Tag: Identical Suns

What I Missed: Bryan Estepa and Identical Suns

powerpopaholic

Editor’s note: It happens every year. I miss several releases from 2019. Some are high on other bloggers lists, some I just forgot to review (Doh!) and others just seem to slip through the cracks for a variety of reasons.  This week I will review a few of these remaining 2019 albums.

 

Bryan Estepa

Bryan Estepa “Sometimes I Just Don’t Know”

The venerable Australian singer-songwriter Bryan Estepa delivers a stark, emotional album that earned Absolute PowerPop blog’s #1 album spot. Estepa has always tackled serious adult subjects, and the first track “I’m Not Ready For This” is all about dealing with a serious health crisis. Bryan’s strong vocals are filled with empathy that sets the tone of the album. While the music is more adult-oriented pop than power pop, you do get catchy and melodic songs like “Drawn Like Magnets.”

Dealing with doubt, fear and how your loved one gives you the strength to go on is also a central theme. “Rattled and Rolled” and “Another Kind of Madness” deal with these strong emotions and the tight compositions keep it compelling. The lyrics will resonate with the patient listener, “Granted” is some of the best advice a song can give. It would be too easy to turn this somber subject matter into a depressing album, but Estepa fights through these feelings with conviction. I will concede this would have made it in my top 20, and thus a highly recommended listen.

Amazon


Identical Suns

Identical Suns “Week Minded”

This Ohio band led by Rene Rodriguez, Todd Stanton, and Andrew Stanton does a good job of creating pop eclecticism with a sense of fun. Taking influences from Mike Viola, NRBQ, and The Beach Boys, it starts with the bouncy “Saving It Up For Sunday” that goes through a typical week in the life. The themes alternate from happy to sad and the lead vocalist duties shift from song to song (with mixed results).  

So we get the slow lounge ballad “She Makes Me Happy” followed by the hopeful pop of “Maybe Next Time.” Next, we get some slow faux Jimmy Buffet on “Wanted Man,” but things again pickup with the uptempo “Halfway There.” The highlight of the album is “Miss Her Reminiscing” with great lead guitar and the tender “Silence in The Room” is another beautiful gem about dealing with the loss of a loved one. Check it out, it’s music that deserves to be heard.

Amazon | CD Baby

Identical Suns and Gordon Weiss

powerpopaholic

Identical Suns “Identical Suns”

Like several other bands, songwriters Todd Stanton and Rene Rodriguez collaborated long distance on their debut album Identical Suns. Although the vocals are a little rough, “Baby I’m Down” has plenty of feeling and the spirit of Springsteen and The Raspberries are evident. “Nothing I Can Do” is a big standout, a rich warm composition very much like Stephen Lawrenson. The California styled pop of “Coulda Sent A Reminder” and “Yesterday Ended At Midnight” have the early ’70s as a main influence with easy strums and beautiful backing harmonies. The catchy “Common Ground” is another highlight with special guest star Christian Phillips of the Sonic Executive Sessions doing backing vocals.

The style changes on the hard rock of “E.M.I.L.Y.” and again on the piano melody “The Turn,” which sounds like Dennis Wilson playing for Golden Earring. It seems like the band is trying to see which style “sticks” best, and a few songs overstay their welcome (“Unraveled”). I liked the mellower compositions, including the sweet ballad “After The Lullaby.” These Suns do have some shining moments, so give them a chance to warm your heart.

CD Baby

Gordon Weiss “It’s About Time”

Connecticut musician Gordon Weiss delivers his sophomore album, and the energetic “The Ugly Side” is a catchy song about the state of political discourse when each side is perceived as “ugly.” Gordon then goes to “I’m Your Fan,” an inner monologue of a music nerd at a concert. The songs are mostly sparsely produced ( “Spinning Round” is the exception) and strongly composed.

The circular piano melody on “Sticky Thoughts” has a few Beatley moments, but Gordon doesn’t make this a primary focus. It’s the story and the lyrics that add depth and a bit more weight to the title track, “About Time.” This long song starts slowly about the anxieties of the past, and builds to a strong chorus that reminds me of Richard X. Heyman. But for all those with rock star dreams “The Great Imitator” is an epic saga of a musician who fears “If the melody’s catchy, would they say its’ too treacley? If I wrote Hey Jude, would they say it’s too Beatley?” This is an album that deserves to have its poetic stories listened to more than once.

CD Baby