Grace Potter & The Nocturnals "This is Somewhere"

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Full of heavy rock bluster and power ballads, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals are an impressive outfit. Potter’s gritty strong vocals are the natural successor to Ann Wilson of Heart. Like the best female performers, she’s honed her craft on the road, touring upstate New York jams and clubs. A great breakout performance with a lot of passion and energy make this debut worth the spin. The opening “Ah Mary” provides a rousing start, with buzzing guitars and strong keyboard chorus, all topped by Graces’ vocal. Followed by “Stop the Bus” it provides an impressive guitar solo. When we get to the ballad “Apologies” – a classic break-up song, the feel is closer to recent Sheryl Crow. “Lose Some Time” has a slight jazzy taste, and the lyrics are pretty strong here too. Toward the second half of the album, the group slows to a rock country tempo, shown in the song “Here’s To The Meantime.” Overall this is a great CD that could spell stardom for Grace Potter. It appeals to a wide audience, and given some airplay – Grace will increase her fan base in no time.

GracePotter.com | My Space | Amazon | Itunes

Listen to “Ain’t no Time”

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The Resonars "Nonetheless Blue"

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Since we’re in the psychedelic pop section, we might as well mention another great band with the field. The Tucson, AZ based Resonars are singer/songwriter Matt Rendon and friends, who can fashion a perfect psyche-pop tune with ease and authenticity. It opens with the title track, a perfect British Invasion-era pop/rock (circa 1964-1966) nugget with a decidedly more garage-y feel than most. The tracks “Your Concern” and “Places You Have Been” deliver Mod styled power pop complete with jangling guitar and harmonies similar to the early Who. “Games OF Fear” is a good hybrid of The Monkees and The Dave Clark Five. This is easily the strongest Resonars album, as the song writing has gotten stronger and the musicianship is perfect. Every song is under three minutes and catchy as hell, no fillers here either. It’s very hard to highlight a single song here, but “Sinking is Slow” mixes the right amount of rock, harmonies similar to The Choir (a proto version of the Raspberries). Great stuff here, as the other songs on the albums second half (“No Problem At All” and “Soar Snippet”) gets more garage sound, and owe more to The Kinks/Pretty Things than the “Sgt. Pepper-isms” present in The Pillbugs CD I reviewed last week. Things get downright acid on “Three Times Around” and if you’re like me, you’ll get this album and turn on the lava lamp. Dude, it’s like so groovy!

My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik | E-Music | Get Hip Records

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The Pillbugs "Monclovia"

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I’ve always been aware of the Pillbugs, as a good retro band and in the past I’ve heard a few songs here and there. Shame on me that I never really gave this band a proper listen. After hearing “Monclovia” I have become an instant raving fanboy. Other than The Oohs, I can think of no other group that melds every pysch-pop influence into each song with the expertise of a gourmet chef. This album is a perfect introduction to the band, by selecting some of the best tracks from previous releases and a few new ones. Similar to Outrageous Cherry or The Resonars, The Pillbugs bring you a pristine psychedelic experience in sound.  Only these guys don’t just use one set of influences from the era. They use all of them. The opener “Here’s to The End of Time” revives Beatles Magical Mystery Tour era pop. Followed by “Faceless Wonder,” a mix of classic Moody Blues and The Zombies.  Gorgeous hooks are all over each song. The production techniques are absolutely flawless here as well. The Sitar lead “Good To Be Alive” blows away George Harrison’s “Within You Without You” from Sgt. Pepper. “All in Good Time” is a perfect single, like The Left Banke meets Brad Jones. The whimsical “Make Like Arthur Lee” even has a touch of Jethro Tull. “Charlie Blue Car” has a rousing Moodies meets Monkees vibe. Then “Hold Me So Near” brings us a gentle Gene Clarke meets Beau Brummels sound. Other influences include, Traffic, Cotton Mather and early Pink Floyd. I could go on forever, as this is the best retro sounding album since XTC’s “Dukes of The Stratosphere.” If you like any sixites psyche-pop, this is essential listening. 

The Pillbugs Site | My Space | Emusic | Kool Kat Musik | Not Lame

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The Beau Brummels "Laugh Laugh"

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The Beau Brummels were an important the link between The Beatles and West Coast folk during the late 60s. They have a great body of work that has never fully been appreciated. And they were one of the few (only?) groups to be animated by Hanna Barbara in an episode of “The Flintstones.” I post this in memory of John Peterson, the former drummer of the Beau Brummels and Harpers Bizzare. At age 62, he died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.

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Readymade Breakup "Isn’t that what it’s for?"

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New Jersey bandmates, Readymade Breakup have a sharp polished sound that should propel the group to the top of indie rock stardom. Opening with “Starting to End” – it does a great job with a soaring melody and tight guitar arrangements, that sets the tone for the entire album. The sincerity and unapologetic approach to three minute indie pop and rock is evident with “Line of Sight” complete with great harmonies and catchy riffs that you can sing along to. “Without You” is a great single here, possessing both the raw energy and guitar mastery that typified bands like Tonic, Gigolo Aunts and The Tories. Even the ballads here shine, like “Invincible” which starts soft and breaks into a hard riffed chorus. “The Funeral” has a smooth hook and lead singer Paul Rosevear’s voice almost resembles Glenn Tilbrook during points. Each song seems crafted to stick as well, as they continue to encourage repeat listens. A great example of this is the power mid-tempo song “Say Yes.” Toward the end of the album, it gets a bit overdramatic on a few songs like, “Ruin” and “Note to Self,” but the songs are not at all bad. If you had to describe this band in one word it would be “intensity” and that kind of passion for music should be appreciated by power pop fans worldwide. Keep up the good work, guys.

The Band’s Site | My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik | Not Lame

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