Signal Hill Transmission and Holmes EPs

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Signal Hill Transmission “Smoking Gun”
This L.A. based four-piece returns and goes in a more pop direction, compared to the groups earlier efforts which were a alternative DIY or Roots styled. Very sharp clean commercial pop here, closer to classic Toad The Wet Sprocket on “On and Off” a super catchy single that is very welcome in replay mode on my ipod. The moody “Pause Then The Punchline” also weaves it’s way into your brain with a great chorus and lyrics. It gets even sparse on “One Way Ticket” like a Lemonheads-syled dippy-chorus that goes along and resigns itself, the lead vocal intones “I’m never gonna be what you want me to be, kid in a candy store, dream a big dream” – this is an excellent EP that does the very good job of making my mouth water for the next album. Check it out!

Signal Hill website | My Space | Itunes

Holmes “Basement Tapes EP”
Holmes has done some stellar work in the past, and now I guess he wants to let loose with something a bit different. It’s okay that the opener “Go Computer” sounds much like an old track off of a Devo album – it comes back to a great ballad in “Prove Me Wrong Again” where we here faint echos of ELO’s “Lorado Tornado” with a country twang similar to The Eels. But the most adventurous track here is a cover of Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” played as a gloomy slow dirge. It is nearly unrecognizable and yet very compelling to listen to. The ending track is closer to what Holmes last album sounds like, “Not A Political Song” with it’s catchy chorus and ironic lyrics about the end of the Bush era. It’s the highlight here with wonderful imagery of “Fat cats sitting atop a crumbling house” and “you’re history, you oughta sing along.” Most worthy and fitting, for Holmes – so when is the LP due?

Holmes’ Site | My Space | emusic

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Vote your all time Top 5 power pop albums.

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A new site, created by several popular bloggers have created a survey, where you can post your top five album list right here.

I encourage you to add your opinions to the list and challenge John Borack’s top picks. It’s a busy time for me but I’ll post mine any day now. The poll is open until 10/31/08 — so vote today!

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Jeremy Messersmith "The Silver City"

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I found a few good songs on Minnesota native Jeremy Messersmith’s Alcatraz Kid. The Elliot Smith comparisons are still apt here, but the musical growth and songwriting development has really exploded with “The Silver City.” And Jeremy partnered with Dan Wilson (Semisonic) to paint a vivid picture of heavenly Suburbia. The opening track “Welcome to Suburbia” is a celestial pop triumph, with shimmering melodic chorus and George Harrison-like guitar accents that compliments Jeremy’s soft vocal. Much like the futuristic travellers on the cover the listeners will be treated to “Dead-End Job,” a great ballad with a lovely horns and more descriptive narrative. The next track “Franklin Avenue” is the shinning gem on this album, rich with instrumentation about a passerby “Waiting for that sinking feeling.” The production on the album is sparse, but dynamic with “The Commuter” resembling a the REM track “Man on The Moon” in feel and tone. And a bit of good electronica pop sneaks in with “Miracles” after this. The album sags a bit in the middle, but comes back strong on a version of Paul Westerberg’s “Skyway” and a very bouncy pop tune “Virginia” that demands repeat listens and I dare you not to tap your toe to the beat here. The closing track “Light Rail” continues the ride, with a McCartney styled ditty that’s a worthy followup to “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La -Da.” The album is like a great cup of coffee; rich, dark and sweet – but ultimately very soothing. Mmm… drink this one up.

Jeremy’s Site | My Space | Itunes | Emusic


Listen to “Miracles”

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Doug Derek & The Hoax "Who The Hell Is Doug Derek?"

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If you ever dreamed of finding that “unknown” pop nugget in the back of the record store’s cut out bin, then Doug Derek & The Hoax will make you smile. Much like when Not Lame unearthed “The Toms” a few years ago, Doug Derek was a little known garage band from New Haven, CT during the same period (1980-81). The album is a snapshot in time of the skinny tie era of power pop similar to Paul Collins’ Beat, The Plimsouls and even Peter Case a little bit. The big “hit” here is the opening two tracks “Bobby’s Gotta Get Back To Boston” and ” I Don’t Really Like It Here” which would fit just perfectly on those DIY power pop compilations that Rhino Records made long ago. The remaining tracks are good too, another standout is “Airwaves” which almost sounds like a Rubinoos song with it’s excellent guitar breaks and earnest chorus, about a band’s rise to fame. This album would most definitely have been a hit at the time, but it fell through the cracks — until now. Enjoy!

My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik | Not Lame

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The Romeo Flynns "Pictures Of You"

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Straight from the east side of Detroit, The Romeo Flynns burst on the scene with a sound along the lines of Sweet and Cheap Trick. It starts out as a concept album about a painful breakup. The lead track “Pictures of You” has an almost Meatloaf meets Kiss quality with horns playing accents around heavy guitar riffs. The next track “Gonna Feel Alright” is easily one of the best songs on the album, with a stomping beat and a rock energy and swagger that compares well Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Lead singer D. Lawrence Lee’s vocals sound like both Petty and Bruce Springsteen in places. “Better Man Than Me” keeps the rock train rolling with smart riffs and a catchy chorus. It all has a retro 80s and 90s feel in places, but it delivers the goods if you want a good classic rock album. “Wasting my Heart” is more melodic than the earlier tracks with the addition of background strings and is the closest track here to traditional power pop. “Just Fade Away” is another standout track with a rich harmonic chorus. I wasn’t so thrilled with the power ballad “Kristine” – which is a bit too similar to the Kiss song “Beth” but it ends strong with a terrific cover of the Kink’s “Better Things.” A very enjoyable rock album that will thrill if you like Detroit Rock, Brit Rock and the huge sound that comes with it. You won’t be disappointed.

Romeo Flynn’s Site | My Space | CD Baby

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