Tag: Ed Ryan

Ed Ryan and The Decibels

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Ed Ryan

Ed Ryan “A Big Life”

Multi-instrumentalist Ed Ryan is back with his most accomplished album to date. Starting with “Settle Down” it’s a rhythm-driven rocker, with a big finish full of handclaps and optimism across his multi-tracked vocal. The songwriting here is very strong on “As I Am,” and the slowly building “Wonder” boasts some excellent guitar work throughout. The latter is the best song on the album, as he states defiantly “I’ll never grow old.” Ed’s vocal struggles to keep up with the heavier rockers like “Mary Anne,” but the title track “A Big Life” makes good use of the story-like narrative and his verses here are great.

Ed has fun on the catchy “You Keep Me Up All Night,” as it’s very reminiscent of the gems Dave Edmunds or Nick Lowe used to produce. The finale show-ender “Overnight Romance” has a great bouncy beat, and tosses in the kitchen sink musically. Like a heavier version of  Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” it’s a real crowd-pleaser. There are enough gems here to make this album highly recommended. Enjoy!

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik


The Decibels

The Decibels “When Red Lights Flash”

The Sacramento band has lightened up a little on its latest release, which started life during COVID with the jangling gem “Why Bother With Us?” While things are poppier with “Enough” and more 80’s retro-influenced than previous albums. But the band has a timeless sound that stands out on “There’s Just Something About You,” with its easy-flowing melody. The percussion drives a lot of the songs and for the most part, it’s all in under 2 minutes. But sometimes the vocals get buried under the guitars, like on “He Thinks He’s Right (But He’s Wrong)” or the vocals just don’t match the intensity of the playing (“Say Goodbye”).

Despite that, there are plenty of highlights here, like the catchy harmonies of “In Remembrance,” “Today Is Your Day,” the Raspberries-like “Looking Back” and “This Might Be The End.” Workman-like power pop that definitely deserves to be heard.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Poppermost and Ed Ryan

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The Poppermost

The Poppermost “Hits to Spare”

Scotland’s own Joe Kane transforms into a “one-man-Beatles” with The Poppermost. Unlike others doing the Beatlesque thing (Johnathan Pushkar or Tommy Sistak) Joe is more about re-creation than emulation. He uses an array of old instruments, microphones, and analog recording techniques to get the sound authentically like 1964-66, and details it down to the echoing studio chatter. It certainly has the energy and innocence of the Cavern-era on “Egg and Chips.” We get some great catchy singles like “Yes, It’s True” and the Ringo-like “One of Those Gerrlss.”

Like The Rutles, Joe will also add a little humor in the lyrics on songs like “Hits To Spare,” and eventually some added Merseybeat influences peek through with “Laziest Fella in The Realm.” However, some tunes are just too close to the inspiration; “Park and Ride” is an obvious remake of “Ticket To Ride.” While that may turn off some, it’s all in good fun and a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Check it out!

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

Ed Ryan

Ed Ryan “Don’t Follow Where They Lead”

Ed Ryan’s brand of solid power pop is back, and his love of The Kinks is still a primary influence. The opener “Anytown” is wonderfully constructed with excellent guitar and solid jangling rhythms. After this single the album strikes a different tone, an orchestral instrumental leads us to a percussive 80s styled title track.

After this is a song about dating advice “Fish In The Sea” and the handclaps and hooks lead “Biggest Fan” and “Why Doncha Do It.” Musically it’s all great, but Ryan’s vocals don’t always stand out enough. It’s best in the mid-tempo rockers like “Made Me” where he even sounds like an American version of Ray Davies. There is a good mix of power pop and a few other styles here, highlights include “Everyone Wonders” and “Hollow Man.” Repeat plays will yield even more appreciation for Ryan’s songwriting prowess, which gets better with each album. It’s music that deserves to be heard.

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Keith Slettedahl and Ed Ryan

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Keith Slettedahl

Keith Slettedahl “You Know You Know”

Guitarist-songwriter Keith Slettedahl was the driving force of The 88, one of the great power pop bands that slowly faded from view several years ago. They’ve been in my past top ten list, but they are likely best known to the public for the theme to the TV show Community. Now Slettedahl has created a solo LP with producer (and Posies drummer) Frankie Siragusa.

Keith’s knack for hooks and rock melody is in full bloom, as its lineage can be traced to The Beatles, T-Rex, and Spacehog. Opening with “No One Understands Me Like You Do,” it slowly builds as those deep guitar riffs cut across the verses, to the hushed vocals that recall Marc Boland at his peak. “Lady Is Love” is another big winner with an irresistible bass line, and then “It’s Never Been Easier” constructs a thick wall of sound that rivals Oasis or The Dandy Warhols. Each song seems designed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, with “My Baby,” and the catchy gem “Cuz I’m A Lover.” Keith smolders with the ballad “Give It Time You’ll Be Fine,” where heartbreak is emphasized by Spanish horns and harmonies and “One and All” laments with exhausted feeling about living online instead of the real world. I couldn’t find a bad song here. Definitely belongs in my top ten albums for 2020.

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Ed Ryan

Ed Ryan “Even Time”

Multi-instrumentalist Ed Ryan returns with his third album, as he goes through his history by revisiting songs he made with The Rudies and Jupiter Jets, and throws in some new material to match. The title track is a solid pop single with a steady rhythm and compelling hook, it’s a different sound for Ed, but the next several songs have a strong late 70s – early 80s guitar vibe. The electric guitar buzz “Never Lied To You” delivers a terrific hook in the chorus and “Say What You Will” is a very compelling jangle-pop melody.

“I Want To Go” literally changes the tone again, with an acoustic guitar and galloping rhythm. But it’s a momentary change, as the guitar buzz returns on “Let It Out,” another great tune. “Next Time Around” and “Breakway” have an even harder edge, as they burst from the speakers. Other tracks feel a little out of place (“Everywhere”), but there is enough here to please fans of The Beat, Rick Springfield, and The Knack. This is truly music that deserves to be heard. Check it out.

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Singles: The Sunchymes, Ken Sharp, Ed Ryan and Red Caravan

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The Sunchymes summery fusion of power pop and psychedelia is back with “Try,” a subtle melody with lots of jangle and sweet harmonies. Get this one as a FREE download.

In honor of the reunion of Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Ken Sharp got together with Fernando Perdomo and Rob Bonfiglio to make this original single – get it on Amazon or Itunes

Ed Ryan has a new single too and this one has a Spanish styled melody featuring a multi-layered guitar strum. It’s always good to hear from Ryan, and this single is a FREE download.

I don’t know much about Austrailian artist Red Caravan, but much of his output on bandcamp is FREE. It’s lo-fi indie pop done with an acoustic guitar. Worth exploring.

The Glad Machine and Ed Ryan

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The Glad Machine

The Glad Machine “The Glad Machine”

Once in a while, you find a band that just does everything right. Western Massachusetts band The Glad Machine has all the right elements, the big hooks, big guitars and the reliable rhythms that make it a joy to discover. The quartet is helmed by vocalist Brad Thayer with Neal Robinson (Bass), Greg Saulmon (guitar) and Mike Franklin (drums). The list of influences is a who’s who of power pop; Cheap Trick, The Posies, Jellyfish, and Superdrag.

“Homecoming” is a great opening theme, and it comes across like a lost 90’s rock classic, with some smooth reverb guitars and a pounding beat. “Wake Up Girl” and “Wave” has more hard rock elements similar to bands like Semisonic or The Marvelous Three. The easier mood and harmonies of “I Wanna Drive” and Cheap Trick-styled composition “Tonight” suit the band even better, and make it stand out from songs that could sound too similar. The band gets more adventurous with “18 Days” and “A Song For Steven” including some solid story-telling lyrics. Overall a pretty substantial debut, and it’s highly recommended.

Amazon | CD Baby

Ed Ryan

Ed Ryan “Furious Mind”

Ed Ryan (The Rudies, Jupiter Jets) continues his solo journey here as he absolutely shreds on the opener “You’re My Kind of Fun,” a song that demands you turn up the volume. Now that he has your attention, Ed goes melodic on the follow-up “Here I Am” with some nice ’60s touches; the bouncy chorus, strings, and church bell flourish. Ed channels a little Ramones in the excellent “Rocket Ship,” and other recommended songs are “I Know, I Know” and the heavy jamming rhythm on “Can’t Drag Me Down.”

It’s when Ryan takes on longer songs like “Take Me Home” and “Faulty Connections,” that the limitations of his songwriting and overuse of vocal overdubs start to show some strain. That’s not to say he doesn’t shine on slower songs, as “Lullaby” is a soulful and poetic gem and the mid-tempo “Back In The Day” is a fantastic closer. Overall, a worthy follow up to last year’s Roadmap. It’s music that deserves to be heard.

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