Tag: Nick Frater

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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Nick Frater and Bur

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Nick Frater

Nick Frater “Bivouac”

A “bivouac” is defined as a temporary shelter where one is prepared to do battle, and Nick Frater isn’t afraid to shake things up with a concept album about the downfall of post-industrial Britain under successive generations of Tory government. Nick lets his orchestral pop genie out of the bottle with several song suites.

“The Town of Opportunities” is the first suite, with five parts that fit neatly together and the catchy earworm “Hello Monday!” Some instrumental touches remind me of Pet Sounds, from the kettle drums of “Keep It Simple, Stupid” to the harmonies on “Heaven It Can Wait.”

The tempo and style shift on “Will It Be Enough,” the second multi-part song suite, ending on the ballad “Don’t Get Sentimental.” An 80s classic rock vibe is all over the impressive “Boom and Bust,” and then we are on to the next suite. Along the way, you get more great singles like “Step Into The Motorcar.” Like Glenn Tillbrook or Paul McCartney, Nick knows how to craft musical stories and give the entire album a comfortable flow. He’s also added a bevy of talent to the studio, like Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Beck/Jellyfish), Luke Smith (Ulysses), and Joe Kane (The Poppermost). Overall, highly recommended.

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Roger Joesph Manning, Jr.

“We Are Bur”

From the opening fuzz guitars on “(Bur Is) 10th Prestige Level 70,” it’s clear this Chicago band has late 90’s Elephant Six bands as their main influences here, notably The Minders. The band theme “We Are Bur” boasts gentle pop harmonies and a bouncy rhythm. “Baba Burry” has the Seinfeld reference (like the band logo) as lead singer Jeremy Kush notes “You’re Jerry to my Larry David” with frequent stops and a frantic tempo.

While the music is a pleasant diversion, some of the tunes aren’t all that memorable. “Helicopter Leaves” offers a nice melody with its easier pacing, and “Flesruoy Pleh” is a dream pop change of pace. The fuzz heads into GBV territory towards the end with “The Bur Are Sick.” Fans of this style will want to pick this one up; its music that deserves to be heard!

Kool Kat Musik| Amazon

Mid-July fireworks: Steve Conte, Andy Partridge, Scott Gagner, Nick Frater, The Goods, The Radio Field, Fallon Cush, Clone

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Steve Conte and Andy Partridge delivered a sweet firework last week, “Fourth of July” and it’s a terrific rocker (cool video too!) Speaking of duos, who can withstand the combined might of power poppers Scott Gagner & Nick Frater? Not me, as “Never Could See Any Other Way” recorded in Abby Road Studios, has that Beatlesque spirit in advance of Gagner’s upcoming album.


On to the EPs, and I was very impressed with a new band called The Goods. Self-produced in the band’s own studio in Oakland, CA, by Rob Good its awesome hooks and guitar riffs are what I look for. German band The Radio Field has a sweet jangle, and “ooh-la-la” backing vocals from Robert Stadlober. It’s been a few years since I’ve heard some new Fallon Cush, as “Grain of Salt” is a contemplative bit of roots pop. I love Glam, and Clone knows Glam with a solid female lead in Juniper Watters on “Queen.” A great freebie this month, as RumBar Records gives you some Swagger – a 35-track sampler of loud rock and roll. Cheers!





Nick Frater and Phil Thornalley

powerpopaholic
Nick Frater

Nick Frater “Aerodrome Motel”

Crydon, UK resident Nick Frater follows up his blockbuster Earworms album with a much lighter pop touch on Aerodrome Motel. Opening with the jaunty “The Pleasure is Mine,” it has a sweet melody that reminds me of Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) with its easy-going hook. A power pop crunch comes from “Love Heist” as it pulls out every lyrical police cliche “Calling all cars there’s a love heist happening to me!” But this single is a great earworm with a worthy mix of Elvis Costello-styled organ and guitar punch.

Frater has given us a chorus of upward scales on the Anglophilic “Aerodrome Motel” and lively horns on “Rough & Tumble” but not everything sticks. The lovelorn “No Hard Feelings” is missing the dramatic power needed in a chorus, and “Dancing With A Gertrude” feels like an old 1980s sitcom theme. Despite the misfires, there are plenty of tunes to enjoy, including Beatle-adjacent “Dear Modern Times.” Highly Recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik | Big Stir Records

Phil Thornalley

Phil Thornalley “Now That I Have Your Attention”

Phil Thornalley has moved beyond his Astral Drive projects and turned himself into a one-man Traveling Wilburys. “Maybe we should have called it the Traveling Phil-burys,” Thornalley jokes, “but I enjoyed the earlier ELO records, and the way they married a crummy beat combo with the grandeur of a full orchestra – it was over-the-top but infectiously musical..”

Taking musical cues from Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), Phil is clearly having fun with the opener “Heaven in a Hash Pipe” with its blues riffs and orchestral flourishes. But Phil’s vocal is much closer to Tom Petty, especially on the follow-up “Hell Bent on Compromise,” with its strat guitar and layered harmonies. It comes together perfectly on “Fast Car” with a killer hook in the chorus, guaranteed to have you singing in a “traffic ja-a-a-am.” The song concepts are simple, and succeed with the catchy “High on Your Supply” and “Stand By Love” as they are also easy to sing along to. While a few tunes veer over into fan service too much, you’ll be having too much fun to notice when you hear the glam rock beat of “Solid Gold Sunshine.” Highly Recommended.

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Nick Frater and Scott Gagner

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Nick Frater

Nick Frater “Earworms”

Nick Frater is a 60s/70s sophisticated-pop connoisseur from Croydon, UK. Earworms are exactly what power popaholics look for in a song, and Nick does a great job by letting his work just burrow into your brain. Lots of period influences are combined to make something new, yet familiar. Staring with “It’s All Rumours” with help from Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfsh) it flows sweetly into the ELO-styled chorus. Then the wicked lead opens “Buggin’ Out,” another standout that will have you singing “doo-wops” till the end.

The “hits” keep coming with the mid-tempo “With Heavy Heart,” and shifting key changes of “Lucky Strike” which again mines Queen for its guitar flourishes. The smooth gloss of “Star Crossed” is almost like Jeff Lynne joined Seals & Crofts. And the ender “How To Survive Somebody” evokes both Elton John and The Carpenters. Each song is like a handcrafted love note to that era, and it makes for irresistible replays. Highly Recommended and another candidate for the top ten albums of 2021. Don’t miss it!

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Scott Gagner

Scott Gagner “BloodMoon”

A lot of introspective music came out of the great pandemic this year. But none so personal and deeply emotional as Scott Gagner’s BloodMoon. With the help of  Ken Stringfellow (Posies), the soaring “Rise” is an early high point, about a family moving from a natural disaster. The ghostly “Twice In A Lifetime” follows these thoughts half-spoken and half-sung in a trance-like state. The album centerpiece is “I Don’t Get Out Much Anymore” a soulful heart-breaking ballad.

Scott seems to channel his inner Lee Hazlewood for sublime “My Shadow” but after that, it gets very spacey with “On The Moon” and “Orion.” It seems to be more like a calming ASMR vibe, with meditations on the past. Even when the tempo speeds up on “Year At A Glance” and “1977” it feels like a sleepy reminiscence of events. While I did enjoy the first third of the album, it took more effort to appreciate the rest. The complex arrangements are a plus, but the brooding atmosphere will not appeal to everybody.

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