Tag: Vegas with Randolph

Singles, EPS and Freebies: Vegas With Randolph, You’re Among Friends, Yani Martinelli, The Susan Constant and Scott Brookman

powerpopaholic

Vegas With Randolph returns with the power-pop goodness of “Women in Airports” in advance of their next album, Legs & Luggage.

You’re Among Friends are a casual rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Their music has been described as “rollicking blues at its core with a sugary coating of power pop” by Scene Magazine. check out this FREE download.

Yani Martinelli features some wonderful vocal harmonies and light acoustic melodies. The classical soft-pop style of “Radiohouse 12am” is similar to The Free Design. Simply beautiful and this is a FREE download.

The Susan Constant is a Boston indie band with just plenty of punch to keep power pop fans interested. Check out the solid rant “Constructive Summer,” and it’s a FREE download.

Scott Brookman has decided to go unplugged for good. He’s not going for the polished pop sounds of his past and is now concentrating on low-fi acoustic songs. “How Could I Let It Win?” and “Whatever She Was She’s Gone” have that McCartney vibe. Yani Martinelli,  Mario Pilarte López lend a hand, and it’s a FREE download.

Let’s cap things off with a new single from Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies) called “White Noise’, the first track from Steven Page’s new album ‘Discipline: Heal Thyself Pt. II’ which is coming out on September 14th.

Compilation Fridays: More bands! More music!

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Power Popaholic Fest is coming on June 16, 17 (next week) at Bar Matchless in Brooklyn, NY. Each year we have a soundtrack made with songs by some performers and like-minded artists. Your purchase helps fund the continuation of this long-running music festival dedicated to power pop artists. This year’s soundtrack features Somerdale, The Successful Failures, Lisa Mychols, Lannie Flowers, Cirrone, The Brittanicas, Jose Estragos and The Pop-Coop. Note: Limited time! Some tracks will only be available during the month of June.

Another compilation that we promote regularly is the Coop Communique, championed by artist/writer Dw Dunphy. This is the third and most impressive volume yet. With an array of favorites including Josh Fix (!!), The Ravines, Greek Theatre, Son of Skooshny, Brandon Schott, Andy Klingensmith, Vegas With Randolph and much more. Best of all its a FREE download!  Between Dunphy and Ice Cream Man, you can fill up the old music player on my phone really fast!

Friday Freebies: The Well Wishers, Vegas With Randolph, The Skullers and I Prefer Guitars

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Long-time power pop favorite The Well Wishers (aka Jeff Shelton) give us an album of covers. Many are album tracks and not the big popular hits, which makes this collection even more compelling. Shelton covers Tom Petty, Sloan, ABBA, Bowie and more. Also it’s a totally FREE download.


Vegas With Randolph flies the friendly skies with this eminently catchy boarding pass of a song that happily charts a sweet flight path for these Washington, D.C. popsters. While it isn’t free, it’s only a buck and this is a quality single that deserves to be heard!

The Skullers are a new band from New Jersey that are looking for a little exposure. The debut single “Can We Do That Again” is a sharp bit of guitar pop that certainly is worthy of a FREE download. Learn more about these guys at The Skullers.com

The band I Prefer Guitars is a bit of a mystery. I can’t find any bio information except that this band may be from Hamburg, Stockholm or Warsaw. The music is pretty straight forward modern guitar pop. And it’s also a FREE download, so why not check it out?

Vegas With Randolph “Rings Around The Sun”

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Vegas With Randolph has been a bright spot on the power pop landscape since their debut, now they ramp up the talent on Rings Around The Sun. Getting help from a star-studded group of musicians like David Myhr, Brandon Schott, and Andy Reed to name a few, its likely that this is the best VWR album to date. Starting with “You Set The World On Fire,” John Ratts and Eric Kern burn through its high energy tribute to modern scientists.  Then it pushes the guitars to “11” with “Salt Water Taffy,” a catchy single that reminds me of Myracle Brah with its smooth harmonies.

And the band has lots of fun too, notable is “Cool Things” a hummable garage sale list (“boombox, CD Stand, Cup from 7-11”) sung with an excitement that compares well with Bowling For Soup. The pace moderates a bit with “Empathia,” another great short story set to music, however my favorite track here is “Everybody Wants An Atom Bomb.” It’s an over-the-top melody with a killer riff that drips of chauvinistic patriotism and fireworks. More light fun is on “Snow Day” and the grand finale “Rings Around The Sun” is more than satisfying. The additional single “Drops of Gold” and bonus track “Cool Change” are great, but maybe belong on different LP. You get a packed 15 tracks and all without any filler. Highly recommended.

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