Okay, we all know that great power pop involves handclaps (and harmonies) at the right moments in a song. Follow Kevin Hillard from Small Sins and the life of a professional pop handclapper. This is truly hilarious. I reviewed Small Sins a while ago so this video was a nice distraction.
2nd Day Crush "From the Nights You Lost Your Voice"
When when singer/songwriter Chris Drizen and met bassist Rick Barrio Dill at a Hollywood Hills party they decided to start a band. Then auditions for a guitarist brought them Rami Jrade and his friend drummer George Lind, and 2nd Day Crush was born. Two years later, we get “From the Nights You Lost Your Voice.” This debut album is a polished slice of indie rock, starting with the opening track “The Victim” — a mix of buzzing guitars and beat heavy rhythms. Similar in sound to Semisonic meets Coldplay with a bit of Green Day guitars thrown in. The next tune, “Put Down Your Guns” is a fast paced infectious melody with an easy to digest chorus and the right amount of modern influences. Other songs have bouncy pop to offset the guitar toughness, like in the great “Something Now” and Drizen’s vocals seems to channel both The Rembrandts and Neil Peart in the song “Better Than This.” My favorite here is “I Want To Be There Again” which is one of the better modern pop singles I have heard this year. Stylistically, the band moves around as some songs will remind me of Australia’s Taxiride, (“Walk Away” and “Watch The World”) full of confidence and energy. Every song here sparkles with quality and professionalism, so there are no throw away tracks here either. A drawback for me is the lack of any type of ballad, as the album is on “full speed” through all 12 tracks. However, this is glossy power pop with modern 21st century sensibility — a true bid for pop radio success.
2nd Day Crush web site | My Space | CD Baby
Listen to “Watch the World”
1970s Pop agony from days gone by
I saw this on the Bolus Blog a few days ago. It listed You Tube Videos for the most painful pop music ever. I disagree here, as all these are basic “one-hit wonders” from the seventies that became extremely uncool to listen to soon after they fell off the charts. To some this is a guilty pleasure, but to most who lived through 1970’s pop music this is torture by extreme pop schmaltz. It’s difficult to differentiate between true badness and an acquired taste.
White Plains “My Baby Loves Lovin”
Terry Jacks — Seasons in the Sun
Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods — Billy Don’t Be a Hero
Captain & Tenille — Muskrat Love
Tony DiFranco & the DiFranco Family — Heartbeat (It’s a Love Beat)
Bobby Goldsboro — Honey
Sammy Johns — Chevy Van
Debbie Boone — You Light Up My Life
The Buoys — Timothy (written by Rupert Holmes, a pop ballad about cannibalism?)
Rupert Holmes – Him (I kinda like this one)
Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Tony Orlando “Tie a Yellow Ribbon”
Charlene “I’ve Never Been To Me”
Coven “One Tin Soldier”
Starland Vocal Band “Afternoon Delight”
Vicki Lawrence “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia”
Paper Lace “The Night Chicago Died”
Now if we started talking about painful songs with the worst lyrics… It’s a whole new list – I’ll start it with:
Donna Summer “MacArthur Park” (someone left the cake out in the rain) and I like the Richard Harris non-disco version better.
Dave Dill "Follow The Summer"
Saving the best for last (end of the month)? Many other power pop sites have raved about Dave Dill this month, so now it’s my turn. Dave’s musical development has improved by leaps and bounds with “Follow The Summer” Starting with “Today,” it’s a perfect sunny summer pop song that evokes “Runt-era” Todd Rundgren with Brian May guitars. The harmonies and dreamy guitar swirls are accented by tamborine smacks, like early 10cc singles for AM radio. Next, “Miss America” is the ultimate McCartney meets Eric Carmen ballad with lush melodies that’ll make classic pop fans swoon. “Happily Ever After” is another amazing mid-tempo number with a blistering guitar solo on par with classic Badfinger. “Never So Beautiful” has a playful bit of XTC styled chord changes and uses all those classic rock influences to fashion out a true masterpiece along the lines of Andrew Gold’s “Fraternal Order OF The All.” Other songs “Don’t Remember” and “You Don’t Believe it” also resemble Gold’s best work. After the album mid point it ventures into Beach Boys land with “Pink Skies.” I will stop here, as you could keep reading raves all day about Mr. Dill. Every song is strong here and easily gets a nod for Top Ten for 2008. Sunshine pop fans shouldn’t even hestitate here. After you buy this album, put it in the player, listen to it, rinse and repeat.
Dave Dill’s web site | My Space | CD Baby
Dave Dill’s “Follow The Summer” Video
Supergrass "Diamond Hoo Ha"
Did people just forget about Supergrass? One of the best British bands of the mid 90’s has returned to form. The buzzing bass in the opener “Diamond Hoo Ha Man” reminds you why they can still school bands like Jet, The Strokes and The Hives. Lead vocalist Gaz Coombes hasn’t missed a step either, he still has that 70’s T-Rex swagger down pat. The Guitars and drum beat on “Bad Blood” bounce along to the chorus, and then rocks hard. One of the album’s highlights “Rebel in You” is a Bowie-like throw back to the days of “We’re in it for The Money” with blusey guitar distortion and loud harmonies that sticks in your head all day. The next track is the “When I Needed You” with it’s Beatle-influenced bass line and great melody. Then on “Rough Knuckles” you have a funky bass lead and echoy chorus that drips with cool aloofness. Then the group fires on all cylinders, with all kinds of instrumentation contributing to a song like “Whiskey and Green Tea,” it’s similar to Queen or Sparks in technique, but the hooks get lost here. Overall the album just doesn’t have consistency of earlier efforts, and a few ho hum tracks are filled in here (“Outside”) although the last song “Butterfly” is a edgy classic and the anthemic chorus here almost redeems the album. Supergrass fans will want this for sure. Others will enjoy it too, if you like your alt power pop loud and proud.
Supergrass web site | My Space
Performing “Rough Knuckles” in the studio.