Tag: Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin and Nick Frater

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Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin “Gentlemen Thieves”

Emperor Penguin has successfully channeled a very anglophilic psychedelic pop style in Gentlemen Thieves. Following the template set in Sunday Carvery, they start out the door with the catchy “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” It’s loaded with echo, reverb, dense melody, and lots of fuzzy energy. Lisa Mychols adds a whole new dimension to the band with her duet on the XTC-like “I Wouldn’t Put It Like That.”

Each song is a carefully constructed gem; “Silver Apples” is another dazzling example of this band’s talent, while “Driving Blind” brings the rocking riffs up front. “Sonnez Les Matines” opens with a few notes that recall Pink Floyd but quickly becomes a Middle Eastern dance track. The nursery rhyme-like “Pipistrelle” with its toy piano also sticks fast. One of the best songs here is “You Are My Atmosphere,” and Mychols adds her stamp to this one too. Almost everything here is great. My only issue is the album’s overly compressed mix. The melodies are so good, but sometimes they seem buried in white noise. I wish they gave it the Giles Martin treatment, but despite this, it’s highly recommended.

Kool Kat Musik


The Rebuttles

Nick Frater “Nick Frater presents The Rebutles 1967​-​1970”

A collection of original songs by Nick Frater, written in tribute to the pre-Fab Four, The Rutles. So it’s music written in the Beatlesque style, with just a touch of sarcastic wit. While Frater doesn’t quite measure up to Neil Innes when it comes to humor, musically, he’s spot on. “The Devil You Know” showcases duality, with John Lennon’s gloomy tendencies and a sunny McCartney-like bridge stuck in the middle because he had to “get back from the grave in 1966,” a reference to the “Paul is Dead” Beatle rumor. Fans of The Rutles and The Beatles will find Easter eggs like this scattered in the lyrics.

Some of these are genuinely fun, like “You’re A Good Egg,” a Magical Mystery breakfast without a hint of symbolism, and “One Lump or Two,” a bit of tea time for Lady Madonna. Unfortunately, they didn’t all stick with me, and once you can identify the song’s origins and intent, there isn’t much else to draw you back to listen again. Nonetheless, this comes highly recommended for Beatles fans, and you should definitely give the music a listen.

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Emperor Penguin and Shake Some Action

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Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin “Sunday Carvery”

While London band Emperor Penguin’s sound is rooted in late ‘60s UK psych and ‘90s Britpop, they’ve updated the music closer to what 21st-century audiences expect. Starting with the heavy fuzz emo and beats of “Desdemona” it then settles into the catchy “Sputnik Sweetheart,” a love song about a Russian space satellite. The brilliant narrative of “You Don’t Know What You’re Missing” is like a joyous mix of XTC and Smash Mouth, about a dysfunctional marriage. “Motorway” is a jaunty tune with happy Sgt. Peppers horns following our hero down a British highway. And the “Queen of Power Pop” Lisa Mychols joins the boys for the duet “Let Me Take You On Holiday,” continuing the positive vibes.

The stylistic diversity of songs and subject matter prevents any predictability. “Fran Times a Zillion” is a unique “sports team chant” for New York photographer Fran Lebowitz (?) and you take it all in. And not a note of filler here, and these are all songs where details emerge on multiple listens. The richness of the experience makes this one both highly recommended and a check box for my top ten list of 2022.

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Shake Some Action

Shake Some Action “Wide Awake”

James Hall is back with the addition of Corey Knafelz on drums, keys, and guitar on a new Shake Some Action LP, and just in time for the warmer weather. Wide Awake is neo-psych-pop at its finest, with a wicked jangle and the right amount of echoing reverb, mixing influences from the late ’60s through the ’90s into something very appealing. “Paint You A Picture” is the expansive opener, meant to be cranked up with the car windows down. The title track has Hall’s harmonic chorus drifting across the dense rhythms, as with the steady follow-up “Crash Through Or Crash.”

Hall successfully constructs these songs with ringing Rickenbackers but takes great care not to repeat himself. “Night Train to Munich” can resemble The Ocean Blue, and “Don’t Take It Out On Me” warps the guitar sound almost like U2. Add to this no filler, and the variety helps make this one of my favorite SSA albums. Added faves here include “Angel of Night” and “Overboard.” Highly Recommended.

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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.

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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.

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Too Many Treats: The Blakes, Emperor Penguin, Trip Wire, Andrew Taylor, AJ Rosales, The Dowling Poole

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It’s a Motherlode of FREE Music!

Before the New Jersey power pop band Readymade Breakup emerged in 2003, Paul Rosevear and Gay Elvis were part of a band called The Blakes. The pandemic allowed the group to rework some demos, and here they are; readymade with plenty of guitar crunch, jangle, and strum.

Emperor Penguin is back with an impressive third EP, lots of different style elements here; prog, new wave, and power pop. Slick production and melodies that stick! Each of the three EPs is a FREE download.

San Francisco’s Trip Wire was in the middle of an album when the Pandemic turned it into an EP. Love the mid-tempo ballad “Maps” and the psyche-pop jangle of “Hazel.”

Andrew Taylor continues his musical therapy during the lockdown. Mostly acoustic guitar ballads, with some greatness in the album’s second half starting with “Before I Go,” “Just Let It Happen,” and “The Blue.” And a new album from The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness is coming soon.

SINGLES:

Willie Dowling’s commentary on the hysteria that surrounds and consumes us all via social media, and the seemingly endless sensationalist news. The Dowling Poole never disappoints.

Chicago singer-songwriter AJ Rosales has a catchy single to start his upcoming album.

Emperor Penguin and A Girl Called Eddy

powerpopaholic
Emperor Penguin

Emperor Penguin “Soak UpThe Gravy”

Last year I was introduced to Emperor Penguin with Walnut Fascia, a band that throws together the best of late 60s psyche-pop with power pop. The band is firing on all cylinders with Soak Up The Gravy. “Hello Picasso” is a dense, hook-filled gem with a great guitar lead as an opener. “Go Guitargonauts” has a Link Ray meets XTC feel, full of looping verses and effects.

The band is a lot more focused on melody, as “What’s Come Over Me,” “Hole In Your Soul” and “A Brand New Yesterday” are exceptional tunes that don’t sound like anyone else. The great chord shifts on “Memoria Magdalena” make it a classic and the lounge styled “Speedwell Blue,” is a duet with the “Queen of Power Pop” Lisa Mychols and it’s a sweet change of pace. It ends in trippy fashion with the swirling guitars of “Burning Man,” a densely produced psychedelic pastiche that does not disappoint. While not every song is a potential hit, there is more than enough here to recommend this as an early nominee for my top album list of 2020.

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A Girl Called Eddy

A Girl Called Eddy “Been Around”

In late 2018, soul singer Erin Moran (aka A Girl Called Eddy) released a project album with Mehdi Zannad called The Last Detail, and it was a delightful breezy pop album with some serious talent behind it. Shame on me for not sharing it then, but Moran has followed this up with an equally impressive full-length LP. She wears her influences on her sleeve, and its soulful pop designed to melt your heart.

Morgan’s vocal falls somewhere between Aimee Mann and Jackie DeShannon. The lead track “Been Around” recalls Carole King with its warmth, elegant composition, and its supported horns and harmonies. The fragility of “Big Mouth” is followed by the bright horn/piano song “Jodi.” Those contrasts of whispered vulnerability and soaring melody also are best shown on “Charity Shop Window,” a collaboration with legendary songwriter Paul Williams. The guitars come out on “Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart” and she sounds very much like Chrissie Hynde here. There are also elements of 70’s pop a la Bacharach on “Come To The Palisades!” Most everything here is great, meticulously crafted pop with a capital P. Highly Recommended.

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