Friday Roundup.

Hidden Pictures-Rainbow Records. Hidden Pictures hail from Kansas City and boast an impressive pop pedigree. Lead vocalists Richard Gintowt and Michelle Sanders were in the band OK Jones, which had a couple of fine releases in the middle part of the last decade, and Erik Voeks (of the legendary 1993 power pop album Sandbox) plays bass. And while it all looks good on paper, it sounds just as good to the ear. For the most part, Rainbow Records is buoyant, effervescent pop - opener "Calling Christine" and closer "Oldies 104.3" bookend the album with sugar galore and find the band as a less indie rock-oriented New Pornographers. Meanwhile, "Solo Record Shop" and "Boyfriend A.D.D." rock a bit more but keep the sweet melodies going. This might be the perfect summer record of 2012, but even in winter you'll want to have it to keep you warm.

Bandcamp | iTunes

Mooner-Unpronounceable Name EP. The third EP from this Chicago band led by brothers Lee & David Ketch is a real treat for lovers of meaty, melodic guitar pop. They claim Television and Tom Petty as influences and it's not hard to hear it in "Shapeshifter", with its angular guitar hook and insistent melody, while "Overrated" rocks relentlessly. The other tracks, the midtempo "White Lines" (which builds slowly and ends up in Petty territory) and the power ballad-turned-guitar freakout "Never Alone" also show the band's talent for unpredictability.

Bandcamp

Popicana!

OK, that's my none-too-clever word to describe pop-informed Americana/alt-country, but there have been several recent releases that will appeal to those who don't mind their pop a bit countrified. Here they are:

Additional Moog-Thirty Three & a Third. Their CD Baby page touts sound as "Uber-melodic rootsy Americana meets lo-fi rock with a 60's Brit Pop sensibility. Here's what some have said : "...an absolutely BRILLIANT band..." -BBC Radio "...timeless..." -Kerrang. Radio "...gorgeous melodies...a hint of Wilco and The Jayhawks." I endorse these descriptions completely. CD Baby | MySpace

Kurt Hagardorn-Ten Singles. Hagardorn played for Thad Cockrell and Caitlin Cary, so you know that gives him a leg up in my book. Our friends at the Seattle Powerpop blog put it best: "Chock full of tunesmithy goodness, he's got this great roots pop thing happening that seems equally influenced by the Beatles, the Everly Brothers and some of the modern-day alt country folks like The Jayhawks (with perhaps a bit of 90's indie pop a la Portastatic thrown in for good measure)!" Kool Kat | CD Baby | MySpace

OK Jones-Elephantoms. Last year I featured their Push/Pull disc, and now they have a new one out. They've actually abandoned some of their "hardcore" Americana for a more power pop/indie rock sound, and they're the better for it. I love the leadoff track "Electric Bed", and the rest of it ain't bad either. Buy | mp3 of "Electric Bed" | MySpace | eMusic

Storyhill-Storyhill. This Minneapolis duo has been around awhile, and refers to themselves as either a male Indigo Girls or a contemporary Simon & Garfunkel. Either way, it's extremely tuneful & melodic. If you loved 70s duos like Seals & Crofts, England Dan & John Ford Coley, and Loggins & Messina, you'll love these guys (and yes, they put out a 70s duos cover disc of their own). Meanwhile, if you want some power pop linkage, the disc is produced by Semisonic's Dan Wilson. Amazon | MySpace

Weekend Roundup.

Here are a few albums that I've been meaning to give a mention to that aren't strictly "power pop":

Rod Davies is another Aussie, and his 2005 album Turn The TV On has been described as Elvis Costello meets Neil Finn. The album is informed in spots by Davies' views on the Iraq War, but manages not to be preachy. Side note: Davies is the singer on Australia's version of "Dancing With The Stars".

MySpace | Sample/Buy

NYC's Derek James released Stray last summer, and it's pop/rock with a modern feel to it. "Summer" and "Ain't No Thing Is Perfect" are the standouts here. Although I'm not a big fan of Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson, I can see this disc appealing to their fans as well.

MySpace | Stream | Sample/Buy


OK Jones' Push/Pull is an Americana-rooted album with the pop sensibility to appeal to our readers here. Think Ryan Adams, The Jayhawks and The Straw Dogs. "Besides Fall In Love" and "Broke and Lonesome" are standouts. Note: the tracks on MySpace can be downloaded as well.

MySpace | Sample/Buy