Powerpopholic

Justin Kline "Six Songs" FREE SONG Download

November 10, 2008April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic 3 Comments

Justin Kline has that sweet pop vocal that sounds a bit like Cliff Hillis or Marc Bacino with some very strong melodies, and well structured songwriting that recalls modern pop of The Honeydogs with the musical sensibilities of ELO and Jellyfish. The opening track “All I Need” is pure power pop ear candy. Then “Heart Attack” continues with a sharp chorus and those pointed guitar riffs. “How I Became the Wind” shares a sunny disposition with Tim Myers and the good life. Using sleigh bells, organ, echoing guitar and “whoa, whoa” backing vocals that are so full of sugar, I got cavities just listening to it. “Kaleidoscope” is a little fuzzier, but no less wonderful, creating swirling aural imagery worthy of Roger Manning Jr. Then it takes a little alt. country ballad step forward, with “Singing In The Air.” The song features the twang of steel pedal and a galloping rhythm as it moseys along, to the twee finale in “Sunshine” which like the title implies, is a strumming affirmation of optimism. The songs lyrics here get a bit too preachy for me, and some will liken it to a Christian pop version of a Bright Eyes ballad, but overall this EP is perfect pick-me-up for those rainy days. I can’t wait for a full length album here, as Justin Kline is without a doubt, a talented musician ready to spread his wings. Just to start you off, Justin asked me to make the single “Heart Attack” available as a FREE download. Enjoy.

My Space | Itunes | Virb | La La

DOWNLOAD THE TRACK “HEART ATTACK” HERE

Report from International Pop Overthrow

November 8, 2008April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic

On Thursday, I attended the IPO music festival at Kenny’s Castaways on Thursday and Saturday. Thursday night started with a bang. The group Bubble was so loud, the entire club shook with those heavy garage pop sounds. Then I was treated to some great psychedelic rock from Maple Mars, where the band got the crowd psyched up. The band played a lot of tunes from the latest album “Beautiful Mess” and got the groove going that night. Afterwards, I was able to introduce Readymade Breakup (shown here) to the stage and those guys had the crowd on it’s feet for “Honey, You May Be Right.” It was the highlight of the night.

I returned on Saturday night and very early on got to introduce The Third of Never to the stage. Bandleader Kurt Reil and the rest performed as a tight unit that got both progressive and melodic. The other band Reil is in, the Gripweeds currently are working on a new album and have a “Best of The Gripweeds” album out now. Then The Private Jets took to the stage, dressed in full airline pilot uniforms. They put on a superb performance from their album “Jet Sounds” and the crowd really started to grow and get into it.

But when Andy Goldberg and Dean Basil got on stage as The Sun Kings, the crowd went nuts. They played a variety of hits from their album “Grin” and from Andy Goldberg’s solo albums. The crowd cheered for an encore and The Sun Kings shined brightly (shown here). Then, The Wind reunited onstage for a very cool quirky experience. Lane Steinberg and Steve Katz are like a throwback to The Beatles and Big Star and kept the audience primed. The drummer let it all hang out on stage, to the point I thought he would spontaneously combust onstage.

Then Buddy Love took to the stage. I witnessed the reunion of this local New York legend last year, this time the band was much looser and confident as they played to the audience in a very animated, finely tuned set. Joey Kelly (shown here) made the stage seem 20 feet long and both Doug Khazzam and Scott Schiller displayed good musicianship and stagecraft. Overall a thrilling night. Loads of thanks to David Bash at IPO for making a great festival.

Adam Marsland "Daylight Kissing Night"

November 6, 2008August 14, 2024 powerpopaholic

Earlier this year Adam Marsland’s “Daylight Kissing Night” aka “Adam Marsland’s Greatest Hits” came out for mere pennies ($6), and I pre-ordered it. This review is long overdue, and for the record, you cannot call yourself a power pop fan if you don’t own this CD. Marslands songs are both smart and literate, as well as insightful and raw along the lines of Ben Folds or Joe Jackson. However, the musical influences are much more than that. Adam channels a number of diverse rock/pop elements into his songs; Brian Wilson, Elton John, Pete Townshend, Matthew Sweet and even Green Day. Most of his best work is autobiographical, and chronicles the life of a kid who wants to be a successful rock musician (“My Kickass Life”) and all the pain and pleasure along the way. A lot of his lyrics also point to being a music geek in every way, like on “Other Than Me” where he’s “glad he never dated Aimee Mann.” Much piss and vinegar goes into his experiences with this band Cockeyed Ghost and his roller coaster ride with the “music industry” that gives us great tracks like, “Big, Big Yeah,” “Burning Me Out (of the Record Store),” “I Can’t Do This Anymore” and my personal favorite “The Fates Cry Foul.” Marsland really revels in the “glorious futility of playing in a band” and the listener will too. This compilation has something for everyone and a lot of his revelations resonate with me personally. I can easily declare this the best “Greatest Hits” package of songs this year and you can get it almost anywhere.

My Space | Adam’s Site

International Pop Overthrow "Vol.11"

November 5, 2008April 4, 2018 powerpopaholic

At International Pop Overthrow every year, event founder David Bash releases a generous three-disc collection featuring many of the artists who perform at the power pop fest. This massive collection has 66 bands spread out on 3 discs. Like other previous collections, it’s a mixed bag of familiar artists and some new artists, but the high quality of songs compared to other compilations is what makes it special.

Disc 1: The ELO shine of Daisy’s “Go!” starts off nicely and moves across to the jangle and harmonies of The Ken Kase Group’s “Shiner” to The Private Jets “Extraordinary Sensations.” Another standout Roger Joseph Manning Jr. track (“American Affluenza”), as well is Laurie Biagini’s dreamy “That Feeling Inside.” Assorted Beatlesque qualities find there way on excellent tracks by Leave, 302 and The Shamus Twins.

Disc 2: More Fab stuff from old stalwarts Twenty Cent Crush and even Peter & The Penguins’ laments in “There goes Pete Best.. the unluckiest bastard in the world.” It gets a power pick-up with The Dirty Royals “Josephine” and the Rolling Stones-like “Charged by The Minute” by The Respectables. More standout tracks here include, Preoccupied Pipers, The Romeros and Steve Caraway.

Disc 3: You would expect fatigue to set in, but it doesn’t as The Afternoons give us the Kinks-ian “Don’t Turn Back” with flowing guitars and harmonies. All Right Tokyo’s “Jessica, Jessica” and The Issue’s “All Or Nothing” have a bit of punk mixed into the lead guitar riff and it stands out here (The Ramones’ spirit lives on!). Garfield’s Birthday’s recent albums best track “Molly” is here too. Fan favorite Chris Brown adds his “Ordinary Day” to this collection, and a retro sounding gem comes from Black Jones & The Trike Shop. Not to be forgotten, Fireking does a great job with the heavy guitars on “A Sentimental Education.”

There are a few mediocre tracks on the third disc, but for the most part you are getting an “instant” power pop collection that would normally cost a pile of money, all here for a small pittance. Always well worth the investment, I reap the dividends of following a few groups here to great full length albums in the near future.

My Space | Not Lame

Chris Scanlon "U-Turn"

November 4, 2008July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

Northampton, MA based Chris Scanlon is a pop guitarist with a knack for both pop and folk that he displays on his debut “U-Turn.” The theme here is re-visiting your past and if you are a New Jersey native like Scanlon, that’s just a bonus to the plot line here. Opening up with the acoustic guitar strum of “Marianas Trench” it brings to mind a little bit of Bruce Hornsby’s rhythm. This leads to the playful “Fish Daddy” which draws you in with fiddle and hand claps, and Scanlon’s vocals approach the chorus with great enthusiasm, like a campfire hoedown. Another standout, “Jersey Boy” is a pretty cool autobiographical song with some nice guitar and horn work.The slower ballads are also well done (“Matawan” and “This House”) and have a passing resemblance to another Jersey boy, Bruce Springsteen (they actually met up a few times). Scanlon gets pretty inventive on “My Name is Chaka” with it’s scat and funky bass, and it’s my favorite song on the album. The next few songs, “Punk Rock Girl” and “Cousin Stinky” have an eighties power pop sound, like 20/20 or Paul Collins’ Beat. These are decent songs, but don’t have the energy and spirit of the earlier tracks, and the latter tracks on the album “My Mother’s House” and title track slow things down again, it showcases Scanlon’s soulful croon. Fans of adult contemporary singer/songwriter pop will enjoy this one quite a bit.

My Space | CD Baby | Itunes