Signal Hill Transmission "An Empty Space"

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Signal Hill Transmission`s new CD “An Empty Space” is a highly polished slice of indie rock you’ll really enjoy. The album begins with an acoustic mid-tempo “Pipe Dream” that stresses a glorious melody that is sure to please Fountain of Wayne fans. Unlike other indie bands, they are not all one note, same sounding on each song, but display a wide range as evidenced by the next track “Alright” which displays some great guitar and rhythm with lyrics that stress “I wish I grew up in the 70s when free love and rock n’ roll meant something” And this, along with “Polyvinyl Acetate” is the album’s primary theme. “No More Riders for Free” is my favorite track on here because it starts slow and the guitar just builds with the song into a blistering solo near the end that would make Jeff Tweedy envious. The song “Cherry is a Girl” has chiming guitars and tumbling vocals played with clean harmonies like a great FOW track. Most of the songs are catchy and immediate and this album is as “sticky” to the ears as anything else, until things start to slow down on “On and Off” and the moody “95 North.” The title track “An Empty Space” has a bit of the Jayhawks or Wilco feel to it with a pounding drum, guitar strum and harmonica and is also an album highlight. Visit the Signal Hill Transmission site to hear the album streaming. It’s available all over the place!

The SHT Website | MySpace | CDBaby

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The Wellingtons "For Friends In Far Away Places"

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The Wellingtons are a fresh new power pop band from down under. This is the follow up to 2005’s brilliant Keeping Up with the Wellingtons which is also available on CD Baby. A lot like classic Tories, Jellyfish and Matthew Sweet this band knows what works and they do it exceptionally well. “Top Ten List” starts off with an infectious drumbeat and lightning quick melodies that sparkle. The group has great energy, usually reserved for a more spunky band like Green Day or Kelly’s Heels. Lead singer Zac Anthony recalls John Faye and Rivers Cuomo from Weezer in his vocal approach. “Girls in Magazines” and “Penny” are great examples of this. “Sight For Sore Eyes” is a another great tune with perfect riffs and harmonies all over it. “Singer in a cover band” has a Cheap Trick like riff and rocks the house down. “If we feel okay” is another Tories-like radio friendly potential hit single. On “The Nice One” we hear Kate Goldby join Zac with the vocals, and I feel she could have been used more on the album. Overall there is no filler on this album, although it plays the same style on all 12 tracks without a slower ballad breaking things up, it is a great summer album. Get your pop fix here and enjoy it.

The Wellingtons Website | MySpace | CDBaby

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Face it you are a Music Geek!

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I can think of no other skit in recent memory that really shows the world a music geek. In this SNL skit, Will Forte just lets it loose to the orchestral pop of “Casino Royale” with goofy arm gestures and Peyton Manning joins him in the “geek dance” of celebration. Together they almost resemble the Spartan Cheerleaders of Will Ferrell and Cheri O’Terri. As an audience we are laughing at the blissfully uncool cheerleaders enthusiasm for the “perfect cheer.” So it is with Will Forte’s Coach. The Bachrach-David theme music, done by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is without peer, however to the masses (the audience and the other basketball players in the skit) it is just an awful old song, that was really cool in 1967 and now it’s just embarassing to see anyone enjoy it with this much gusto. If there ever was a perception problem with power pop fans and the rest of musical fandom, this exemplifies it. You tell your friends “Listen to this great track!” and you may get a convert who will join in your discovery of some great music (new or old) but the some of people out there will still tell you “Let’s get the f — outta here.” To see the movie’s full theme song click here.

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The Go "Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride" Preview

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A special treat from Detroit is coming real soon. If you can imagine a band that plays a stratocaster with pitch perfect reverb — the sound is unmistakable and associated with some of the great 60’s bands like The Creation, The Action, The Pretty Things and The Hollies. The production here is flawless and even better than Outrageous Cherry. The Go is this band. 60’s music aficionados will go spastic over this new album, “Howl on the Haunted Beat You Ride”, due out July 24. In 2003, the sound of The Go was closer to a mix of Rolling Stones and the Zombies mash. You can get this older album on CD Baby right now. Lead vocalist Bobby Harlow and John Krautner have refined thier sound to clean retro-styled rock with less garage elements. The most immediate single is the opener here “You Go Bangin’ On” with some awesome cascading choruses. “Invisible Friends” is a fitting melodic Buffalo Springfield type of tune. “Mary Ann” opens with almost the same choral as The Four Seasons’ “Rag Doll” and then does a great job rockin’ out, complete with tamborine and driving beats. The only thing I found problematic is that not every song is as “hooky” or memorable after I heard it and my guess is you will need a few listens for it to sink in. Visit the MySpace site to hear a preview. Look for it soon!

The Go Website | MySpace

Listen to “Invisible Friends”

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Future Clouds and Radar "s/t"

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Future Clouds & Radar is the latest creation of Robert Harrison, of the great band Cotton Mather. Robert has basically evolved beyond the old Cotton Mather sound and what we get is a real gem of an double album here. “Birds of Prey” starts us off with lots of horns and odd drum work that is clearly indie pop friendly. The production work here is just stellar. Robert’s voice has a similar cadence to John Lennon and it helps make even pedestrian songs sound special. There is lots of stuff here, and most of it is excellent. The old Cotton Mather sound comes through on “Hurricane Judy” – a cool single full of nice little Beatle-isms, that makes this tune a joy to listen to. “Quicksilver” channels the ghost of Lennon’s “Oh My Love” just perfectly and makes an excellent ballad. In “Drugstore Bust” Robert uses lots of unique sound techniques and it’s got a great hook as well. This song my favorite on this album. “This is Really A Book” is a song with lots of sonic weirdness that play opposite to the main melody. Look out Robert Pollard, you have some real competition here. “You Will Be Loved” has a little string flourishes that recall the Bee Gees pre-disco glory. “Wake Up and Live” is a Reggae anthem given a cool pop treatment. “Our Time” is also an excellent song with classic jangle guitar riffs and melodic hooks. That mentioned, he tends to over indulge in some sonic weirdness like, “Devil no more” or “Letters to Junius.” On disk 2 “Get Your Boots On” continues with some great fuzz guitar and awesome harmonies. Disk 2 continues to deliver great songs like “Dr.No”, “Back Seat Silver Jet Sighter” and “Altitude” is sure to please old Cotton Mather fans. “Safety Zone” is a beautiful mid-tempo song that makes an excellent ending here. With a bit of editing this could have been a perfect tour de force, as it stands it’s merely really, really good and an album that needs time to be fully absorbed. It’s still one of the best I’ve heard this year so far.

Future Clouds and Radar Website | Amazon | Emusic

Listen to “Drugstore Bust”

Listen to “Quicksilver”

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