The Swivel Chairs "The Slow Transmission"

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Jason Brown and Jeremy Grites make up the Swivel Chairs, a low key indie-pop group with some Wilco influences. If you like you power pop sweet and mellow, the Swivel Chairs new album “The Slow Transmission” will do it for you, like hot tea on a winter’s night. The style of the album is a bit all over the place though. The smooth mellowness of “Here Out of Reach” and “Easy Now” is interrupted by the Replacements-like songs “All at Once” and “Breaking Up” Then we settle back into the nice Jayhawks-ish “Just a Little Girl.” This kind of sonic diversity will win over some fans, but may annoy others. Some songs feel like they belong on a different album, like the experimental “Clockwise” and dreamy “December Ghosts.” Most of the tunes are great mid-tempo alt. pop – especially real keepers like “Breaking Up” and the song “Afterthought” bears a striking similarity to the UK band Field Music. The end of the album starts to resemble Belle and Sebastian with precious melodies on “Caloused Hands” and “Let’s Get Down to it.” Like Matt Pond PA or The Trollyvox, it’s easy to listen to and enjoy. However the final track “Wasting Time” seems designed to put you to sleep. This group of songs definitely takes a bit more time to digest than others out this year, but most of it is a very satisfying listen.

Swivel Chairs website | My Space | Not Lame | Transit of Venus

Listen to “All at Once”

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Favorita "Favorita"

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Beagle was a major music force in 1992, and brought the power pop sound from Sweden to the US. In 1997, Magnus Borjeson, brainchild of the legendary group formed his new band Favorita. After the album was complete, the record label had problems surviving and never released it to the public. Years later, he started another pop band, Metro Jets – but rumors of a Beagle/Favorita reunion continued to circulate throughout the web. Now, the entire Favorita album, plus a bevy of bonus tracks have been released. Magnus made Favorita, a lot harder in sound than Beagle was, with the buzz-punk guitar of “Unamerican Activities” and the excellent single “I Can Change the World.” Lots of Favorita is wild, manic and full of noise, like “Seven Comforts” but Magnus never gave up a good hook in his music. Like Pulp, Supergrass or Manic Street Peachers, Favorita can hold it’s own to the punk-pop made during the mid ninties. In the middle of the album the melodies start to poke through the noise on “Slowfox and Waltz” and the relaxed ballad “Innocence.” Other songs, like “Now” just demand to be played loud and it’s hard to resist the hook of the great chorus on “Left of right.” Enjoy this recently unearthed treasure while it’s here! Excellent music for fans of hard guitar Brit-pop.

Popsicle Records | My Space | CD Baby | Kool Kat


Listen to “I can change the world (yeah)”

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Milton & The Devils Party "How Wicked We’ve Become"

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Philadelphia’s Milton and the Devils Party is an enjoyable power pop album that’s a combination of literary angst and melodic cheer. The lyrical smarts here are not obvious, but the band was founded by two English professors, Daniel Robinson and Mark Graybill. The opener “Coward of Conscience” is the catchy jangle-filled alt-rock that I grew up with, and resembles the Smiths, The Decembertists or even The Ocean Blue. The lyrics of the angry “I’ve Had Your Wife” are offset by the changing tempos and is a perfect example of pop music with a “wicked” bite. My favorite on this album is the seemingly biographical “Too Old To Die,” a soliloquy by a mid-aged musician complete with a Morrissey reference. “Perdita” is wonderful ballad with dueling electric guitar harmonies. The bouncy “Muse of Mundanity” reminds me of any great Joe Jackson song from his early period, with even more insight into lonely bitterness. Every track here is good, if you can get past wierd lyrical subtext on songs like “The Gods have given up on Immortality” and historical analogies on “Reformation.” Graybill does a fabulous job on guitars here and Robinsons’ vocals are full of longing and rich emotion. And each song tells a distinct message to the listener clearly. For me it’s more than enough to recommend this album.

Transit of Venus Website | My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat | Emusic

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The Nines "Gran Jukle’s Field"

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Okay, the wait is over and The Nines’ new album has arrived. I’m happy to say “Gran Jukle’s Field” has the ability to transform any tough music critic into a drooling fanboy. At this point, it’s safe to say that Steve Eggers and crew have effectively emerged as the vanguard of the power pop movement today. Over the years, the leaders of the genre (including Roger Manning, etc.) all got know each other and contribute to improve each others albums. Not that they need the help, but both Bleu and Jason Falkner contributed to this album and it is as good as a power pop gets. Every song here is a real gem, beginning with the irresistable “Insanity (The Sanest Thing You Got)” with the baroque chorus and harmonies aplenty. Then comes “Don’t Be A Fool” which sounds like a track from ELO’s “Discovery” album, a mix of melody and disco beat that’s smooth as hell. The highlight of the album here is “Dance Just For Me” a very L.E.O.-like love song to a stripper. This song will be humming in your head long after you finish listening. The fun and bouncy “Chantel Elizabeth” is a great The Kinks meets The Sweet hook-filled drinking song. Following that is “I Am Lost” a note perfect Bee Gees tune circa 1974. The song “Virginia” has the XTC-like melodic sound that Eggers brought to the last Nines album, “Calling Distance Stations.” The variety here makes this album succeed as a whole, and “Find Our Way Back Home” is a perfect example. The song is a country music version of the Beatles “All Together Now” sing-a-long tune. Every song here also has amazing repeatability – something most “disposeable” pop music is lacking. The fact is that all the players here have created a hook-filled masterpiece and if you could only get one album this year (why would you?) – this is it.

The Nines Website | My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat | CD Baby

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