The New Up and Radio Days

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The New Up “Broken Machine” EP
Out of the San Francisco scene comes The New Up. From the trippy-dreamlike beats and strong bassline to ES Pitchers’s silky vocals (similar to Siouxsie Sue and P.J. Harvey) the music is poised to break out in a big way with pop fans. Beginning with the irresistable catchy pop of “Ginger Tea” and neo wave guitars on “Top of the Stairs” follows. If you’ve always wondered how Radiohead’s influence would have affected the sound of a band like 1000 Maniacs, look no further. Fans of The Cure, and classic Smashing Pumpkins will also dig the tight, aggressive style of rock coated in a cool candy shell. This is hip, modern pop that the indie masses will enjoy as well.
The New Up Site | My Space

Radio Days “Midnight Cemetery Rendezvous” EP
Lead by Dario Persi, the Italian group Radio Days have taken traditional power pop sound and mines it for great effect. Excellent songwriting and guitar work punctuate each song in the EP, that recalls Fotomaker, Weezer and Velvet Crush all at once. From the smooth Knack-like riffs on “Brand New Life” to the cover of Paul Collins Beat’s “Rock And Roll Girl” this is without a doubt a mind altering, sonic-sugar rush. “Don’t Keep Me Waiting” is a perfect mix of Cheap Trick guitars and pop bliss. With music this good you don’t ever notice the European accents (okay, you do – but it’s no worse than The Winnerys). I would keep my eye on this group for a follow up full length album, so in the meantime hunt this CD down, as it one of the best I’ve heard all year – Bellissimo!!
My Space | Interpunk | Subordination Records

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Beatles Musicals: If at first you don’t succeed…

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beat the idea into the ground. I just got around to seeing and listening to the latest Beatles musical, Julie Taymor’s “Across The Universe” on DVD. It’s not as bad as the movie critics made it, but even a real Beatles fan must admit if you shoehorn as many songs into one movie, you will get a bit of a mess. To be honest, it is a spectaular triumph when you consider that the last Beatles musical that worked was “Yellow Submarine” in 1968 (and the fab four were actually involved in it). So here is a list of attempts in chronological order – I do not count stage shows like “Beatlemania” or Circ de Soleil’s “Love” or The Beatles own movies like “Help”- just filmed attempts using Beatles music:

  1. All this and World War II (1976) A real mess that was an attempt to meld together Beatles cover songs and World War II footage. Soundtrack included Jeff Lynne, Peter Gabriel and The Bee Gees doing awful versions of your favorite songs. Because the movie never had a real theatrical release (although the soundtrack did) – the idea would live on…

  2. Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary (1977) A monument to bad 70’s variety shows, and another example of famous singers doing rotten versions of Beatle covers. Starring Ted Neeley (fresh from Jesus Christ Superstar), and including Patti LaBelle, Richie Havens, and other celebs embarrassing themselves. Steve Martin was also included in this stinker.

  3. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)Then they take the musical badness above and try to attach as story to it. Too bad the movie made no sense and induced vomiting from the audience. The some of covers are much better here (i.e. “Come Together” by Aerosmith and “Got To Get You Into My Life” by Earth, Wind & Fire) but they are surrounded by crap and Steve Martin returns doing “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”!

  4. Across The Universe (2007) After looking at the previous treatments, this is like Citizen Kane. The story and songs sometimes work, and at other points feel forced. The actors do a good job on a lot of the covers, but much of it feels like a group of music videos strung together. Part of the problem (like the others) is mixing songs from different eras that don’t match well. If they had taken a single album (like Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”) it would have been a better movie. Here is my favorite clip from it (very Wall-like). Best of all no sign of Steve Martin…

So why were three attempts made to add Beatles music to film in the late seventies? Keep in mind, when they broke up the music loving public were suffering from Fab withdrawl, and nostalgia always sells well. In my opinion, as each member of the band passes on, the urgency to keep the music alive to a new generation increases among those who lived through their heyday.

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Bigfellas "Chubbed Up"

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San Diego’s Bigfellas are a local favorite and they have a smart way of blending pop and rootsy commentary along the lines of Ben Folds or Randy Newman. One of the many talents in the band, Charlie Recksieck writes some great piano driven music for the the mind as well as the soul. It opens with the SoCal pop of “California King” with a chorus that melts like butter and the biting lyrics of “vegetarians who love to shoot thier guns.” Then it shambles into a hard-luck story with “Dollar for Every Dime” that talks about Lotto addiction, and the banjo follows the piano lead along. The funniest/meanest song here is “I Wish That I Were Gay” which wraps itself in Gershwin’s “Rhadspody in Blue” and turns into the type of satire that Randy Newman used to do so well. It’s basically a rant about gay envy and how they “have cache” and it’s a hoot. The album goes off on left field with a “On The Green” with a disco beat, it’s hard to tell if it’s comedy or just bad rap. We’re back on track with “Johnny Get Out Of The Sky” and fine mid-tempo tune. “Wish You Knew” is a wonderful ballad about regret after someone has passed on. The guitar strum takes center stage in the very psyche-pop “4:20” that could’ve fallen off a Pillbugs album. Lots of impressive piano and guitar riffs are on the Folds-like “Adam & Eve & ted & Alice” and “Reinventing The Wheel” has a bit of the bar room jam feel. It’s good entry in the piano pop field and it makes me want to revisit the past album on CD Baby. Enjoy!

My Space | Amazon | CD Baby (“Clap!” album)

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Brown Line Fiasco "Superstar"

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That juicy polished power pop that I first heard on the last IPO compilation was Brown Line Fiasco and the group returns with a very catchy album called “Superstar.” Few would argue that the opener “Lovely Day” hasn’t got a touch of Pearl Jam with power chords and a  dominant bass line. The title track has melody and beat that compare with Ok Go and The Posies and will drive you to start air guitar theatrics right away. The power chords meet smooth harmonies on the song “Over Our Heads” and recall The Raspberries and Gin Blossoms, with a perfectly delivered vocal over swirling riffs. The very-Brit flavoured “Without Love” is a sweet single that is more overtly pop that anything else on the disc and approaches Wondermints territory. The rest of the album seems to test the genre waters a bit, by flirting with Utopia rock and synth (“You’re Not Alone”) and then early Bon Jovi melodic rock (“Should have told her”). “Heart Won’t Lie” is a good mid-tempo ballad that falls between the Cars and Lindsey Buckingham. It ends with with “Look of Amazement” that adds a bit of funk to the mix. Overall an excellent album that doesn’t play safe and refuses to be overtly derivative, and that’s worthy of more than a few spins on the ole ipod playlist.

Brown Line Fiasco’s Site | My Space | CD Baby

Big Life Desire "Dribs and Drabs"

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Keith Harbottle is the one man band behind Big Life Desire and even he knows what you think of him. He sings “I don’t have a good voice, I can’t hardly sing, still I can impress, it’s not supposed to make sense” (“Not Supposed To Make Sense”). Keith has a very British theatrical sound, similar to the Bonzo Dog Band or a sober Syd Barrett. The songs are well arranged and melodic, especially the latter-era ELO-styled opener “Full Of You” with synth keyboards leading the way. Some songs are inventive and “So Inclined” is a very Alan Parsons Project flavoured mid-tempo song. However, Harbottle’s polite voice lacks any kind of range and seems custom made for a novelty record. By the mid point of this album it got very distracting, although the ballads (“After All” and “So Say I”) are easier to take. My advice is to listen yourself and cherry pick the better songs here, as I’m sure this is not everyone’s cup of tea. You may disagree here, but this album is best heard in dribs and drabs. Listen to everything here on Harbottle’s music page

Big Life Desire Site | My Space | Your Love Is (single)

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