Powerpopholic

The Saltshakers "Up All Night"

August 23, 2007July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

The Saltshakers are a catchy Milwaukee, Wisconsin foursome that has a Replacements meets Cheap Trick style. “Believe” has awesome power riffs and lead singer Chad Curtis has wail that reminds me of The Kinks Ray Davies and The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg. The alt. pop rock side of the band comes out on “NOLA” and it is a commercial ready-made hit. The next tune, “Whiskeytown” is a whiskey soaked tribute to Ryan Adams, but the vocals here sound a bit too inebriated. The title track also has that manic ‘Mats energy with furious pop guitar that just keeps the party goin’ strong. Later on the tracks settle into a nice groove, like “Kick the Can” and are really enjoyable to listen to. “Happy now?” gets lost in a crazed riff that sounds like a punk rock version of Tom Petty. After a few listens the rough edges here fade a bit and you realize this is a really strong debut album. Personally I can’t wait to see them perform live (Come visit NYC, guys). Visit the bands website to hear the entire album streaming.

MySpace | The Saltshakers website | CD Baby

Listen to “Believe”

Listen to “NOLA”

Frisbie "New Debut"

August 20, 2007July 6, 2024 powerpopaholic

Frisbie released a bona-fide power pop hit album in July 2000 with “The Subversive Sounds of Love.” A critical hit that put them on the map, however personal problems for band members prevented further albums. Now we get a really strong effort with “New Debut” — and it’s another classic. Built on catchy melody and supported with incredible musicianship, it inspires and takes influences from Cheap Trick, Big Star, Kiss, Styx and the best of the guitar-driven pop bands of the 70’s. It opens with the brilliant title track “New Debut” that has a juicy cowbell and guitar chorus. “Distaster” is another gem that gets downright Bandwagonesque, but most of the tracks here recall classic Styx mixed with Kansas more than anything else. In fact, “Half-Breed” sounds like it belongs on Styx “Pieces of Eight.” But what makes this album so special is that the overdone bombastic approach of the era is gone in favor of the melody. Both guitars and harmonies are nicely done on “I Speak Your Mind” and other than the strange schizophrenic lyrics of “S.F.B.” not a single track is wasted here. “The Main Complaint” has elements of Thin Lizzy, Alan Parson Project and even Yes. Both singers, Liam Davis and Steve Frisbie do a great job and make this album shine brighter than “Subversive Sounds” ever did. Listen to the entire album streaming here.

Frisbie’s Site | MySpace | Kool Kat Musik | Itunes | Not Lame

MiIkshake Jones "Gala Days"

August 20, 2007April 1, 2018 powerpopaholic 2 Comments

Milkshake Jones (John Micek, Mark Burke and Marni Micek) latest “Gala Days” is a good traditional power pop album. The bouncy opener “Mystery Girl” would be perfectly at home on either a Windbreakers or Barenaked Ladies album. This is followed by “(Where you goin’) Suzanne” a stunner with a great big catchy pop chorus. Some alt. country stylings creep in at this point on the album, making songs like”Gala Days” and “Remember How To Smile” sounding similar to Toad The Wet Sprocket. The lyrics of “Gala Days” stand out and the harmonies between John and Marni are beautifully done. The song is a look back at a life with no regrets and bittersweet memories of youth. The twang of countrified George Harrison styled guitar continues on “All I Want is Everything” – and now the bands sound resembles The Jayhawks or Wilco. This also works well on the hook-filled riffs of the song “Counting Heads” – a favorite song on this album and fans of the above mentioned bands will have no problems adding Pennsylvania power-popsters Milkshake Jones to their ipods. Enjoy!

MySpace | Kool Kat Musik | Paisley Pop

New to Power Pop? Start Here.

August 18, 2007April 1, 2018 powerpopaholic 1 Comment

In my day to day reviews, I sometimes get an e-mail request from a power pop newbie — “Where do I start?” Well lots of lists of bands have been compiled and it could go on forever. The range of musical styles of power pop are varied from the countrified jangle of The Byrds to the hard power chords of Cheap Trick and everything in between. But I found a nicely done web page with lots of mini-reviews to a bunch of classic 90’s – 00’s albums. If you want a power pop music collection, this would be a good place to start.

There is also a nice Jellyfish wallpaper to download.

The Grip Weeds "House of Vibes Revisited"

August 15, 2007April 1, 2018 powerpopaholic

The Grip Weeds have been one of my favorite bands (they were amazing as the last power pop act to play at the legendary CBGB’s last year) and so now we go back to the future with the album that started it all – “House of Vibes.” This was a great album when it was originally released in 1994 and now they’ve gone back and meticulously reworked and remixed each track. Now you have a superb classic ready to be re-introduced to power pop fans who never heard The Grip Weeds. It includes tons of bonus tracks, demo tracks and live tracks. A whopping 25 tracks of music to wade through. This is classic power pop and deserves to be heard again. “Salad Days” is a seemless transition from the energy of the Who and the melodic prowess of The Beatles. The sixties style is both comfortable and timeless on “Realize.” The sound is a blend of Revolver-era Beatles, Byrds and Clapton. Every track is classic here, thanks to songwriting brothers Kurt Reil (drums, vocals) and Rick Reil (guitar, vocals), Kristin Pinell (guitar) and Michael Kelly (bass). The Grip Weeds were a premiere DIY band and now with digital technology it sounds polished with lush harmonies and expert musicianship. Don’t miss this one.

Grip Weeds Homepage | MySpace | Kool Kat Musik | CD Baby

Listen to the amazing single “Salad Days”

Why did they revisit this album? The answer is here.