Lost Souls follows hot on the heels of Pongo vs Corporate Vampires but the quality doesn't suffer. It must be something in that North Wales coastal air. Guy Latham's brooding voice is soothing in a 70's Singer Songwriter way, however the variation and humour allow Junebug to differ from some of the ten a penny stuff that's around.
The jaunty Please Don't Be Cool could be in a Glam Top 10 from 1974.
I Got Sanctioned continues the 70's comparisons, Gallagher And Lyle maybe, even hints of Medicine Head. The moody The Homebody is stripped down and delightful, A Greek Tragedy hints at Art Garfunkel. Light Sleeper is so catchy, laid back with a great little riff. The Andy Kaufman tribute sounds so REM.
The general problem with albums like this is that the lyrics can't the tunes, no problems on that score here. There is a real lyrical depth and great humour in the likes of the countryish I Lost My Wife To Candy Crush, which could easily be Paul Heaton.Then there's the sleepy It's Nice To Know You.
A truly gentle singer songwriter album, a kind of which you don't hear too often these days. Highly Recommended at the bargain price of a fiver. You can listen to it and download it here.
At Least We're Not Dead Yet came out late last year, but it's an album I return to often. The Raleigh NC five piece have been labelled as Americana or Alt Country. I just don't see that, they rock and riff far too much. Indeed across the great 11 songs on offer here, only Home Tonight is anywhere near that label. Perhaps the vocal could be a tad that way, but it is very much a tad, this album rocks. The occasional Pedal Steel adds melody rather than countryfying.
There seems a thinner line these days in Nashville between Power Pop and Country. Take, for instance, Nick Piunti's Dumb It Down from his splendid new album, that could fall into either camp. But if this album is country, then buy me a Cowboy Hat and get me a ticket to Nashville. To these ears, it has far more in common with the likes of Superdrag.
It's a big production which brings out the twin guitars to great effect. It's loud and proud of it. This is Pop Rock with a Twang. The album never lets go. Home Tonight is the halfway point and you think it's gonna mellow out, only for This Is Nowhere just to raise the riff count higher. The album just shouts more and more till the closing Awake Now.
At Least We're Not Dead Yet is astonishingly good album as a debut. One for the Car. CD is definitely the way to go with it. You can listen, download or buy the CD here.
Juan Pablo Mazzola's Baby Scream has been responsible for some great Power Pop for a decade now, way back to 2007's Monsters EP. Argentina isn't that well known for Pop, but Baby Scream may just change that impression. His voice at times, reminds me of Per Gessle with more feeling, but the music is wonderfully late 60's early 70's. Great harmonies, gentle well played riffs, all in all a great listen.
Jokes is a lovely short joy of a song, aching piano, great harmonies, a pleasant little guitar accompaniment and a Nilsson like vocal. Wish You Were Here leads on a spacey keyboard before breaking out into a great fuzzy guitar solo. The Ballad Of Music Biz has some great orchestration and harmonies on it.
The album is a bit top heavy on a more melancholic sound which suits Mazzola's voice, but perhaps it could do with a little more of up tempo songs similar to the opener. However, that's a minor quibble and it doesn't stop this album from being one of the more pleasant things I've listened to this year.
Well worth a punt! You can listen to and buy the album here.
I've always felt that being labelled Pop Punk is not that beneficial, unless of course you are an insider or big fan. It's not that it's bad, it certainly isn't, it's just that bands don't seem to be able to break out of it readily. There are exceptions of course, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World and Fall Out Boy to name three, but the term labels bands as something they are not.
Fans know that it's more Pop than Punk, but outsiders see Punk and run. Jimmy Eat World are probably the best of the bands to break away from the tag and Worth Taking remind me a lot of them.
I suppose the one problem I have with Pop Punk is that it all seems to sound the same.
Well Worth Taking prove that wrong, Hangman is an album that has far more in common with classic Power Pop than anything else.
There's a real maturity in the songs, the riffs fit in beautifully with the whole song, they don't seem as an add on to display technical ability. That said, the riffs are also killer. Songs like Counting On You and Stay In Love stand up with many Power Pop songs that you'd care to mention. The band can break out though on the likes of Different Now and Make This Right.
Let Me Try Again sounds like a heavy Downtown Fiction, Sinking In is a real thrash. This One's For You is a real melodic joy with a big chorus. The opener, Honestly is wonderfully slow with a top notch riff.
Hangman oozes great Power Pop licks, I'm not sure that it will appeal to all of their Pop Punk fans, but it should open up a whole new legion of guitar pop lovers.
What's even more great is that the album is currently reduced on the band's Bandcamp site from $10 to $3.49. A ridiculously cheap price for an album this good and one that should have the moths flying out of your wallets.
Marjorie Fair's Self Help Serenade was one of the albums of 2004. Evan Slamka's aching voice, the haunting melodies mixed with something bordering Psych, but far too great to pigeonhole as that. Like Doves thrown in with Nada Surf with a bit of Jim Noir. It is a wonderful album and all should own it.
The band played Glastonbury 2004, but the album never took off. It had a delayed release in the States and despite constant touring, Slamka was left on his own by 2007. I remember one band tour in the States when Marjorie Fair were with Mellowdrone making me so jealous that I was stuck here in the UK.
Evan hadn't stood still, he's been involved in numerous bands and projects, most notably Square On Square. Indeed three of the songs on the new album are from the Square On Square days.
In early 2015, a new Marjorie Fair was trailed and it duly appeared in late March this year. The resulting I Am My Own Rainbow is every bit as good as you'd expect. In fact it's better. For someone known for Psych Folk Pop, here the album has been more or less split into both factions.
The dreamy Psych Pop is front ended and that aching voice sounds as great as ever. The first five songs just stack up one after the other, but the stand out is 14th Century Man.The last three songs are slowed down to virtual acoustic mode and here that voice just shines out.
Fields sounds like the songs McCartney used to write. Haven't You Heard could be Ron Sexsmith or Rufus Wainwright.
The album is available on Noise Trade with a suggested Tip of 6 dollars. You can also listen to the songs before you buy here.
My good friend Curt Vance at the badly missed Power Pop Overdose has long been a supporter of Milwaukee's Trolley and as usual he's right. Trolley are a one band Power Pop compilation.You name it, they can do it, it sounds familiar, yet it's distinctively their own.
The 60's Psych Pop of Thursday Girl, the Mod Pop of the title track, Step Into The Clear is pure Paisley Pop. Crying All The Time is Brit Beat at it's best. She Has It All is vintage psych of Dukes Of Stratosphear vintage.
All The Way is 70's US New Wave, Losing That Madly In Love is Syd Barrett Pink Floyd like or something you'd hear at the UFO Club. We All Fall Down starts off like mid 60's Beat, but ends up being very Shazam era Move. The Kids All Sing is late 70's UK New Wave. She Helps Me Celebrate starts with an Another Girl Another Planet style riff.
The closing track, Take My Love is even more different, seven and a half minutes of pure Heavy Psych, mesmerising in a Luck Of Eden Hall way.
Caught In The Darkness is a splendid album, I must catch up on the rest of Trolley's stuff, just as you can do. If I had one slight criticism, it is that the drum sound can get a bit irritating at times, but that's a minor when you compare it to how good this album is.
You can listen to the album and buy it for download or on CDhere. You can also catch up on the band's back catalogue at the same place.
Ah those heady Brit Pop days! Looking back two decades, I know, I know, it wasn't all about Blur v Oasis and Jarvis waving his backside at Michael Jackson. There was some great pop to come out of it and that can get forgotten amongst the images of Liam gurning.
That Pop included the likes of The Lightning Seeds, The Bluetones, The Supernaturals and many more, but one band more than any lit up Brit Pop. Dodgy were kings of summer pop and lest we forget became rather big, noting their Glastonbury 1997 slot.
Three fantastic albums and a run of singles from So Let Me Go Far to Found You that stands up with any fine pop you'd care to name. Live they were a great trio too, they could play, All are equal in that effort, but a special mention should go to drummer Mathew Priest, one of the most underrated drummers around. Those harmonies were ace too, testified by their acoustic performances.
Before we get to the now, kudos should be given to Nigel Clark's excellent solo album, 21st Century Man.
Comebacks are always dicing with danger, but 2012's Stand Upright In A Cool Place was great. The trademark harmonies were there, but it wasn't a continuation of the past. More acoustic, certainly darker, without insulting the band, it seemed a really grown up album. There was plenty of sterling guitar from Andy Miller. An all round cracker of an offering.
So what of 2016? Well the three piece have been expanded by adding Stu Thoy on Bass and Ultrasound's Vanessa Wilson is on four of the tracks.
The new album certainly isn't acoustic dominated, as demonstrated by the opener above. Now Means Nothing is the 60's of early Who and California Gold is West Coast wonder down to Any Miller's trippy solo. Are You The One is superb, harmonies and jangling are all present, a great song and probably the best track on the album with another great Miller solo.
Demonstrating the variety, The Hills could be any great 70's Singer Songwriter, Al Stewart springs to mind. Never Stop is pure Psych Pop. Mended Heart could be CSNY What Are We Fighting For, the title track, is a six and a half minute behemoth. a splendidly orchestrated anthem, absolute joy.
What Are We Fighting For isn't the happy clappy Dodgy of 20 years ago, but would you want it to be? We have those songs for the summer months forever. The harmonies and technical ability are still there and Nigel Clark is in fine voice, but this is a much deeper album and all the better for it.
The 2016 Dodgy could very well have provided their best album yet and have certainly provided a contender for anyone's Top 20 albums of the year.
