The band Shake Some Action is working on the new album “Sunny Days” for June release. In the meantime, they have a goodie for you powerpopaholics – a free track! Check out the video above to see the band hard at work.
Listen to “Looking for Someone”
And you can download the track directly from here. This sounds like it’s gonna be a great summer.
This album comes out of nowhere, and blows me away with amazing songwriting and playing. Brooklyn’s Brandon Wilde has a Paul McCartney meets Elliot Smith musical sensibility. Opening with “Whatever You Want” will remind most listeners of Chris Brown or David Grahame, with delicate strum and irresistible vocals. Even the slow alt country ballads like “Ever After” or “Rag Doll” have an amazingly catchy bridge that keeps you engaged. Most of the album is full of low key ballads, but with those clean Macca-styled hooks and arrangements. The ballad “Highway to The Moon” takes a very Radiohead-like turn with wonderful touches of acoustic folk and multi-tracked harmony. The thickest, stickiest hook and my favorite on this album is “Love in Cars.” This sole mid-tempo song will have you singing and clapping along in no time. It’s been on my ipod all week! The ballad “Cannot Say” evokes a bit of The Small Faces ballads and Brandon’s voice almost morphs into Rod Stewart’s cragginess. He ends the album with “Hollow” – a Beatlesque ballad of “Blackbird” proportions. My only nit pick here is that there is nothing on the album that is faster paced. But Mr. Wilde is an extremely talented musician and his “Songs From The Deep Sleep” are a well executed collection of subtle musical beauty.
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“Jupiter Falls”
The Pinder’s debut is a sweet affair with a bit of modern mid-tempo pop with “Goodbye Say Hello” and playful lyrics and innocent harmonies bringing the listener along for the ride. The space themed follow up “Jupiter Falls” you hear the falsetto in the chorus and great potential. “Hang on Tight” closely resembles a Rembrandts song and has a pretty good hook too. Another shining example on this album is “Nicolina” which is great first crush-type love song that resembles Toad the Wet Sprocket’s mellow, melodic folk-pop. “First Kiss Goodnight” is a ballad where the falsetto takes off and other than the overly sappy lyric (“Somthing in your bright blue eyes says sex is overrated”) is a wonderful song. The ender here, “Sunflower” is a delicate and inspirational ballad that is a strong finish here.
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“Ordinary Man”
The follow up album gets a bit stronger with “Dear Diane,” a mainstream adult pop single. There is more electric guitar in this album, although the sweet California-style melodies continue to inspire, like in the next song “Hold Me Tonight.” The feel and chord changes of “Waves Crash” is very much like Tim Finn, and my favorite Pinder Brothers song so far. The lyrical content is more mature as well, “Inside Me” is evidence of this with a song about faith in oneself. I miss the high falsetto taking center stage, but all the songs reflect thoughtful songwriters having something meaningful to say with guitars, great lyrics, and lush harmonies.
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Like other brothers (Nelson comes to mind for some reason) – both Matt Pinder and Mike Lee Pinder have pop music running through their veins. Actually, the closest sound the Pinders have is to The Rembrandts. This is smooth easy going pop full of romantic subtext. Not every song has a good hook, but the ones that do are true gems here. Both albums here are recommended.
The Attorneys have changed their name to Flying Machines and gotten some good airplay on the USA show “Psych” — they have also bulked up from a three piece to a four, adding a new bass player as well. Keep these guys on your radar for impressive music.
I’m prepared to crown Martin Gordon the clown prince of power pop. His lastest work “The World is Your Lobster” is a maniacal mix of XTC pop genius and Neil Innes/Monty Python humour. Gordon skewers plenty of sacred cows here, with bouncy pop glee. “Pop Goes Bang” is a clear comment on the state of musical taste today, with lines like “Tell me, will this awful racket never stop?” The next song needs no introduction, “What would Jesus Drive?” — it’s not a hotrod folks. The next several songs stylistically recall 10cc and the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour-era quirkiness. The Gilbert & Sullivan musical experiments continue (“Am I Alone?” and “A Policeman’s Lot is Not A Happy One”) and the influence is clearly leaking through to songs like his own “Mirror, Mirror.” The silliness is also amped up when compared to his previous works (example: an entire song about a joke “My Dog’s Got No Nose” How does he smell? Terrible). The music still has great melodies, and flawless musicianship. Along the way Gordon punctures consumerism (“No Offers At All”), hypocrisy (“Don’t Do As I Do”) and plenty of pithy observations about the mankind’s relationship with his deity (“No More Limbo”). The lyrics demand attention, and even delve into abstract Dadaism (“Just Say Wee”). As with his past works, you get a lot of bang for your buck with 15 tracks. Like me, you’ll be screaming for more. Keep it comin’ Martin!
