Tag: The Turnback

Freebies and EPs: The Turnback, Nick Lowe, Brad Marino, Brian Mello, You’re Among Friends, Nick Bertling, Portable Radio, The Amplifier Heads

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The Turnback had these three songs recently re-mastered by Grammy® Award-Winning mastering engineer Brian “Big Bass” Gardner (Foo Fighters, RUSH, Eminem, David Bowie, Cheap Trick). They are a FREE download and the band just asks for you to give a tip to the next essential worker you come in contact with (grocery clerk, fast-food worker, etc.). Now is the time we all need to be there for each other and PLAY IT FORWARD!

The masterful Nick Lowe returns with another EP, delivering pleasing pop gems in a timeless fashion.

Brad Marino (The Connection) is back in fine form with “False Alarm” and “At Night.” Guitar pop the way it should be, plus a cover of the Hoodoo Gurus classic, “What’s My Scene?” Get it at Kool Kat Musik

Brian Mello, the guitarist with The Morning Line, has a very unique EP out. It starts out like a spacey Western with “Landscape With Ruins” and stays kind of mellow until the riff-heavy gem “Adios.” A real grower here, so check it out.

You’re Among Friends, plays out like a fun jam in someone’s basement studio. Love the funk melody on “Once the Toothpaste is Out of the Tube.” More terrific casual rock, like “Just Keep Being Nice” make this a great FREE album to chill with.

Nick Bertling heads out to the audio twilight zone and gives us a personal work that seems to channel Todd Rundgren. Love those harmonies on “Perhaps” and the retro synth on “Mall Dreams ’87.” Another grower you need to live with.

Manchester UK pop band Portable Radio has a neat retro style and great harmonies. “Great In The Sun” and “Flight Home” remind me of the Cowsills.

JUST IN! Boston’s The Amplifier Heads are led by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Sal Baglio (The Stompers). This is a real treat, as he channels mid-period XTC. Fans of similar bands (like The Sun Sawed In Half) will LOVE this.

Video Singles: Eli Musser, The Turnback, The Laissez Fairs, Orouni

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So many albums of great music… so little time. These are a few advance singles to upcoming albums. Really excited to hear some of these, and I hope you look out for these artists!


Eli Musser “Smile (‘Cause Somebody Loves You)” – Eli is a West Virginian, now living in New York. This soulful track is one of the best singles I’ve heard in a while.

The Turnback “You Kill Me” – The Turnback return with this neat animated video and a “killer” single. The band plays to its melodic strengths and we are all the richer for it.

The Laissez Fairs “Lillie May” This band has the retro sound down perfectly. “Count” Peter Zaremba (The Fleshtones) listened and called it “Pretty psychedelicotic!” I agree!

Orouni “The Lives Of Elevators” The song is inspired by a New Yorker article, that tells the story of an employee stuck for 41 hours in an elevator of the Rockefeller Center. Very interesting.

Freebies and Singles: The Top Boost, Geoff Palmer, Tommy Lorente, Vista Blue, Ken Sharp, Preoccupied Pipers, The Turnback

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The Top Boost earns major kudos for this excellent 3 song EP. On the title track, they’re joined by Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish, Imperial Drag). The result is a swirling blend of bubble gum pop sweetness with a wistful lyrical undertone. A+


Geoff Palmer (The Connection) has released a few singles in advance of his next solo LP Pulling Out All The Stops. This one is more than hot, it’s a FREE download. BTW, his former bandmate Brad Marino has LP out too, reviews for both coming soon!

My favorite French power pop musician Tommy Lorente gives us a FREE download, it’s so catchy even if you don’t speak French just sing along with the “Na Na Na Na.”

The reliable punk-pop of Vista Blue continues his sports-themed Ramones influenced rock. Another FREE download!

Ken Sharp spent some time at Fernando Perdomo‘s new Reseda Ranch Studios 2.0 and recorded this little gem about the 1964 World’s Fair. Only a buck, and worth the trip through his imaginary time machine.

A goodie from KC Bowman and friends (aka The Preoccupied Pipers) about another band and its audience? Hey! It’s still a FREE download.
The Turnback is back with a new single “Unloading An Empty Gun”. If you buy it, maybe Todd, Kenny & Barry will reload and give us another album (please!)

Caddy and The Turnback

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Caddy

Caddy “Ten Times Four”

After 2015’s solid LP The Better End, Tomas Dahl took a break from songwriting and spent more time in his “day job” working long nights while spending part-time as drummer and guitarist for The Stanleys last year. Thankfully, holding back those musical impulses wouldn’t last long. In fact, it burst open to a flow of great power pop gems on “Ten Times Four.” There are tons of standout tracks here. From the grand opening chords of “Miracle Turn,” it makes a statement that cannot be ignored, with melodic guitar crunch familiar to fans of late 90’s mainstays Myracle Brah, Starbelly, The Shoes, and The Posies. “Somewhere Beautiful” starts with the lyric “First rule is lighting is everything…” And then it launches into the brilliantly catchy chorus. Continuing, it gently goes into the buzzing gem “Secret Hiding Place” a dead ringer for a lost Teenage Fanclub classic.

And the hits keep coming from the aptly named “Contagious” to the contemplative “In The Basement.” Not a single weak track, although the slow ballad “Roadblocks” feels like a sleepwalk until we get to a final burst of energy in “The Good Ones.” Overall an awesome feel-good experience for the ears. It happens every year in the fall when artists flood my inbox with great music to be considered for the annual top ten list. Caddy easily squeezes into the top of the list for 2018. Super duper highly recommended.

Amazon | Kool Kat Musik

The Turnback

The Turnback “Spinning the Earth in Reverse”

The Turnback have gradually moved to a heavier power pop sound (think Foo Fighters) since 2015’s Are We There Yet?  The psychedelic touches are long gone, and that’s okay because we want this band’s sound to evolve over time, right?

The opener “Here I Am” has a catchy chorus and the requisite riffs that still make The Turnback a power pop favorite. Both leads, Todd Giglio and Kenny Sherman add a heavier riff and slight growl to “This Could Be Our Year,” and the Monkees-like verses make it more upbeat. It’s a sweet and salty pop mix that continues with “Hit And Run” and the impressive “She Walks On Gold.”

“What’s The Difference Anyway” and “Untitled So Far” are mid-tempo soul-searching songs where Kenny’s vocals really shine. The duo takes on political causes with “Stand For Something (Or Go Sit Down)” and it’s good, but taking on apathy isn’t exactly as revolutionary as their past gems (like “If I Were God.”) “Your Fragile Wall” does a much better job with the hooks. Overall a very good album. It doesn’t quite reach the highs of their past work, but it absolutely deserves to be heard.

Amazon | CD Baby | Kool Kat Musik

The Turnback and Key Frames

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The Turnback

The Turnback “Are We There Yet?”

After the strong Beatlesque debut, the Turnback move more toward a heavier sound on this sophomore effort, “Are We There Yet?” Opening with the hard charging riffs of “Faketown” its a cynical rant about the music industry, and bands will have to “cut through the bullshit with a sharper knife.” Even with a harder edge, The Turnback still sings those exceptional 3 part harmonies throughout the album. The standout single “Five Days A Week” has a soaring chorus that will make you a fan after the first listen. And the band still dabbles in 60’s psychedelics with “Revolution Girl,” but often I hear musical cues of late 70’s album era (i.e. Boston) in “A Long Way Home.”

“Unmotivated” slows thing down to a power ballad tempo, as Kenny Sherman leads the vocal to a brilliant layered melody with its descending chords asking us “is the song outdated?” The bright “A Place For Me,” is a proud theme for anyone who’s ever felt out of the mainstream. Uptempo tunes rule here as “July” and “First Song of Summer” follow a theme, and the unconventional “If I Were God” is a response to biblical misinterpretations with a deity telling us to “stop spreading these stories about me.” Each track is solid, including a cover of The Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” and overall exceeds expectations from the first album. Makes my top ten of 2015 list for sure, so pre-order it now!

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The Key Frames

The Key Frames “Monophone Heart” EP

Toronto’s Key Frames are a driving roots-rock outfit with a strong melodic sensibility, starting with the soaring harmonies and banjo of “Won’t Miss It.” The song has the clear influence of Big Star here. Next the fuzz guitar combines with the banjo for “Tidal Wave,” another ear-worm full of big beats and riffs. “Road To You” takes a trip through the back country, the swagger of Johnny Cash is front and center.

But the power pop gold is found in “True Believer” with its two-minutes of sweet melody and “la la la” backing chorus. Each song is a high quality production and makes this a highly recommended EP without any filler. I look forward to the full length album in the near future.

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