Early April Roundup.

Corin Ashley-Broken Biscuits. Corin Ashley has been through a lot since we last heard from him in 2013 with the wonderful New Lion Terraces. In January 2016, he suffered a parietal lobe stroke which left him unable to move the fingers on his left hand and with a paralyzed vocal cord. After some hard work with a neurosurgeon who had experience with musicians recovering from brain injuries, Ashley re-learned how to sing and play the guitar and was back on stage by the end of the year, and he's also managed to release a new album which may actually be his best yet. While his previous releases were more chamber/baroque-pop oriented (one of his albums wasn't called Songs from the Brill Bedroom for nothing), this one has a more immediate appeal, as though Ashley is seizing his new lease on life. The fairly raucous opener "Little Crumbles" recalls McCartney in rock-and-roll mode, the delightful "Wind Up Boy" (with vocals from Tanya Donnelly) is another upbeat pop treat and "In Appropriate Fashion" is straight-up power pop. But fans of the old Ashley have no need to fret either - "Magpie over Citadel", "Junior Partner" and "Powder Your Face With Sunshine" are pristine chamber pop numbers. A triumphant return, and one of 2017's best to date.

CD Baby



Danny de la Matyr-Crybaby. You can be forgiven if Danny de la Matyr's name doesn't sound familiar, but if you're a long-time reader of this site you might recall his band called The Sheers, who put out the fine Goodbye World back in 2006/2007. We haven't heard much from him since, although he's worked with Rhett Miller, Jesse Malin and more recently Luther Russell, both solo and with Those Pretty Wrongs, Russell's project with Big Star's Jody Stephens. During all that time he was putting together his solo debut, and it was worth the time. After a couple of lovely, Elliott Smith-style tracks to open the album, things perk up with the slinky melody and staccato guitars of the title track, the power balladry of "How Can it Be?" and the chiming power pop of "Lines". Other standouts include the Beatlesque "Skeleton Key", the rocking "Misfire" and the anthemic piano pop of "Fade to Grey". A solid disc from start to finish.

Bandcamp



Wiretree-Towards the Sky. Kevin Peroni has been releasing quality indie-rock/power pop albums as long as I've doing this blog, and on his fifth full-length the Austonian comes through again. From the understated opener "Let Me In" to the driving, ELO-like "J.F. Sebastian" (an homage to the Blade Runner character?) to the classic Wiretree sound of "Dive" to the trippy title track, Towards the Sky is a welcome addition to the Wiretree canon. And "Didn't Know Your Name" might be the album's best track, with its steady build toward a driving climax.

iTunes

Time for another Roundup.

Here a few discs that I heartily recommend that I've been meaning to blog about:

The Sheers-Goodbye World. I've had this disc for about a month or so, and originally it didn't jump out at me - it sounded good, but not a lot to distinguish it from some other good discs I've heard. But on coming back to it recently, I found that most of the hooks had burrowed themselves into my brain, and it was like catching up with an old friend. This is really good power pop with a bit more of a commercial sound; in fact, "You're Just Lonely" was recently featured on the ABC TV Series "Men In Trees". I hear The Tories and Jellyfish here, but more in frontman Danny DeLaMatyr's vocals than the sound, which is more akin to Fastball or Semisonic. One notable exception: the early-McCartney/Emitt Rhodes influenced ballad "It Is What It Is".
CD Baby | Not Lame | MySpace

Jeff Murphy-Cantilever. This release was a big deal in the power pop community as this is Shoes legend Murphy's first proper solo disc (he & Herb Eimerman put out a great quirky pop record in the 90s as The Nerk Twins, titled Either Way and which can be found on eMusic), and it's certainly no letdown. In fact, Cantilever has more in common with the quirky Either Way than the classic Shoes sound, and is the perhaps the stronger for it. From the humorous-but-earnest "I'm a Tool For You" to the great piano hook of "You're an Icon" to the jangly pop of "It Happens All The Time" to the train sounds of "She Don't Drive", Cantilever is a diverse mix of pop styles that doesn't follow a formula. Kudos to Murphy for making this more than a Shoes rehash (not that that wouldn't have been bad either). CD Baby | Not Lame | Kool Kat

The Satellite Program-Adoration In Retreat. This Seattle band has kind of slipped under the radar, but they have an excellent sound that falls somewhere between straight-ahead power pop and americana/alt-country. This is apparent right off the bat with "Tough When You Tell Me", which jangles with enough grit to please fans of both genres. Other highlights include the rocking "Inside Man", the midtempo "Rollaway", "Red Roses In The Snow", and the moody ballad "Western Electric" (a great song title for this band's sound). You can listen to the whole thing at their official site, and grab it at CD Baby. Or perhaps by the time you read this, it'll be featured on the front page of Not Lame, per the news section of the band's site. Either way, check it out.