Tag: The Foreign Films

The Foreign Films and Juniper

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The Foreign Films

The Foreign Films “Magic Shadows”

Canadian Bill Majoros is back and the listener is taken away to a hazy, nostalgic world of driving basslines and vocal harmonies by the album’s opening tune, “Midnight Movies.” It’s a compelling character study set to a hook, the kind that Ray Davies perfected with The Kinks, but Bill updates the time and place to now. Following that are “Rain Clouds (Sunshine in Your Heart)” and “Perfect Future” with distinct 80’s percussion and synth lines. “Cinema Girl (Magic Shadows)” and “Time Machine” showcases the band’s ability to blend elements of late 20th-century rock to create a sound that is both timeless and fresh.

“Lost in Time” recalls Pink Floyd’s spacey atmosphere with an overlapping sax solo and “Cosmic Lover” channels both Norman Greenbaum and Marc Bolan at the same time. Overall, Magic Shadows masterfully combines innovation with nostalgia. Highly Recommended.

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Juniper

Juniper “She Steals Candy”

Juniper Shelley, the daughter of power pop musician Michael Shelley, has released her sophomore album She Steals Candy, and in some ways, it’s a nostalgic throwback to the early days of girl pop. “BANG!” is a simple catchy tune that evokes comparisons to artists like Lesley Gore. “James” and “Baby Doll” are both terrific songs about falling for bad boys written from her point of view, and her sweet assured vocals make her a sympathetic lead. It even goes into a retro-style taunt with “Little Miss Stuck Up.” She tries out the country tunes “Picture Of You,” and “I Cry Cause I Care” but the delivery here seems to lack emotion. Juniper is much better when playful on “Taste the Soup,” or even the carnal rock of “Alone With You” and “I’ve Gotta Boy.”

The stylistic variety of the record is a welcome change of pace, and the songwriting is excellent all throughout. Juniper’s voice is upfront, bathing in the glow of confidence that she is in control of the proceedings. Better than her understated debut, and it shows growth with the excellent “Turn To You.”  With 16 tracks, this album will undoubtedly appeal to fans of girl-pop and retro vibes. Highly Recommended.

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Summertime Singles, Freebies and EPs: Dan Israel, The Glad Machine, Golden Richards, Kevin Robertson, The Blendours, Believe It – It’s Easy, Robby Miller, The Foreign Films

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It’s a hot, humid week in NYC and I am waving the white flag of surrender. Too much heat and too much music. I’m far behind on album reviews, but as far as singles and EPs we have a treasure trove of power pop goodies. I’m proud to start it off with the excellent Dan Israel single “The Hang of It,” which is a perfect highway traveling song, and he’s got a video too. The Glad Machine/Golden Richards split singles are catchy gems all on their own, and Kevin Robertson (Vapour Trails) has been super active recently, he’s got a new solo album, EP, and single. All great jangly treats. The Blendours are a duo from Iowa that resembles an acoustic Bowling For Soup, and they serve up some fun-filled folk punk. A new band Believe It, It’s Easy from Connecticut has its moments on the first 3 songs of this freebie. Robby Miller is another rookie with a hook-filled love song. Finally, The Foreign Films’ next LP ‘Starlight Serenade’ is almost ready, so here are 2 tracks early to keep you cool this summer.








The Foreign Films and Super 8

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The Foreign Films

The Foreign Films “Ocean Moon (New Songs and Hidden Gems)”

Bill Majoros (aka The Foreign Films) is back after the masterful Record Collector with something a little mellower but no less wonderful. Setting up a nostalgic date circa 1964 on “Dream With Me Tonight” it has echos of early Beach Boys innocence (without sounding anything like them.)  The subtle lead and strings of “Katie and the Crystal Hearts” feels bittersweet, reminding me of Kyle Vincent or Jeff Lynne.

The Rickenbacker strums of the title track make it the most impressive and catchiest song in the group, plus its got a lovely harmonic coda. The echoing piano ballad “Down On The Boulevard (Pinball Kid)” is another highlight that paints a dramatic memory with only a few lyrics. Each song resonates and even though the last three tracks are from Record Collector it matches up nicely with the new material. Another bonus is that this a FREE Bandcamp download, so you can try before you buy. Highly Recommended.

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Pop Co-Op

Super 8 “Head Sounds”

UK artist Paul Ryan is certainly prolific and unique. He’s got a homespun pop aesthetic and a poppy-hippy charm that can be quiet infectious at times. The opener “Dragonfly” layers several sounds to great effect, creating a nice jam melody before it shifts to an easy-going shuffle asking “If you could only live one day/What would you do?” Very disarming and charming.

Using jangling rhythms very much in the spirit of Elephant Six collective bands, “Love Like Ours” catches you and doesn’t let go. “Sweet Norah” slowly devolves into a psyche-pop jam and really takes off when that bassline begins. “Millionaire” is a funny tune about songwriting gone wrong, and “I Just Wanna Be Me” also moans about the unfairness of the music business. The second half of the album doesn’t quite carry it over the finish line, with covers of “Across The Universe” and “In My Room.” But this is definitely the most engaging Super 8 LP to date and it’s certainly music that deserves to be heard.

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The Foreign Films and The Tonighters

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The Record Collector

The Foreign Films “The Record Collector”

Commanded by Bill Majoros and assisted by a collection of musicians like Steve Eggers (The Nines), Carl Jennings, and the late Wim Oudijk to name a few, The Record Collector is an expansive box set.

Like Robert Harrison’s (Cotton Mather) recent I-Ching song cycle, the music is varied in style and touches several themes. There are six sides to the entire project and many songs can be heard on Bandcamp. The vinyl version includes 3 records and a 12 page booklet with a short story “Emily Blue and The Star on The Moon.” The songs all relate to the story of a lonely star-struck girl and her adventures.

Starting With “Shadow in The Light” it builds to a solid chorus, with lots of energy, but then we hit the ELO-like epic “The Sun Will Shine Again” as it slowly wraps around you with its harmonies and guitar solos, it feel like an album finale in “Let It Be” fashion, not a second song. “Junior Astronomer’s Club” has a swirling psyche-pop feel, Majors vocals are soft and brimming with earnestness. The harmonies are extraordinary, for example on “Cinematic Kiss (in Dreams).”

At points the psychedelics approach Pink Floyd proportions like on “Emily Blue,” and “Emily’s Dream Sequence” but its the power pop gems here that will ring your bell. Some great ones early on are “Broken Dreams,” and “Lucky Streak.” There are a few outlier pop songs like “Land of 1000 Goodbyes” with guest Kori Pop delivering with her silken vocals. Kori and Bill make a great duet on “State of The Art.” There are elements of Bowie-like glam, folk-pop, and blues sprinkled throughout, but with 31 tracks it’s a lot to take in. As a passion project, this succeeds because Majoros puts a lot of craftsmanship into each musical phrase and the overall story. A concept album can be like a large meal, you take in each morsel and savor it. Highly Recommended.

Get this on Kool Kat Musik

 

The Tonighters “Kathleen Rose” EP

A new UK band from Newcastle that has a great power pop sound. Check out the opener “Kathleen Rose” and the acoustic “Flower.” Lead singer Billy G does a crackerjack job. I can’t wait to hear more — someone sign this guy to a label! Listen and hope downloads are coming soon.

Friday Freebies: The Foreign Films, Exohxo, The McLovings and The Buzz

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The Foreign Films: The amazing talent of Bill Majoros is back! This is a special preview of 6 full songs from the upcoming double album The Record Collector (side 3). The full album should be out soon, but this taste tells me it could reach my top ten list this year. Enjoy!

Exohxo: a funny name but a great sound. Exohxo is a domesticated five-piece chamber rock band from Seattle that spent their their twenties in lets-take-over-the-world touring bands. Now scattered across their thirties with families, jobs, and mortgages, these seemingly well-adjusted and entirely approachable adults appear unwilling to finish growing up if that means surrendering the music and the camaraderie that has always been integral to their happiness.

The McLovings: I guess there are worse names than a character from the movie Superbad who is a nerd, but the man. The guys are from San Sebastián, Spain and the accents are heavy, but so is the rock.

The Buzz: Washington D.C.’s The Buzz sound a little rough, but the bass lead melodies and impressive musicianship keep this band afloat. I liked the anthem-like “Drunk and Cryin” and mid tempo “Pack it in, Girl” showcase this bands classic rock chops.