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

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.

Okay, then here is a non-power pop album that caught my attention last week on You Tube. VHS or Beta have a few catchy tracks on their latest album “Bring on the Comets”. “Love in my Pocket” is a great dance tune with a cool hook and pounding beat. Sounding alot like an 80s dance band with a bit of The Strokes guitar crunch. Another gem is “Can’t believe a Single Word” – and unlike recent hits by Scissor Sisters or Mika, this music will not inspire androgyny or the ghost of Freddy Mercury. The Liverpudlian synth pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Echo and Bunnymen, The Cure and U2 are huge influences here. And by the mid point the album drifts into a case where tracks begin to resemble each other and blend into boredom until the excellent “Time Stands Still” wakes you up with a hot guitar riff that drives the entire melody to a great Cure-styled chorus. It’s worth a spin on the ipod if you’d like to workout or dance. Also a pretty in depth “behind the scenes” for the band is posted below. The album is due to come out August 28th.

MySpace | itunes | Amazon

Listen to “Love in My Pocket”

Part Two is over here.