I was recently turned on to this emerging power pop favorite. Young Sportsmen are a mod-style indie band that reminds me alot of The Lemonheads, Sloan and IKE – all put in a blender to come up with something totally cool. You can visit the site, www.youngsportsmen.com and hear some of the tunes as downloads. After visitng the site and learning the great pedigree of the band (drummer Burke Thomas, guitarist Wesley Nelson and guitarist Ryan Maxwell founded the group Muzzle – a personal fave of mine) I was most impressed with these tracks. “On Your Lips” sounds like a great single to me – buzzing riffs and a huge hook that will not let go of you. “Under the Rocks and Stars” is another great tune – it pays tribute to those great power pop tunes from the 80’s, but sounding very current. My only problem here is – it’s only 5 songs, but I heard that a full album is coming out in Spring ’07. I for one can’t wait. Oh, and take a break from all those coffee sipping joints in Seattle and visit NYC soon! Buy the songs on Itunes, Kool Kat Records or Not Lame Records.

This is a Chicago band that’s been touring the country and worthy of more than a listen. It’s not straight power pop but kinda of a mix of REM and Oasis with a great dance beat. The reason I’m featuring it here is that the tunes all have great hooks, that reach out and stick to your head. The band has been generating a good PR buzz and was featured on iTunes free download a while back. This video really doesn’t do the band justice – listen to the music on their own myspace site or buy the full album on iTunes.