Early July Roundup.

Justin Levinson-Yes Man. 10 years. That's how long Absolute Powerpop has been around, and that's also how long it's been since Justin Levinson debuted on the power pop scene with 1175 Boylston. The debut was Ben Folds-styled piano pop and since then he's veered into alt-country and most recently a bit of light soul-inflected singer-songwriter pop with 2012's This Side of Me, This Side of You. Now with Yes Man, Levinson has come full circle with his most straight-up pop album since his debut. Opener "Together Forever" is a bouncy confection that's well-timed for summer; the title track is a Beatlesque romp, and the waltz-time baroque pop of "Safety in the Rain" recalls Jellyfish. Elsewhere, "Broken Heart Running" is the type of piano-based pop found on the debut, and closer "Colleen Compassion" evokes a lost Ben Folds track in both sound and title. In all this is one of 2016's best so far as even the tracks not noted here are worthy of note. The tenth anniversary truly can be the sweetest.

Sample and buy at Amazon

Ken Sharp-New Mourning. Speaking of 10-year anniversaries, it's almost been that long since Ken Sharp's last album, 2007's Sonic Crayons, which at that time was his first album in seven years and which came in at #13 on my best-of-2007 list. So it's a bit of an understatement to say this album was long-awaited, and it doesn't disappoint. Of course Sharp has an excuse for the delays between albums - when he's not recording, he's writing and writing prolifically about music with 18 published books to his credit including a series titled "Play On! Power Pop Heroes" which chronicles the leading lights and forerunners of the genre. And if Sharp's going to keep putting out albums (however infrequently) like New Mourning, he's going to be worthy of a chapter of his own as his latest is his best and most consistent. From the classic power pop of "Dynamite & Kerosene" and "Let's Be Friends" to the Motown-influenced "Solid Ground" through the 70s MOR balladry of "L.A. Can Be Such a Lonely Town" and the string-laden closing power ballad "Loser", New Mourning is 14 tracks of solid gold and also a clear contender for Best of 2016.

iTunes



The Loved-The Loved EP. The Loved are a three-piece band from Portland, Oregon who push all the right retro buttons on their debut EP, right up to the album artwork. Dense guitars and a languid melody make for a great combination on the first single "How Do You Fall in Love", while the midtempo "Sun Moon Stars" features a hypnotic vibe and "Lost at Sea" rocks with "three chords and the truth", as the band described itself in their Facebook bio. Give it a listen below, and it'll be Loved by you as well.

iTunes

2012 off to a great start.

Two excellent new discs to kick off 2012:

Justin Levinson & The Valcours-This Side of Me, This Side of You. Boston-area piano popper Justin Levinson has been around about as long as this site, going to back to his impressive 2006 debut 1175 Boylston. Back then, he sounded like he wanted to be Ben Folds but with each subsequent release he veered into Ryan Adams territory, with mixed results. Now he's back with a backing band and seems to have found a happy medium with his strongest release since the debut. The breezy piano-and-guitar number "Water Wears the Rock" opens the proceedings in fine fashion, while "You Become a Ghost" is a Folds-type number that would have fit right in on 1175 Boylston. But the real strengths here are Levinson's forays into 70s singer-songwriter pop, including "Let You Go" (which features Will Dailey, a fine artist in his own right) and especially "Say What You're Gonna Say", a soulful number with horns that's easy like Sunday morning and my new favorite song of 2012. It's good to see Levinson back on track.

CD Baby | iTunes




Pete Donnelly-When You Come Home. If the name seems familiar, it's because Donnelly is the bassist for The Figgs, Graham Parker's occasional backing band and respected pub-rockers in their own right. In 2009 we saw frontman Mike Gent offer up a fine solo disc, and now it's Donnelly's turn to shine with his first solo release in 11 years. While there are some Figgs-sounding tracks here, Donnelly has blazed a more eclectic path here, from the gentle and melodic "Far Away Angel" to the Beatlesque piano pop of "Original Wonder" to the vaguely loungy-feel of "Can't Talk at All". Meanwhile, Figgs fans will appreciate rockers like "22nd St", "The Only One" and the title track. All in all, it's a fine solo foray from a guy who sounds like he had a lot of musical ideas just waiting to be implemented.

CD Baby | iTunes |

Two for Thursday, 11/19/09

The Tripwires-House to House. There's something about hearing this Seattle band's fun-loving, good-time power pop that brings a smile to my face when I hear one of their tracks. Following up their 2007 debut Makes You Look Around, The Tripwires (consisting of members and former members of The Model Rockets, The Minus 5, and Screaming Trees among others) assert themselves as the 21st Century Rockpile. The opening salvo of "Drawing a Blank" and "(Something in a) Friday Night" will convince you of this comparison, and "Another Planet Now" and "Soundalike" find them at their midtempo melodic best. And I could easily see Nick Lowe (in his heyday) writing a song called "Ned Beatty's in Love". Meanwhile, "Let's Get You Started" could be covered by a band like OK Go without straining, and "Zig Zag" might be their quintessential track. Rock on!

Kool Kat | MySpace | iTunes

Justin Levinson-Predetermined Fate. In early 2006, Levinson was one of my early "finds" - his debut 1175 Boylston was a bright, fresh and tuneful blast of piano pop that was as good as anything Ben Folds has done recently. Having tackled that subgenre, he mixed in some folk/rock with the piano pop on his 2007 EP Bury Your Love, and with his new disc, Predetermined Fate, the metamorphosis is complete. Going strictly with a rootsy, countryish folk-pop sound, he's made a move not unlike Ben Kweller did earlier this year with his Changing Horses album. Highlights include the pedal steel-drenched "Bandaid on a Bullet Wound", about a marriage gone bad; "Losing You to Tennessee", which sounds like Ryan Adams in country mode; and "Hopelessness", which has a "The Weight"-style melody. Which leaves the question: where is Levinson predetermined to go next?

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

EPs of the Day, 1/15/08: Justin Levinson-Bury Your Love; The Nice Outfit-Kissing Jocelyn

Two EPs for consideration today:

Justin Levinson-Bury Your Love.
Levinson was one of the early discoveries of this blog nearly two years ago (how time flies) when he released 1175 Boylston, an excellent piano-pop disc. But whereas 1175 Boylston was rooted more in the piano pop of Ben Folds, Bury Your Love is more the piano pop of Elton John circa the early 70s during his Tumbleweed Connection/Madman Across The Water period. No more so is this evident than in the length and breadth of the opening track "Heavy Weight", which clocks in at nearly six minutes and features a Davey Johnstone-like guitar solo. "Home" further distances itself from 1175 Boylston, with liberal use of pedal steel and acoustic guitar, and wouldn't have sounded out of place on Ryan Adams' Gold. Meanwhile, the title track is roots pop, and "When It Rains on Your Parade" could almost be called Dylanesque. The only exception to the new Levinson sound here is "Daisy May", which is a bouncy Folds-ish type of track. Overall, it's an interesting departure for Levinson, and full marks to him for not repeating his first disc. CD Baby | MySpace

The Nice Outfit-Kissing Jocelyn. This Milwaukee band has delivered a short-but-sweet 4-song EP of inspired power pop. And by "short", I note that the four tracks clock in at just over nine minutes total, but nevertheless it's quality over quantity. The sound here is a combination of The Kinks, The Figgs, and The Greenhornes. But guys, if you're going to have a track titled "One Minute Forty-Five", it ought to be 1:45 in length, not 2:15.
CD Baby | MySpace

CD of the Day, 2/20/06: Justin Levinson-1175 Boylston

Wow. 2006 is shaping up to be quite a year for great new discoveries. We're barely halfway through February, and here comes another one: Justin Levinson. His debut, 1175 Boylston, sounds like the work of a seasoned pro.

Now while anyone these days with a piano-based sound and some pop smarts gets compared to Ben Folds, the comparison is truly earned here. This cd reminds me, more than any other I can recall, of the Ben Folds Five debut album ( one of my top 10 albums of the 90s), not only musically but in spirit as well. Opener "Sunny Day" is as catchy and bouncy as they come (complete with slide trombone courtesy of Levinson himself), and just when you've caught your breath, "Empty Line Cliche" follows with more of the same. The Folds sense of humor is there as well on the album closer "Nice to See You Guys", in which Levinson & Co. break out the banjos and kazoos (!). But he has more than simple pop ditties on his mind; both "Sky Is Falling" and "Fireflies" address the unpopular Iraq war in a thoughtful manner and without sacrificing the underlying melodies. The strong backing vocals on many of the tracks also remind me of the Five, with the main difference being that Levinson is unafraid to use guitars.

At this point you're saying "enough already - where can I listen to this?" Well, you're in luck. First of all, you can download - yes, download - 3 tracks including "Sunny Day" and "Sky Is Falling" at Justin's Pure Volume site. (Note: these tracks are downloadable by clicking on "download" within a Flash application, which means the normal right-click saving options aren't available. Set your browser's mp3 preferences to "save to disk" instead of opening in, for example, winamp). Over at his myspace page, the same three can be streamed along with a rough demo of a newly written non-album track. And as usual you can stream 2-minute samples of additional tracks and buy the album at CD Baby.

The way things are going - with accomplished debuts from the likes of Levinson, Supraluxe, Travis Hopper and who knows who else to come - the veteran power pop artists are going to have to really start stepping up to the plate to make my year-end of best-of list for 2006.