Ryan Allen and Teen Creeps

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Emperor Penguin

Ryan Allen “What A Rip!”

Detroit’s Ryan Allen is back without his band Extra Arms, and his power-pop tendencies are more accentuated here. Starting with “Get To The Gig” it’s a rocking good time akin to The Velvet Crush and Sloan. “Already Gone” keeps the energy flowing with a rock and blues approach and “Feeling You Feeling Me” eases into a jangling rhythm, and those late sixties influences start to leak in. “On My Mind” is the catchy follow-up with an infectious hook that gets you right away and before you know it we are at the halfway mark.

Next, we have a slower tempo palette cleanser, “Election Night” which is highlighted with acoustic and electric overlapping leads. His love of ’70s rock (“VTO”) and late-era Beatles (“Only Son”) are also evident in the baroque “Shannon Cake” which has lots of sweet backing harmonies, minor chords, and quirky poetic lyrics. Although Ryan tries several styles, each song is carefully constructed. Overall a lot of stuff to love here, and that makes it a highly recommended album.

Amazon


Emperor Penguin

Teen Creeps “Forever”

Belgian trio Teen Creeps channel the late ’90s grunge and indie-rock effectively. Fans of Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, and Pavement will enjoy the pleasing fuzzy guitar textures here.  “Seeing Shapes” starts us off with a strong lead and percussive combination. The vocals are buried under this, but the energy is effective. “Signal Dream” is a little more laidback, with a compelling chorus.

While there are requisite punk tunes (“Fall Out” and “Tourist”) it doesn’t take over the album, and the grungy drones of “Brothers” are more commonly heard. “Hideaway” brings to mind The Replacements, and “Toughen Up” combines the mellow and adds in a strong chorus to make it a highlight. The title track follows a similar formula, making this an album that deserves to be heard.

Amazon

Let it snow: Super freebies courtesy of Rum Bar Records and Hidden Pictures

powerpopaholic

Another massive snowstorm on the east coast, but I wanted to make you aware of some “free” musical stimulus to help soothe the cabin fever. The fine folks at Rum Bar Records have not one, but TWO great samplers loaded full of music by some great artists like The Dirty Truckers, Geoff Palmer, Watts, Tad Overbaugh, and many more.

Remember the Kansas City band Hidden Pictures? I reviewed a release back in 2012, but I haven’t been as diligent in keeping up with  Richard Gintowt and his team. Well, he’s done the unprecedented step of releasing his entire catalog at a “name-your-price” point. That includes the brand new single “Mahomies” just in time for the big game. This is a super opportunity to get lots of great music.





Emperor Penguin, The Vapour Trails and The Hard Way

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Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin “Corporation Pop!”

While this collection was created and released over the months of 2020, it’s a great selection of music to have complete in one album. “Talk To Me” the bouncy pop single (with Orbis Max) has echoes of the late ’80s in the rhythm. Another great collaboration is “Tuesday’s World” with the queen of power pop Lisa Mychols, featuring interwoven male-female harmonies in each verse. They bump up the tempo on the Star Trek inspired “Planet of Love.”

Emperor Penguin has proven to be a formidable talent, with a stylistic bend towards the ’60s psych-pop in many cases, like the jangling “Maserati” or the gentle harmonies in the wonderfully melodic “Hell in a Handcart.” Other than a lite synth track at the end, there isn’t a note of filler here and it’s a highly recommended album.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik


The Vapour Trails

The Vapour Trails “Underneath Tomorrow” EP

Aberdeen-based psych-pop band The Vapour Trails are a talented group of musicians whose style emulates The Byrds, The Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield. The first few songs of this EP are loaded with hooks, “Tommy’s Tune” is just an infectious melody that sticks very quickly. “Underneath Tomorrow” and “That’ll Do It” has excellent guitar work, and fans of The Grip Weeds and Outrageous Cherry will love it. “Autumn & Spring” and “Good Morning Maudlin Town” have a lighter pop touch, all produced, mixed, and mastered by Nick Bertling. Fans of retro pop should check this out. Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp only


The Hard Way

The Hard Way “New to You” EP

Matt Wilczynski’s musical collective (aka The Hard Way) is made up of Matt on vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums with a rotating cast of musicians and friends to round out the sound – which takes influences from The Beatles, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and The Doobie Brothers.

It’s the meticulous craftsmanship and production that you will notice right away. The opener “Walls & Bridges” starts with a slide guitar intro and Matt’s soulful vocal, then the Beatlesque harmonies in the chorus hit you. The guitar solo is Duane Allman-like in approach and simply great. “Note To Self” adds a smooth backing vocal chorus with a piano verse, and some impressive songwriting. “Open Cage” and the instrumental “Worm Underground” adds some of that Joe Perry-styled hard rock sound, and with the latter track, it’s got some funky keys and horns. “Sunshine” is an acoustic blend in the Doobie Brothers tradition and I’m proud to list this as a top ten EP for 2021. It was even reviewed by Ben Folds! In his words “Excellence everywhere…” Super Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Stan Laurels and Rich Arithmetic

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The Stan Laurels

The Stan Laurels “There is No Light Without the Dark”

John Lathrop (aka The Stan Laurels) has taken the next leap forward in his musical vision. The band always had strong melodic songs, but the garage elements are toned down and the overall soundscape feels bigger. “Florida Man” relies on strong guitar riffs and John’s resonant vocals, while “Tomorrow” has a strong jangling rhythm, reminiscent of  The Ocean Blue with its heavily textured sound.

Next, the brilliant “Lost & Found” is both catchy and full of musical subtleties. This combination of heavy chords and gentle vocal performance, similar to Teenage Fanclub is also notable on “On Paper” and “Mo Collins.” While other songs don’t approach this level of greatness, they fit right in. Definitely highly recommended.

Big Stir Records | Kool Kat Musik


The Stan Laurels

Rich Arithmetic “Shiftingears”

Rich Arithmetic was an oddity in the Not Lame catalog way back in 1995 with Sleep In A Wigwam. The band fronted by Richard Horton is back with a potpourri of styles heavily influenced by the ’60s pop and folk. Opening with “In Our Time (Ode for The E-Types)” is an earnest tribute to a beloved one-hit-wonder of a band and it continues with a cover of the tune “She Moves Me.”  The fond look at musical nostalgia continues with the bright harmonies on “Do You Remember?” and “Haley.”

The next few songs are eclectic in style but mostly unmemorable. The psych-pop pastiche “Waiting For Isaac” and baroque pop of “Before For The First Slice” full of echoing vocals and strings are compelling distractions. “He’s A Good Man” is another standout here, with a piano pop melody full of bounce, very much in the XTC style. Overall an interesting release worth checking out.

Kool Kat Musik

https://youtu.be/NiU2cVJFjPg

Singles and EPs: The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club, Nerd Magnet, Squire, Devon Kay, The Unswept, The Dowling Poole, Katie Kuffel

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So much singles goodness here, starting with the strong riffs of The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club. The Nerd Magnet (from Japan) also delivers crunchy guitar goodness that will attract power pop fans. Squire recalls a bit of the ’80s rhythm with that echoing jangle and a Beatlesque composition. Devon Kay & The Solutions has rich harmonies and a catchy chorus that made me like them “a little bit.” Our EPs feature The Unswept covering some power pop greats and The Dowling Poole has a fitting tribute to our former President. Katie Kuffel is releasing “1999” as a wistful look at parent-child relationships. Enjoy!