Tag: Coleman Gota

Coleman Gota and Armchair Oracles

powerpopaholic
Coleman Gota

Coleman Gota “And The Loser’s Choir Sings”

Colman Gota is back with producer Mitch Easter on this rocking ode to a grievance. Gota’s vocal style has always reminded me of Tom Petty, but musically he forges his own unique path. Starting with “Catholic School,” he laments that “good guys only win in the movies,” as the catchy chorus sticks with you.

“Victim of Society” is a bit atonal, with his vocal melody running alongside the echoing rhythmic guitar. The remaining songs are all pretty compelling, and Gota’s voice grows on you quickly. In fact, as the album progresses it gets better, a little like a Dylan playing with REM and John Cougar Mellencamp. I love the little details and guitar riffs in “Lonely Tonight” and “Practice Room.”  The melodic menagerie of techniques on “Do You Really Wanna Know” is also really great. “Do It All Over Again” starts out quiet, but leads to a hand-clapping joyous chorus. No duds here, enjoy! Highly Recommended.

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Armchair Oracles

Armchair Oracles “Caught By Light”

Norway’s Armchair Oracles are back with a new LP (their 3rd) and the band continues to giving us dramatic and melodic rock and roll. “Porcelain Heart” is an early favorite with its gentle harmonies and guitar jangle. Lead vocalist Atle Skogrand’s tone is hushed and soothing on most songs. “She Gets Me High” has a Big Star meets Beatles quality with a solid hook and it’s my favorite song here.

The band turns up the jangle and Matthew Sweet chords on “Don’t Let It Break You” and “Might Be Wrong.” The dense production threatens to obscure the guitar solos, and at times makes the music homogenous. Thankfully on “Silver Nights” it adds a psychedelic sitar sound that adds a little variety. And the slower tempo gem “Last of All Suns” dazzles with it’s Mott The Hoople-like guitar breaks and haunting bassline. There are enough good songs here to make this one highly recommended.

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The Blood Rush Hour and Coleman Gota

powerpopaholic

The Blood Rush Hour “Who Folds First”

Robert DeStefano and his band The Blood Rush Hour excel at many diverse styles of music. They twist power pop, prog-pop, indie-pop and even operatic rock together seamlessly. The production techniques are flawless and they resemble studio masters like 10cc, Allan Parsons Project, Todd Rundgren, and Roger Joesph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish.) Who Holds First probably has some of the band’s finest songs.

Starting with “No More Excuses” it features harmonies akin to The Manhattan Transfer, between a strong guitar lead as Robert DeStefano delivering a scathing political commentary on our partisan stalemate. But as brilliant as DeStefano is, he occasionally goes out of his way to make the music esoteric like the elaborate “He Left The Party (Far Too Soon)” and rock opera castoff “Find Another Russian Dancer.” That doesn’t mean these aren’t good songs, but they seem over-worked on first listen. This is the definition of a “slow grabber” album that needs a few listens to fully appreciate. If “The Space That We Have Made” vocals sounds familiar that’s because it’s Christian Phillips (Sonic Executive Sessions) on lead and he makes this track shine.

“6,4,5, And Sometimes 1” is a catchy, wry commentary on today’s pop “artists” who are too lazy to write originals and “when the genius of creating is replaced by confiscating” other artists work. 10cc, Brian Wilson, and Donald Fagen are all sarcastically name-dropped here. “God’s Wall” is another winner with a memorable chorus.  The instrumental passages are nice (“On Folding”) but filler compared to the simple rock and roll earworm of  “I’m The One.”  Some very poetic orchestral balladry on “I Still See You” and “In Between Time” adds a dash of ELO-styled synths and soaring harmonies making it another highlight. “What Does It Take?” is a nice coda here, with Christian’s vocal giving a hopeful message. Overall Highly Recommended.

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Coleman Gota

Coleman Gota “Fear The Summer”

Coleman Gota’s latest is easily his most accessible album, with great guitar riffs on each tune. Coleman’s drawl is similar to Tom Petty and he’s embraced Petty’s sound as well on “Can I Get It Back” and “Call It Quits.” But Coleman is more than a sound-alike here, he’s mastered the heavy power pop riff on the catchy reverb-drenched “Fear The Summer” and the brilliant guitar-loving gem “What Goes On In My Head.”

It’s not all repetitive riffs,”For A Reason” is a blues influenced song about bad luck, with some great instrumentation and structure that reminded me of Randy Newman. Gota’s whole reasoning for music is explained on “Make A Stand,” just the simple musical statement “you wanna leave a mark, 15 seconds of fame its all you get today.” It’s also got a wicked solo in the break, and “One Mistake” is a more cautious message, with a compelling melody. Many of these songs aren’t that deep, but they have a sing-along quality to their repeating lyrics. Without a single note of filler this is a highly recommended album that might end up on my top ten list somewhere this year.

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