Tag: The Connection

The Connection and Green Seagull

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The Connection

The Connection “We Wish You Success”

Power pop faves The Connection return with a strongly themed LP about breaking up with your girl on We Wish You Success. Starting with “You Know” it gives you everything you want; quick tempo, sing-along chorus and steady riffs with a terrific solo break. “Color Me Unimpressed” is a great tune that describes the internal monologue of a guy wondering why he’s going out with someone so incompatible. The title track adds a honky-tonk rhythm when going through the break up as lead singer Brad Marino sings “Don’t wanna waste my breath /cuz your tone-deaf /I’ll just watch you dig a deeper grave.”

No bad songs or filler here, as the band maintains cruising speed. In some sense, the band isn’t growing or expanding and playing it safe with its tried-and-true rock and roll. But fans love it, and it yields great songs like “Mechanical Heart,” “Heaven or Hell,” and “The Girl is Trouble.” Another Highly Recommended gem from New England’s Hit Makers.

 

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik


Green Seagull

Green Seagull “Scarlet Fever”

London retro rockers Green Seagull are firmly rooted in 1966-69 psychedelic pop, with trippy Farfisa organ, Rickenbacker jangle, and light harmonies. “Not Like You And Me” and “Scarlet” open the set with a paranoid tone, but it quickly showcases the talent here. If you enjoyed The Strawberry Alarm Clock or the Lemon Pipers, then songwriters Paul Nelson and Paul Milne have the goods for you.

“Dogsbody,” is like a hippie-like musing and the baroque organ in “Remember The Time” recall The Left Banke or The Cowsills. Another solid tune is “(I Used to Dream In) Black and White” with fantastic three-part harmonies and contrasting that with crisp guitar riffs. However many tunes simply lack the hooks to make them stick or worse they remind you of the period excesses that paved the way to progressive rock. With that in mind, several standouts include the layered bubblegum gems “Shrubbery Road,” “Girls Are Coming To Town,” and The Kinks-like “I Live and Let Live.” For fans of the ’60s psyche-pop era it’s definitely recommended.

 

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

No Tricks, Lots of Treats (Singles and EPs)

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The Connection “(Its A) Monsters’ Holiday”
One of our favorite bands has a timely holiday single available, so give “The Monster Mash” a break and try this NEW classic.

The Zags are back! Portland artist David Ricardo delivers a monster single in “A World Away,” a really catchy gem! And it’s a FREE download!


Stay “Always Here”
Brilliant jangle psyche-pop from Minneapolis, Minnesota also delves in a few covers like The Bee Gees “Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You” and The Kinks “Where Have All The Good Times Gone.” Produced By Owen Morris and featuring guitarist Andy Bell on “You Know It’s Right.” Highly Recommended.


Walty “I’m in Love With Everything”
Philly band goes all over the place from New Wave, Disco, Hard Rock and everything in between. Variety is the spice of this EP.

Hidden in the vaults of Capricorn Records USA for over 50 years, we found lost ’60s band Stone Ridge only has a single available. Fortunately for us, we also have a tribute EP featuring Vinnie Zumo, Jose Estragos and Joe Ricardello (The Modulators) that really make that song shine. And no trick folks, it’s Power Popaholic’s treat; A FREE download for your goodie bag!

The Connection and Pseudonym

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The Connection

The Connection “Just For Fun”

A sweet holiday gift from The Connection – this new set of covers is Just For Fun, as the band paying homage to their musical heroes. Some of these tunes are right up the band’s alley, like using the Johnny B. Goode template for Bob Seger’s “Get Out Of Denver.” Some classics including “Teenage News” (Sylvain Sylvain), “No Expectations” (Rolling Stones), and “Southern Girls” (Cheap Trick) make for a great listen. Even oldies like “I Can Read Between The Lines” by Gary Lewis and The Playboys have a distinct Merseybeat feel, and because many songs aren’t automatically familiar, there’s little predictability. Like the title says, these guys are just having a good time and after listening to these tunes you will too.

Amazon


Pseudonym

Pseudonym “Pack Of Lies”

California Musician Paul Desjarlais with his friends (aka Pseudonym) deliver one of the better LPs this year with Pack of Lies.  Each track is a reminiscing on a painful breakup, guitarist Waylan Solo offers up an interesting story in the “liner notes” on the Bandcamp page related to it. He knows what we power poppers will gravitate to right away, but listen through the entire album to get a better understanding of the story. Its a slow build from the first isolated vocal track of “I’m Fine” to the jangling guitar on “All The Little Things.”

The combo of fuzz bass and harmonies work great on “I Don’t Care About Love,” plus the easy going melody on “Victimless Crime” is super catchy. Then a trio of slow tempo ballads starting with “Don’t Leave Me This Way” show the isolation of the songwriter, but things go back to rocking mode on “Lorraine” and “Round and Round.” On “Foreign Talk” the beat quickens even more, reminding me of The Cure. Overall an excellent album, and on top of all this its a FREE download until Jan. 1st (then buy it on Amazon). Highly Recommended.

Amazon

The Connection and The Wellgreen

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The Connection

The Connection “Labor Of Love”

The Connection are back and better than ever. Actually, Geoff Palmer and Brad Marino are remarkably consistent with the hit sound that powered their last LP Let It Rock. Once again we get fast tempos, hook-filled melodies and Rickenbacker guitars starting with the title track that pays tribute to Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and the spirit of pub rockers everywhere.

The band has a knack for taking a classic ’60s mod rock sound and updating it for modern listeners. There is not much else to say other than there are plenty of highlights:  “So Easy” and “Pathetic Kind of Man” are catchy hit singles, The Rolling Stones sounds like an stronger influence on “Circles” and “You Ain’t Special.” There even is a bit of honky tonk twang on “Let The Jukebox Take Me” and take-no-prisoners punk pop on “Red, White & Blue.”

No filler to be found here, and kudos from both Little Steven Van Zandt and former Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham make this another easy addition to your potential top ten for 2015. Long live The Connection!

Amazon

The Connection

The Wellgreen “Summer Rain”

The Wellgreen are a wonderful Glasglow band that have a piano based sound very similar to The Left Banke. Their last album release Grin and Bear It was put out by another label, and this album has a few repeated songs from earlier releases, but for this review I’m sticking with the digital release Summer Rain. Maybe this is a Wellgreen greatest hits?

I’ll put up with a little confusion because this is simply great pop. “Summer Rain” is a very ’60s styled single, but the building melody of “Maybe It’s The Pressure Of The City Life That’s Tearing Us Apart” is truly great with impeccable harmonies. “Jennifer” once again dazzles with its yearning melody. “Sunday” and “Remember” are Beatles styled songs that will charm you for sure. “Grin and Bear It” has a Beach Boys party atmosphere, and a “Impossible Love” has a James Taylor vibe. While not everything hits the mark, enough does to make it a highly recommended album.

Grin and Bear It | Summer Rain

Holiday Music: Smalltown Poets and The Connection

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Smalltown Poets

Smalltown Poets “Christmas Time Again”

At this point its become a tradition here with my favorite Christmas band Smalltown Poets. They’ve got the vocals, musical chops and this year they’ve got a new album to unwrap. After a spiritual introduction, the band lets loose on “Wassail song” with drums, guitar and piano leading to a harmonious vocal chorus that hits a few different Christmas themes. The title track is an instant classic that deserves major radio play this time of year, evoking the holiday perfectly. Even if you don’t like holiday music, this song will just melt you. Highly Recommended.

CD Baby | Bandcamp | Amazon

The Connection

The Connection “A Christmas Gift For”

Another “must have” Christmas album by the rocking-est band this season. Starting with “Money, Honey, Baby” it jingles and jangles into your head right away. “West Coast” looks at the holiday from a snow-free perspective. The boogie blues of “Better Late Than Never” is pretty cool, and “Christmas Time Again” is another layered gem. Highly Recommended.

Bandcamp | Amazon