Singles, Previews, and Freebies… Oh My! Brad Brooks, Geoff Palmer & Lucy Ellis, Lava Fangs, Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts, Persian Leaps

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When you’re feeling down on yourself, do you ever put on music to lift your spirits? Music has the power to brighten our mood, reduce stress, and improve your health and overall well-being. Here are some new singles, previews, and freebies for the end of summer.

Brad Brooks‘s new album God Save The City is let for October release. This preview track is loosely based on Roky Erickson (13th Floor Elevators) mental issues. Have you thanked your local postal worker?

Geoff Palmer & Lucy Ellis cover John Prine’s track “In Spite of Ourselves” – it’s a great cover, check it out!

This is a new Melbourne band Lava Fangs recalls late 80s rock with a catchy chorus in “Line Up For A Broken Heart”

Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts have a new LP set to release next month. “Can I Get An Amen” is a rocker that reminds me of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive”

New Persian Leaps! The band sounds really tight here. New EP set for September release.

The trio of Nick Bertling, Scott, and Kevin Robertson try a modern update of the classic Kinks LP. Very faithfully rendered and wonderfully performed. FREEBIE!

Rum Bar Records artists deliver a boatload of tracks; enjoy Brad Marino, The Laissez Fairs, Tom Baker and the Snakes, Justine and the Unclean, The Dirty Truckers, Spanking Charlene, and many more! It’s all at a “name-your-price.” Enjoy!



Szuters and Lisa Mychols & Super 8

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The Szuters “Sugar”

The Szuter brothers; Mike and CJ were always guitar heads that played melodic rock, much like The Lund Brothers. In the late ’90s they formed The Szuters and let loose a great rare LP in Japan, but then changed the band to heavy alt-rock and their name to Magna-Fi. They ended up at Ozzfest in 2004 supporting Sevendust, but the band faded from view six years later.

Coming back to their power-pop roots, “Sugar” is everything we missed from The Szuters, and it lives up to the title. Opening with the Beatlesque “Two We Will Always Be” its a super catchy melody with sticky sweet harmonies. The piano-based “Don’t Lie To Me” is another winner, with a wild psyche-pop riff mid-break. Fans of  The Raspberries and Cheap Trick will love “Baby Don’t You Be So Blue,” and “She’s Coming Home With Me.” The Beatlesque gems return with “If You Only Knew” and “I Don’t Wanna Cry.” They turn up the amps for the heavier “Good Thing,” and not a note of filler anywhere. It’s a perfect balance of melodic sweetness and guitar crunch. Easily gets a top ten nomination for my year-end list. Highly Recommended.

Amazon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN9i0UaRZx0

The Yum Yums

Lisa Mychols & SUPER 8 “Lisa Mychols & SUPER 8”

The “Queen of Power Pop” Lisa Mychols joins forces with British psyche-popper Paul “Trip” Ryan to deliver this playful confection for the ears.  Lisa’s light harmonies open thing on “What Will Be?” a hippie-infused psychedelic intro that seamlessly blends into the bouncy “Trip & Ellie’s Music Factory” and this is where the chemistry of the two artists play to each other’s strengths.

“Time Bomb” is another great example of kaleidoscopic pop. The tone of the music ebbs and flows from romantic (“Honey Bee”) to wry humor (“The Monkee Song”) but never loses momentum. It does mellow significantly towards the album’s second half with “Your Summer Theme” and “Laguna Night To Remember.” Mychols vocals are as lovely as ever, and Trip even adds his vocal lead to the acoustic “Peaceful.” This is music designed to relieve stress, so spin it and snap along to the music. Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp only

Tom Curless & the 46% and The Yum Yums

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Tom Curless & the 46%

Tom Curless & the 46% “Almost Ready for the Future”

Michigan indie musician Tom Curless and his new band the 46% put in 100% effort into this sophomore album. Starting with the garage style of “Always In Between,” it encourages you to turn up the volume. Next, “House on Fire” shows more polish, and its the best album’s song. “I Just Wanna Talk” is a narrative tune with nods to The Cars in the chorus. The more rocking efforts “Fall Like Dominos” and “Unexpected Knock” have an early ’80s vibe, while “Ride Along Wave” recall peak Greg Khin. Overall a very fine album that deserves to be heard.

Amazon


The Yum Yums

The Yum Yums “For Those About To Pop!”

If you put power pop, punk, glam, and bubblegum in a blender then Norway’s The Yum Yums would be the result. They are a shoutout to The Ramones, The Beat, and similar bands, and the title track explains it quite nicely; “you’ll always have a friend in your three-chord pop songs.”

The perfectly simple punk song structures of “Baby Baby,” are contrasted by candy-coated chords and harmonies of “She’s Got Everything.” Every song hits the right notes on boy-girl romance. And at two-minutes plus the songs are all short, but still sweet. While stylistically consistent, the sameness of the songs can make things a little predictable. However, they will throw you a curveball like the doo-wop chorus on “Say You’ll Be Mine,” or a sunny pop chorus in “The Kind of Girl.” The terrific riffs and solid hooks still make this an easy choice: Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

EP Reviews: Young Fresh Fellows, Aaron Lee Tasjan, The Cleaners from Venus, Jim Trainor, Fashion Bird Danger Danger

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Young Fresh Fellows are back with the ageless Scott McCaughey leading the way and it’s just as good as you expect. “This Time is Ours” has a rocking guitar rhythm and a catchy chorus. It gets progressively more punk as we move forward. YFF are still trippy with “Alone in a Bus.” Enjoy!

Aaron Lee Tasjan really nails on the opener “Fake Tattoo” a song that warms the heart. “My Bed’s A Mess” is another romantic pop gem, “What A War” has an acoustic folk catchiness with strings that soar. One of the best EPs of the year.

The Cleaners from Venus are back, (and its a FREEBIE) as the brilliant Martin Newell sings about timely subjects on “Statues” and the smokey “Golden Lion of the Sun” are the highlights here.

Idaho power popper Jim Trainor starts with a great Beatlesque melody on “The Only One” and the bouncy “Claire” is another keeper. The fast tempo “Grace & Beauty” keeps you moving. In fact, every song is good. Don’t miss this one.
OK, now we go for something more experimental called Fashion Bird Danger Danger. John Wlaysewski (Late Cambrian) and Matthew Milligan (Wheatus) come together for this oddly compelling pop. “City Island Shaman” is like they tossed Southern Culture On The Skids in a blender with Tears For Fears. I also liked the bleak “Part 5 of Fear” full of angular prog guitars.

Odds, Ends, and Reissues: Nick Frater, Spiraling, The Orange Peels, Roger J. Manning Jr.

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If you thought 2nd Grade’s songs were a bit too long, Nick Frater has the solution for the ADD music fan. 59 songs all under a minute! I have to admit, the first two hooked me right away, “Intro” and “Say It’s Alright” are stunning Beach Boys recreations. Not everything is that good, but some have little clues to the influence; like “Another Nod To Todd.” Irresistible!

New to me (maybe to you) is this 2003 release from New Jersey musician Tom Brislin. Spiraling is a mix of many pop styles, but what stood out to me is the piano tune “The Girl On Top (of the Piano)” which is as catchy as anything Ben Folds has ever done. An overlooked gem, re-issued on bandcamp.  Get it on Amazon
Hard to believe it all started in 1997 for Allen Clapp. The Orange Peels “Square” is a timeless classic, that still sounds fresh today. This new re-issue is labeled “Square³” and it boasts 40 tracks with demos, bonuses, an alternate album… what else do you need? Get it on Amazon

During my last interview with Roger Joseph Manning Jr., he mentioned a re-release of his solo output was coming, and here it is. These albums have long been out of circulation and its good to have them back dutifully remastered by mixing engineer John Paterno under Manning’s supervision. This catalog threesome consists of 2006’s The Land Of Pure Imagination, 2008’s Catnip Dynamite, and his 2018 PledgeMusic EP, Glamping.

Visit rogerjosephmanningjrofficial.com to get these re-issues directly.