pop of “Julie Fashion Queen” will bring sweet memories to many power pop fans of the 80’s. More highlights here include “All Broken Hearted Lovers,” and the Pete Townshend’s gin soaked “It’s Not True.” Eff then lets the band go for a metal/punk intro sound on “I Want My Money Back.” The intro doesn’t match the song that well here. Overall, the production is a slightly uneven, and the backing vocals aren’t that good, but the songwriting and musicianship is solid gold here. I only expect improvement from these guys. Fans of The Kinks, Elvis Costello and Buddy Love will love this stuff. I wised up, you should too.

My Space | CD Baby | Emusic

And here I though The Rutles were back in town. No, it’s multi-talented singer-songwriter Alan Bernhoft with a collection of songs that really captures the feel and sound of The Beatles. From The Spongetones to The Beatnix to The Fore – people love Beatlesque power pop. It’s no surprise really that this style of power pop is one of my guilty pleasures. Alan does a great job with these songs, so they are not just an imitation or tribute band (like the Fab Faux). These are all original compositions with the spirit of 1964 starting off on “Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” and “Be Mr. Nice.” Some of these songs are from Bernhoft’s film, “Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney”. Marc Cushman, the film’s director & producer said “We couldn’t afford The Beatles’ music, so we got the next best thing- Alan Bernhoft.” The different eras are all covered well with hightlights on “Someday (’08 Mix)” with a bit of Sgt. Peppers style, and both “Sunshine Girl” and “Winter Ocean Mary Go Round” have a bit of a Mystery Tour flavor. Alan wrote all the words & music, sings, plays all the instruments and produced the recordings at his AIM Studios in Los Angeles. A few tracks here are way overproduced (“Every Girl I See”) with too much fuzz and reverb, but for the most part it’s all good. Fans of Beatlesque pop rejoice!

My Space | CD Baby