Tag: Best Power Pop of 2020

The Power Popaholic Top 25 Albums of 2021 + More

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  1. Nick Frater “Earworms”
  2. Sorrows “Love Too Late …the real album”
  3. The Brothers Steve “Dose”
  4. The Legal Matters “Chapter Three”
  5. Wanderlust “All A View”
  6. Dolour “Televangelist”
  7. The Red Locusts “The Red Locusts”
  8. Nelson Bragg “Gratitude Blues”
  9. Andy Bopp “AB”
  10. Scott Warren “Shadow Bands”
  11. Radio Days “Rave On!”
  12. Oscar Lang “Chew The Scenery”
  13. Ryan Hamilton “1221”
  14. Matthew Sweet “Catspaw”
  15. Bleu “Six Tape”
  16. The Armoires “Incognito”
  17. Underwater Sunshine “Suckertree”
  18. The Easy Button “Lost On Purpose”
  19. Brad Marino “Looking For Trouble”
  20. Silvertwin “Silvertwin”
  21. Smash Palace “21”
  22. Kris Rodgers and the Dirty Gems “Still Dirty”
  23. Novelty Island “How Are You Coping With This Century?”
  24. Richie Mayer “The Inn of Temporary Happiness”
  25. Diamond Hands “Thank You”

With more time in the studio or at home, artists wrote and recorded even more than in 2020. Many power pop bands chose to stretch out of their traditional boundaries this year (Wanderlust, The Legal Matters, Bleu, The Armoires), while others stick to the tried-and-true melodic style and method. Great new artists debuted this year (Oscar Lang, Novelty Island, Silvertwin) and older artists refined their sound to perfection (Sorrows, The Brothers Steve, Andy Bopp).

The best of the rest… I actually ranked the next best 25 this year. I did not include compilations or live shows (with the exception of The Krayolas and The Weeklings) but there will be another list for that soon.

  1. David Brookings “Mania at the Talent Show”
  2. The Boys With Perpetual Nervousness “Songs From Another Life”
  3. Dana Countryman “Pop Scrapbook”
  4. Caper Clowns “Abdicate The Throne”
  5. Francis Lung “Miracle”
  6. Iain Hornal “Fly Away Home”
  7. Brent Windler “New Morning Howl”
  8. Geoff Palmer “Charts & Graphs”
  9. The Aerovons “A Little More”
  10. Lovebreakers “Primary Colours”
  11. Watts “Shady Rock and Rollers”
  12. Aaron Lee Tasjan “Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!”
  13. Cheap Trick “In Another World”
  14. The Mergers “Three Apples In The Orange Grove”
  15. Caddy “Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1”
  16. Jon Flynn “Citrus”
  17. Star Collector “Game Day”
  18. Jay Gonzalez “Back to the Hive”
  19. The Krayolas “Savage Young Krayolas”
  20. The Gold Needles “What’s Tomorrow Ever Done for You?”
  21. Ryan Allen “What A Rip!”
  22. The Laissez Fairs “Curiosity Killed The Laissez Fairs”
  23. Emperor Penguin “Corporation Pop!”
  24. Ramirez Exposure “Exit Times”
  25. The Weeklings “In Their Own Write”

Power Popaholic TOP 25 Radio Show will be aired on 11L Radio New York International on Sunday, January 2, 2022, at 8:30 pm. It will feature songs from the TOP 25 album list.

LISTEN on GRITS Radio: http://169.61.85.22/grits
(works on cell phones & computers)

The Power Popaholic Top 25 Albums of 2020

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  1. Joe Giddings “Better From Here”
  2. Ice Cream Hands “No Weapon But Love”
  3. The Szuters “Sugar”
  4. Joey Molland “Be True To Yourself”
  5. Rick Hromadka “Better Days”
  6. Drake Bell “The Lost Album”
  7. The Weeklings “3”
  8. Nick Piunti and The Complicated Men “Downtime”
  9. Gary Ritchie “Head On A Swivel”
  10. The Bye Bye Blackbirds “Boxer At Rest”
  11. The Overtures “Onceinaworld”
  12. Keith Slettedahl “You Know You Know”
  13. The Lees Of Memory “Moon Shot”
  14. Emperor Penguin “Soak UpThe Gravy”
  15. Diamond Hands “III”
  16. Kurt Baker “After Party”
  17. Disq “Collector”
  18. The Empty Hearts “Second Album”
  19. Coke Belda “4”
  20. The Explorers Club “The Explorers Club”
  21. Goodman “Goodman Versus The Nostalgia Machine”
  22. Timmy Sean “A Tale From The Other Side” Part I
  23. Successful Failures “Pack Up Your Shadows”
  24. Mo Troper “Natural Beauty”
  25. Brendan Benson “Dear Life”

Overall, a really good year for power pop and the pandemic has allowed many artists to write themes about love and hope (Rick Hromadka and Ice Cream Hands). The differences in ranking from 1 – 25 are very, very small. There was also a strong return to “traditional” power pop this year, meaning sounds that emulated The Beatles’ style and spirit (The Szuters, Weeklings, Gary Ritchie, The Overtures). Some albums that were not rated a “9” grew as I listened to them again and others did the opposite. Emotionally charged debuts from Disq and Keith Slettedahl broke through for me. I spent a lot of time on a video giving snippets of each artist, so you can get a quick listen to each.

The best of the rest… I will not spend time ranking them, but everyone here could have squeezed into my top 25 easily.