Tag: Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez and The Lolas

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Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez “Maybe Miss America”

Rob Martinez is a first-rate pop singer with a vocal that reminds me of the late Davey Jones without the English accent. His style will please fans of Paul McCartney or Neil Finn looking for similar melodic pop. His 3rd LP is produced by Adam Marsland (Standells/Cockeyed Ghost) and mastered by Earle Mankey.

The music is similar to previous albums, but with even more polish. Opening with “The Letter” it’s a got a confessional feeling with guitar flourishes. But the big highlight comes next, as “Summer of Love” has lush harmonies that Adam has lots of experience doing as part of a Beach Boy David Marks work. Rob’s strong vocal carries the melody and it sticks in your head quickly. Another highlight, “Free” is a bluesy pop gem that recalls George Harrison with its loose guitar noodling alongside the chorus. Other tunes that stand out are “All I Ever Wanted” and “Seems Like Only Yesterday” with its wistful look back in time. Overall a great effort and classic pop fans will love it. It’s music that deserves to be heard.

Amazon | CD Baby


The Lolas

The Lolas “Bulletproof”

Tim Boykin is a back, quickly after last year’s highly-rated A Dozen Or Seven Tapestries and he’s joined this time by Jacob Walcher on bass and Valis Procházka on keys and drums. The band’s sound is tweaked to more rock than power pop slightly, but Boykin’s solid command of melodies remains a constant.

“Deestroy” has an ELO-like sound, fast tempo, and a socialist message (“I wanna destroy capitalism, take away your desolate vision”) but it’s so darn catchy. The follow up “Fall Away” sounds a bit mechanical, but “Oceans of The Moon” is very compelling with its terrific chord shifts and the crisp vocal. The band uses heavier riffs on “Stand Up and Fight” and “Stop The War,” and while the songs are good, the continuous fast tempos can wear a listener thin. The slower “When The Cold Winds Blow” is a welcome relief and it shifts the mood nicely. I also liked the feminist theme “She Will Shake The World” with its dense guitar riffs, you almost expect this to show up in the next Captain Marvel movie. The solid “L’Internationale” ends with a fine Beatlesque touch. Overall a highly recommended album.

Amazon

Rob Martinez, Gordy Garris and Coke Belda

powerpopaholic
Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez “Today My Mind”

If you like your power pop with classic ’60s and ’70s influence, Martinez hits his stride here. “Let Me Tell You Why” and “When We Meet” has that bouncy rhythm and sing-along hooks that easily could’ve made the AM radio charts back in the day. We get a little psyche-pop “Sooner or Later” with sitar and finger cymbals, but it tries a bit too hard. Much better is the grand “Time” which is a post-Beatlesque look back with a perfect point of view and Martinez vocal soars.

The Earle Mankey production is solid and Martinez is joined by Adam Marsland doing all the instrumentation here, they sound like they’re having fun on the rocker “Get It Right” and the title track. Not really any filler, unless you count the Prince-inspired finale “Will U B My Lover” with the entire roster of Karma Frog Records joining him. Overall, a really fine album that deserves to be heard.

Karma Frog Records | CD Baby

Gordy Garris

Gordy Garris “Never Give Up”

Young pop-rocker Gordy Garris is a strong vocalist and his opener “Let Me In” has a big anthemic chorus that will stick in your head.  The songs across the album are all about relationships, and their ups and downs, as “Out Of My Mind” he wonders why he’s even in one.

Standouts include “Good Times,” with its hook-filled harmonies, the multi-tracked “Move Me,” and the shimmering-guitar of  “Wanted Man,” with its violin accents. Many of the romantic ballads are decent, if unremarkable but there is enough here to recommend. Gordy never gave up, so you should definitely give him a listen.

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Coke Belda

Coke Belda “3(Gs): A Tribute To The Bee Gees”

Coke Belda creates this fantastic tribute to the Brothers Gibb on his third album. Belda adds his own fine musicianship to these Bee Gees classics, so in many ways, it sounds fresh and new. He avoids most of the disco era, remember early in the Brothers career they competed with The Beatles, as evidenced by “Claustrophobia.”

What he’s done is pick buried treasures from the Gibb catalog such as “Run to Me,” (from To Whom It May Concern) “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” (from Idea) and B-sides like “Sir Geoffrey Saved the World.” These underappreciated gems are polished by Coke with vocal assistance from Gretchen Wheel’s Lindsay Murray, and mastered by former Merrymaker Anders Hellgren. Highly Recommended.

Kool Kat Musik | Amazon

Allyson Seconds and Rob Martinez

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Allyson Seconds

Allyson Seconds “Little World”

Allyson is based in Sacramento, CA and “Little World” is a great example of California pop, with contributions from Anton Barbeau, Colin Moulding (XTC) Kimberley Rew (The Soft Boys) Beavis Frond and the late Scott Miller (Game Theory, The Loud Family) amongst others. Her silvery timbre is not unlike The Bangles Susanna Hoffs.

The album sticks to environmental themes with a warm energy that doesn’t sound preachy. On the fast paced title track, Allyson’s soft vocal flows over a keyboard melody and on “Sun Don’t Shine,” Barbeau’s psychedelic fuzz guitar dominates. The momentum slows with the ballad “Summer of Gold” and the new age folk of “Great Blue Heron.” But there are several highlights here; the sparse “Octagon,” “Burning Burning” and “Apples Are Falling” all make good use of Allyson’s gentle voice. Fans of The Jayhawks, The Bangles and Aimee Mann will surely want to pick this album up.

Amazon


Rob Martinez

Rob Martinez “New Love Environment”

Rob Martinez is an Albuquerque singer-songwriter with a crisp retro pop style on Adam Marsland’s Karma Frog label, he brings to mind all those squeaky clean pop singers of the early ’60s transitioning to the psychedelic era like Bobby Sherman or Tony Burrows. “Hanging’ On The Line” and “Love Life” are great examples of sunshine pop with just a dusting of psychedelic flourishes.

“Some People Never Change” gets a little more aggressive, with Hollies-like harmonies and the confessional ballad “Hey Girl” are perfectly fine pop singles. While Martinez innocuous vocal doesn’t put himself apart as much as Allan Clarke (The Hollies) he comes pretty close. And some winning melodies break through, like the catchy “When She Comes To Town” with its Rickenbacker flourishes and the multi-layered chorus of “Hard To Take.” By the albums end we finally get a riff heavy power pop tune “Better Get Ready.” Marsland does a great job on guitar here and provides Martinez ample support. Fans of McCartney and The Left Banke will enjoy this too. Highly Recommended.

Karma Frog Records