Pop Archeology Transmission is the work of two old friends from Portland, who come from radically different musical places. Paul Ellis is an accomplished Electronics musician and Kevin Bowen has played in jazz ensembles and punk bands. Both love classic 70’s pop and combine to give you a potpourri of adult oriented pop that touches many different influences, but if pressed I’d say it combines Alan Parsons Project, 10cc and Todd Rundgren. Opening with the light “She Blew It Like a Kiss” weaves lush acoustic guitars and understated vocals. A few songs seem overly precious, like “Emperor Reversed” and are missing those memorable hooks. But with a massive amount of music here (20 tracks) the duo produces a bunch of true pop gems. The baroque Todd-styled “Everyone Lies” is a wonderful song, that drifts along on a snare beat. A series of cool breezy mid-tempo songs like “Beautiful Mistake” and “Night is Falling” resembles Eric Matthews in vocal style. The best track on the disc for me is “So Much” with a sugary sweet chorus and light strumming. Some tunes are obviously experimental pop, (“Love 4 Security”) but the song structures and instrumentation are solid – this isn’t improv. Some ballads are achingly beautiful, like “My Recurring Dream” will please Parsons fans for sure. Overall, it’s smart pop music for fans who want some substance with their guitar licks.

My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat

With the help of Stephen Butler (Smash Palace) on guitar and Anthony Bezich on drums, Jeff Bruckner’s debut is a combination of Raspberries and Cheap Trick-styled power pop sure to please. The opening tracks of “Chicago” and “Not Feelin’ It,” are rocking songs with meaty hooks, big enough to catch you quickly and not let you go. The more laid back tone of “Point of View” has a bit of Wilco’s early touch. The Posies-like “Murdering Man” is another standout here with Butler’s great guitar work and the playful lyrics (“Well I shot a man with spray on tan/With a shotgun/No, a rubber band”). Behind it all is Bruckner’s earnest and well thought out stories. This is an excellent power pop album and the hits keep coming with Pezband-like “Song To Pay For You” and the forceful “Quarterback Lover.” Even the power  ballad “Love Me Now” is a well executed like torch song, without venturing into cheesiness – a bit like Lindsey Buckingham. Even the jangle filled ending track “Envy Of All Our Friends” is a wonderful mid-tempo song that would fit well on a modern movie soundtrack. No filler here either, so the whole album worth some heavy ipod rotation too. It’ll be on mine.

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The four-piece Christopher Cash Band is a tight, fun-loving band of veterans from Southern California. Cash’s “Invisible” starts with the swirling psychedelic organ and sitar on the opening track “Morning Star.” It’s a great pop-psyche tune similar to The Grip Weeds with a vocal style similar to Pat DiNizio (The Smithereens) mixed with Neil Diamond. The following song “Not Going Back” has a haunting melody and subtle guitar work. The jangle and overall songwriting of the title track “Invisible” owes to the eighties (think an acoustic version of Psychedelic Furs) a little. Things get a bit heavier on the rock/blues “Empathy” with it’s simplistic anti-war message with a smokin’ guitar solo mid way in the song. “Blistering Velvet” is a catchy rock gem similar to The Smithereens and “Tangled in Wire” has some excellent metaphorical lyrics (“You’ll never fly with both feet on the ground/ You struggle and twist the more you resist”). Plenty of ballads are on the disc, like “Old Photograph” or the folky “Three Minutes Late” – they are decent, but not as compelling as the bluesier mid-tempo songs. “Coming Home” is similar to the Eagles or Tom Petty with an immediate hook in the chorus and my favorite song here. This is really good adult oriented pop/rock that has enough hooks and well crafted songwriting to make it a worthy purchase.

Christopher Cash Website | My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame