Only Makbelieve “Message from a Mockingbird”
This Ohio duo (Samuel Atkinson and Wyatt Michael) have assembled a album with grand ambitions and some majestic pop tunes. The opener “Letters for the Dead” has a mix of guitars and progressive rock keyboards with a Celtic touch. The dense production will appeal to fans of “Seeds of Love”-era Tears for Fears or Split Enz. Highlights here include “Fly So High” with it’s smooth guitar work and heavenly harmonies and “Spending My Life” with ernest strum and soulful vocals. In the middle of this prog-folk rock – a stunner of a heavy rock song comes out, “Backstab” is a commercial radio-friendly anthem that has plenty of wicked guitar buzzsaw riffs. Another goodie here is the “Sunflower” which brings to mind early Julian Lennon, with lots of strings and horns as a sweet coda to the guitar melody. “Part Moon” is close to “Nonsuch” period XTC, with a combination of harmonies and rhythmic guitar. The tons of flourishing acoustic guitar work reminded me of Jeremy Morris solo work as well. It’s well worth your attention.
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Danna and The Changes “Constant Cacophony”
I’m not sure who Danna is, but he sure can play. This Melbourne band has a touch of early Chilli Peppers with a heavy dose of The Replacements on the frenzied opener “Baby Love.” It then launches into “Good Duet” one of the best songs on the album, with a Raspberries-like hook that sinks deep in your brain. Highlights include “He And She” a bouncy mid-tempo piano melody not unlike Mike Viola or Ben Folds. The Beach Boys meets CSNY sweetness of “He Was Irrelevant” is proof of the amazing talent here and it’s a brilliant song with heartfelt lyrics. The songwriting is top notch and most songs here have great instrumentation. A few tunes here overreach a bit too much “Rise and Shine” being one of them. Danna also channels Jeff Tweedy quite well on “Shake It Up” and “Are You Gonna Take Me Home” And even the ender “Station” is one of the best over four minute tune I’ve heard in a while. There are a lot of different musical styles here to sink your ears into, so yes this is highly recommended.
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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.

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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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