The New York City festival known as IPO NYC 2007 has started last night. I will attend the show tomorrow night and check out some of these bands live. It’s at the Baggot Inn, I will give a short review of the concert. I have already reviewed a few bands that will appear:
Just to make things even more interesting I put together a Cafe Press page with “powerpopaholic” branded goodies on it. Take a look. So get a button and support this site! More reviews coming after the show.
A group of Italian power poppers named their band “Canadians.” Brilliant! Although not so search engine friendly, Canadians debut album has lots of great guitar jangle, humming synths and pounding beats. Alot like Death Cab for Cutie with an Italian accent, it’s sweet indie power pop with a West Coast influence. The high quality production comes through as well. The big Beach Boys-influenced single here is “Summer Teenage Girl” and you can download it for FREE. The sound marries the classic 60s influences with big indie stadium anthems that usually are reserved for bands like Oasis. “Find our 60s” is a song that perfectly finds that sweet spot and has a bit of a Teenage Fanclub guitar-filled chorus. The songs lyrics are a tribute to those great bands that influenced power pop as well. Singer Duccio Simbeni’s accent and voice sometimes gets lost in the wall of sound here. Notable is the indie epic “Last Revenge of The Nerds” – it carries a melody along, similar to the groups Field Music or the Shins, but with a long echoing chorus and ringing guitars. Every so often an acoustic guitar peeks through on a song like “The North Side of Summer” with force. The album is very consistent in delivering good quality songs. Even a little twee multi-tracking vocal flourish and synth help keep this release memorable. If you miss the classic Supergrass sound from “We’re in it for the Money” era you’ll appreciate the bombast this album provides. For emusic subscribers, here’s another no brainer.
The Canadians Main Site | My Space | E Music
Listen to “Love Story On The Moon”
Listen to “Good News”
Listen to “Summer Teenage Girl”
Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and be the first on your block to listen to Devon Reed’s soundtrack to “Songs from The Bigtop.” Not only does he produce a major film, ladies and gentlemen, but he wrote all the songs on the album to be performed by some of today’s greatest indie and power pop artists. Featuring songs performed by Doug Martsch (Built To Spill), Matthew Sweet, The Clientele, The Marbles (Robert Schneider of Apples in Stereo), Tullycraft, and more. Reed wrote each song custom based on the sound of each artist, and it’s sounds pretty good. Most of the album is full of lush ballads that speak wistfully of Devon’s love of circus life. Highlights include Michael Leviton’s “I Only want Sky” and Matthew Sweet’s “Wild” as mid tempo pop songs with just the right touch. Like a good box of chocolates, sweet suprises are to be found, for example the excellent “I Just Can’t Keep Up” by The Owls. A few tunes here didn’t thrill me, but that’s to be expected on a compiled soundtrack of artists with such unique styles. The link that ties it all together is Devon Reed’s songs, and the album evokes warmth and a hint of melancholy. Hopefully the film itself is as well crafted as the soundtrack. It’s only available on itunes. And who doesn’t love the circus?
Devon Reed Main Site | IMDB profile on the movie | Itunes
Listen to Michael Leviton’s “I Only Want The Sky”
Listen to Damien Jurado’s “Ashes”
Kevin Godley joins Graham Gouldman’s revamped 10cc at Shepherds Bush Empire, London. They sing “Old Wild Men” which is really appropriate now. Originally the songs was a tribute to The Beach Boys, but now sounds more like a tribute to 10cc. “Old men of rock and roll/Came bearing music/Where are they now?”
Listen to a newer song by Graham, “Beautifulloser.com” sung by Kevin at the same concert. But maybe you prefer….
“The Things we do for Love”
Small Sins could be classified as indie electronica pop, but with a melodic sense that brings them into the power pop camp. It’s shimmering electronics meets infectious pop guitar hooks. Thomas D’Arcy, the main force behind the band has fashioned a true rock album with elements of electronica. The opening track, “I Need a Friend” has harmonies with an undercurrent of menace that bring to mind 10cc. The Banjo and handclaps of “Morning Face” continue this trend. Fans of Ween or Sparks will appreciate the catchy falsetto of “What Your Baby’s Been Doing.” The hooks in the music are what draw you here, despite the quirky instrumentation of “On The Line” or the electro-synth noodling of “Drunk E-Mail.” Sometimes the songs take a turn into a New Order-styled dance music like on “It Keeps Me on My Toes,” and fans of Sissor Sisters will enjoy that too. The lyrics are often at odds with the sunny electro-pop melodies. The exception is the melancholy “Bullet.” Most of the songs do hit the mark correctly and if you like a bit of something different from usual power pop fare, this is it.
Small Sins Main Site | My Space | Itunes
Listen to “On The Line”