Early March Roundup.

The Dates-Ask Again Later. To paraphrase the old saying, you can't judge an album by its cover, and while the debut from this LA band's cover looks like your typical adenoidal punk-poppers it's not. Instead, this is a beautifully melodic Big Star/Teenage Fanclub-inspired collection of jangle pop that's one of the year's early best. "Any Other Nite" would fit right in on Bandwagonesque, and "Star" would do likewise on #1 Record or Radio City. And get lost in "Summer Girls", probably the quintessential song title for a band like this.

iTunes



The Popravinas-Willy Nilly. The Popravinas have always struck me as the West Coast equivalent of New Jersey's The Successful Failures, as both bands serve up a mix of rock, power pop, alt-country and roots rock filtered through a humorous yet sardonic outlook. On their latest, the band (pronounced POPE-ravinas) find themselves "Talkin' Out Loud", hanging out in "Tim's Basement", and "Almost Sick" while finding a "Hard Way (to Make an Easy Living)". It's all very fun, and very catchy.

Bandcamp



Lund Bros-"Loser" 1993-97 - Remasters and Rarities. Back before they were indie power pop darlings, the Lund Bros started out in the early 90s as a melodic bank who caught attention of Geffen Records, who funded their recordings for a "speculation deal". Geffen rejected them (their loss) for sounding "too much like The Beatles" (as if that isn't a feature and not a bug). Rather than changed their sound for the man, they kept on keepin' on and now they've released those unearthed gems from that era. Despite Geffen's misgivings this is actually more of a harder melodic rock sound than their recent stuff, but still excellent in a Cheap Trick sort of way.

CD Baby

MLK Day Roundup.

I doubt MLK was a power popper, but I had a dream - about the discs that had backlogged on my desk. So without further ado, here are a couple of late 08 releases that could have found their way onto my year-end list had they found their way to my ears before early December:

The Lund Bros-Songbook IV. This Seattle band (led, natch, by brothers Chris & Sean Lund) have gone for broke with their fourth album - a sprawling, 22-track double disc set that features everything from, among other things, vintage power pop, hard rock, instrumentals, a ballad about John McCain and a closing Dylan cover. In other words, something for everyone. Highlights: The rootsy "Such a Ride", the Beatlesque "Find the Sun" (which also reminds me of The Orchid Highway), the jangly Chilton-inspired "Magnifying Glass", "Listen" (positively Posies-esque), the 70s Sloan-style rock of "C'mon C'mon", and the laidback "Forget It".

CD Baby | MySpace


Baby Scream-Ups and Downs. Proving there are no hard feelings from the Falklands War, Argentine Juan Mazzola relocated to England and brought Baby Scream with him. Their (his) debut disc, Ups and Downs, is a melodic treat that fans of Teenage Fanclub, The Pernice Brothers and Big Star will enjoy. The gorgeous "Away" opens, reminding me of Cotton Mather's "Baby Freeze Queen", and it's followed by the midtempo "Suddenly", which out-TFs Teenage Fanclub. Just to show they aren't exclusively "soft", Mazzola & Co. rock out on the raucous "Everyday (I Die a Little Bit)", but "Morning Light" and "World from Outside" reinforce their melodic bonafides. Like the Lund Bros above, they close with a cover - a nice version of The Replacements' "Skyway".

CD Baby | MySpace