Really Nice. I love discovering a new group debut like this. Even though it offically came out last August, it has not gotten enough press among the Power Pop media elite. Imagine a perfect melding of The Strokes and Travis with a bit of Rooney thrown in. Lots of killer melodies and gorgeous instrumentation and cool harmonies. Slender Means are a Seattle band that has a big clean sound that is a bit of power pop, a bit of glam and all rock n’ roll. Each song is catchy and lyrically brilliant – no weak tracks here, although some songs are a little similar sounding. Every year people are looking for a band in the Northwest that will be as big as The Shins. I think we have a winner here. Get this from emusic now. It is a great download!

This is a tough one to review. There is a great power pop combo in the Vinyltones waiting to come out. “Memoirs of a Songbook” has great punk/pop like “Numb(on a Monday)” that rock like the Marvelous Three. There are also tracks like “Leaving Northport” which are in Ben Folds’ territory and truly wonderful. Then another stylistic shift on “Nashville” which almost sounds like the group Train. This is an album where you will want to pluck tracks you like and avoid the one’s you don’t like. The good news here is it is availble on iTunes and you can do this easily. I reccomend “If it’s gonna rain”, “Motorcycle” and “Hey Soloman” as standout tracks. The bad news is the group is a bit all over the place stylistically. But that’s okay – the good tracks are worth downloading.

Alot of new music has been released recently and I’m trying to cover the most common power pop artists first. When I hear Eric Matthews, I pretty much know what to expect. His classically styled orch-pop was near perfection with “Fanfare” from his first album It’s Heavy In Here. Following this triumph, Matthews following albums have tried to build on his lyrical and melodic gifts. But I feel he’s never been able to build up his sound, as much a copy the same breathy wispering vocals onto variations of the same song. How the mighty have fallen… None of these tracks standout much even though he plays on every instrument. Lots of bitterness in the lyrics too. Just how many words rhyme with “despise?” I feel Matthews should devote more time to songwriting. Foundation Sounds has about 17 tracks, and most of them will put you to sleep. “All the Clowns” uses some horns and because of this, its a standout track among the rest. You can download it from e-music. Put I’d rather recommend his last album Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit. It has better songs.

It looks like alot of late 90s power pop guys have decided to mature. It seems to be this years trend. The Nines, Ben Folds, John Mayer and now it’s Ben Kweller. Lots of nice ballads and a some uplifting tunes like “Penny on the Train Track” and “I gotta move” makes for enjoyable listening. Other than the rocker “This is War,” the album takes a very mellow and mature vibe. Most of the tracks are worthy of your attention. Sometimes things get downright sappy with the tune “Thirteen” – however after a few listens, this music will settle in like a good friend. Kweller’s melodic touch is always welcome, however next album, I’d like to see a bit of the “angry young man” without all the happy mush. The best part about this is that it’s available on e-music through this link. or you can get this CD anywhere (i.e. Amazon)

The Lapdancers are a new power pop alternative band that play rough enough to almost cross into emo territory with some great buzzsaw guitar riffs, but still have enough melody to keep you interested. It almost reminds me of the old John Faye group, The Caulfields mixed with The Posies. The album definitely has moments of greatness. “Don’s John” is a rolling epic of a song that demands attention. And “Stuck in My Head” will do just that. My one problem is that some of the ballads are a bit too much like second-rate Toad the Wet Sprocket. Other than the excellent “Just a little bit” – the slower tunes bring the album to a halt and had me pressing the skip button. Overall, a very good effort. It can be download from e-music through this link. It’s most worthy of your download time.