Rooney "Calling The World"

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Rooney, a major label band that brought us a power pop smash debut in 2003. It is an perfect example of how it combines past influences with present tastes to create indelible power pop classics. Led by frontman Robert Schwartzman, Rooney’s new album “Calling the World” continues to offer us sweeping melodic hooks and strong addictive alt rock singles. Simply put, it is above and beyond the debut album. Rooney has also updated their sound a bit. It is a bit more studied and less carefree, I guess the band matured after four years. It opens with the uber-catchy “When did your heart go missing” – sure to have MTV repeatability. Next up an truly amazing Queen-like “I should have been after you” with great beat and harmonies that are truly classic. Then “Tell Me Soon” hits all the power chords and forges together a massive rock single. “Don’t Come Around Again” brings the glam back with a capital “G” and sizzling guitar riffs. “Are they Afraid” is a amalgam of Alan Parsons Project and ELO influences. All the tunes here are not just good. They are great and every track here speaks volumes. Rooney have taken some of the best rock of the last forty years and melded it together into their own sound that is truly accessible to the fickle public. The lyrical content here is not so profound, but it is easily digested. Easily, this makes my top 10 list. In fact, it is right now the best album I heard all year so far. And a major label release yet! Run don’t walk to get this album.

Rooney Homepage | MySpace | Amazon

Listen to “Calling the world”


Listen to “When did your heart go missing”

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Third of Never "Moodring"

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Third of Never is a bit of a power pop supergroup. The Brainchild of Kurt Reil from the legendary Grip Weeds and CJ Grogan, with Vince Grogan and Jon Dawson, they rock out hard on the debut “Moodring” – This is a pretty awesome debut. Guest stars John Bundrick of The Who and Dennis Diken of the Smithereens help make it a classic. Recorded at the Gripweeds House of Vibes studio it starts off with the fantastic pop-psyche “Mystic Slide” that reminds me of Rainbow Quartz artists, Resonars and Strawberry Smell. It’s followed by the melodic, progressive sounding “Bag of Boxes,” a great tune that conjures up images of early Genesis and Yes. The tune “Wide Awake Sleeping” is an instant power pop classic that wouldn’t sound out of place of the Smithereens first album! The style takes a twist to “Redneck Riviera” a bit of Steely Dan meets Joe Walsh styled rock. Next comes a decent cover Pete Townsend’s “Let My Love Open the Door”.Then we get the gorgeous jangle and harmonies of the Nick Lowesque “Everyday is a Lonely Night.” If you like your power pop with extra power, than you owe it to yourself to check this out. Listen to the entire album streaming on a special Third of Never “Moodring” blog

Third of Never Site | My Space | Jam Recordings | CD Baby | Not Lame


Whoa! Super Amanda is the buxom babe is featured in this video for “Let My Love Open the Door”

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The Zebras "Worry a lot"

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The Zebras are a Brisbane-based Jangle pop band that produces the golden tones of the Bryds, and reminds me a lot of Rainbow Quartz artist The Rhinos and The Go-Betweens. “Worry a lot” boasts some steady clean production and mellow, light vocal arrangements. It’s also got the most guitar jangle I’ve heard in a while. This helps in that the sound is familiar and comforting in a the perfect laid-back summer way. “You Look Ready” has a wonderful melody and the gentle overdubbed vocals float above the guitar line with a great hook for the chorus. The guitar melody line for “Science Competition” sounds like it fell off a classic Beach Boys album and has nice bass line breaks throughout the song. “Doong Doong” has a very Belle and Sebastian feel to it with Edwina Ewins and Jeremy Cole bouncing vocals off each other. However, too much of the album’s songs sounds very similar to each other and can make the entire album feel repetitious. The Zebras could also try to make some of the vocals stand out more as a counter melody to the strong guitar sound. For jangle pop fans this is a “must have” CD. For others, it’s very good summer listening.

My Space | Lost and Lonesome Records | Amazon

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Dept of Energy "Held By Waits"

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Most Seattle music bloggers have been going ga-ga for this debut album from Dept. of Energy. Following closer to west coast indie rock than power pop “Held by Waits” boast strong vocal performances from leader Robb Benson. Like a mix of The Shins and Mother Hips with strong elements of Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Jane’s Addiction. The instrumentation from keyboardist Ty Bailie is powerful and matches Benson’s vocal perfectly. “Story” is a great example of all these styles and influences merging into something new and original. “Carnival” emerges as an epic track that starts slowly and builds to a roaring triumph, in true Coldplay fashion. However, Benson has a better voice than Chris Martin and sounds closer to Roger Waters with his earnest delivery. Other tracks take more effort to enjoy, like “Emote” (is this 80s chic?) and “Sifted Blues,” with its David Bowie meets The Cure guitar and funk you can actually dance to. It ends with an excellent ballad “Stereo Embers” that laments lost musical youth in Ohio. Overall a very good album with moments of true greatness. It’s on sale almost everywhere.

My Space | CD Baby | Amazon | Itunes


Listen to Dept. of Energy “Story”

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Devlin Murphy "My First"

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Devlin Murphy is a not just a singer songwriter. He’s an entertainment personality waiting to show up on the zeitgeist radar. He’s got a lot of videos up on his own you tube profile. But top it all off, Devlin is an excellent musician, having grown up amongst the artists at Track Records studio. Like Cliff Hillis, Michael Carpenter and Jeremy Morris he produces some refreshingly original pop songs. “Today” is an inspiring opener with great hooks, and this is followed by “Jesus” a great sunny proclamation that “I don’t want to be a Jesus and you don’t have to pray” with an excellent melody and overdubbed harmonies. “99 Cent” almost sounds like a jingle, and is a cute diversion. “Another Day” showcases some nice piano melody and reminds me of the Jellyfish. A few heavy ballads sneak in here, and they’re also well done. “Alright” is an Owlsey-styled inspirational guitar pop song with a killer chorus. “Hey Hello” is a nice tune with a bit of Ween or Smashmouth flavor to it with it’s foreground drum beat. “Real One” is a single featured on National Lampoon’s Dorm Daze 2 soundtrack and is slick enough, but in my opinion the weakest track here. The CD is for sale on his website and a few indie labels listed below and itunes. At $10 it is a real treat to encourage an artist with his talents.

Devlin Murphy homepage | CD Baby | Not Lame | MySpace | Itunes | Kool Kat


Listen to Devlin’s YouTube Commercial and “The Luckiest”

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