The Brigadier "The Rise and Fall of Responsibility"

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Matt (The Brigadier) Williams is sure to garner attention this year. His latest, “The Rise and Fall…” is a highly addictive and intelligent pop album. The narrative pop style is rooted in the work of McCartney and Ray Davies, but with soft gentle vocals closer in sound to Sean O’Hagen of The High Llamas. If you enjoy a burst of pop creativity, you’ll flip over the opening track “Growing Up is Hard to Do Part 1” which compares favorably to Bryan Scary. It shoots out a bouncy beat and handclaps to the lyric “One day I’m playin‘ with computer games… watchin‘ your youth go up in flames, so do you say no surrender?” This is an excellent beginning and leads to the dream-like mid tempo love song “When Will I be with You” which evokes a mix of Roger Waters and Aztec Camera with acoustic guitar strum and piano. “The Language of Love” is quirky piano number with a breathy vocal and rich chorus. The theatrical bend to the album not only compares well with Bryan Scary piano work, but also Genesis’ Steve Hackett guitar arrangements. The songs flow easily from the slow heavy organ depression of “Envy” to the music hall style of “Une Soiree” — it’s mesmerizing and the entire album will demand repeat listens. The utterly amazing “This, is why…” has a catchy hook, with a 70s era style similar to early Elton John. “The Box in the back of My Mind” gets in touch with it’s inner Raspberries and is my favorite track. The ending “Growing Up is Hard To Do Part 2” has a Kinks meets Beach Boys vibe. Don’t miss this brilliant album, as I will now want to examine The Brigadier’s past albums. It makes my top ten list too – lots of great pop this year!

The Brigadier site | My Space | CD Baby

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Aprilsrain "Stellar Transmission"

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Shimmering pop melodies from Aprilsrain is the result of a collaboration between Roger and Chris Manning (both of Jellyfish) and about ten other musicians. But this is not a Manning album, and it does not resemble Jellyfish. The heavy lifting here is done by Jon Del Arroz, who handles vocals and John Corker, lead guitar. They sound like a clean mix of Death Cab for Cutie and Eric Matthews, with flowing orchestral strings overlayed over phased guitars. “Stumbling” is a highlight with it’s modern piano lead melody and Del Arroz’s strong vocals. “Nova” is another good song, a soothing ballad with the effortless ability to relax the listener. Lots of delicate harmony and baroque chord changes dominate this album which tends to veer toward the mellow side of pop. The pop jangle of “Dagobah” is another standout, similar to The Cosmic Rough Riders, with some memorable guitar work. “Useless Game” is a very contemporary pop song with a reflective playful mood. A pair of sentimental ballads end this ten song album, “Building Up A Wall” is one of them, a sweet duet with Mara Frager complete with violins and acoustic guitar. The Manning brothers production is clean and tight, but not every song has a good hook – so it’s a mixed bag here. Very much like The Pinder Brothers minus the retro spin, baroque and sunshine pop fans may enjoy this. If you are looking for pop angst, go elsewhere.

Aprilsrain site | My Space | CD Baby | Not Lame

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Tim Myer’s "The Good Life" Saturn commercial

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Once again, power pop artists have gotten some commercial exposure. This ELO inspired gem is the work of Tim Myer. And just like my previous post with Alan Clapp of The Orange Peels, Tim also has a pop gem for Target stores. Visit his site or MySpace page to hear the whole song. Once again, proof that the quickest way to an indie hit is a Madison Avenue soundtrack.

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Penguin Party "See Thru Songs"

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Dave Milligan’s solo project Penguin Party is sure to appeal to fans of Martin Newell, with it’s very English nostalgic music hall pop. It opens with the quirky “Someone Else’s Turn To Be Me” a swirling mass of organ and cymbals with a smooth bassline driving the song along. The follow up is a reverb heavy ballad “Beaten, Black and Blue” with a bit of “Fool on The Hill” flute it makes a compelling listen. “Just Like A Chorus” is most definitely like a lost Cleaners From Venus track and this is followed by another low key tune “Mirrorball” which reminds me of an Andy Partridge pop ballad. By mid album, some 80’s synth influences creep back in on songs like “Lullaby” and “She Smells” – and it’s a flashback to Modern English! The best fun here is the pub anthem “Goin‘ Back To Grandma’s” with the hummable chorus and foot stompin‘ beat. There are a lot of subtle shifts in mood and genre on the album up to this point. The remaining tracks have a hard time measuring up, but this album has a charming set of pop that will sit well with ye merry anglophile power pop fans.

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

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Weezer "Pork and Beans"

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Here is the first single from Weezer’s new album – and it’s a fun vid for anyone who remembers all these favorite viral internet celebs who got 15 minutes (or seconds) of fame. A bonus “no-prize” if you can name all these characters.

Updated: For an annotated version with links to each viral vid — click here.

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