Mid-November Roundup.

P. Hux-This is the One. It's been a while since I reviewed a Parthenon Huxley (P. Hux for short) album, but this is the one that got my attention. Most of you don't need an introduction but for those who aren't familmiar, Huxley has been a veteran of the music scene for many years, both as a solo artist and with ELO II. The rocking title track tells us "this is the one we've been waiting for" and it's not wrong, an opener reminiscent of McCartney's "Rock Show", while "September Clouds" has a Tom Petty feel to it. The 70s rock of "Just Sayin'" with its call-and-response chorus is another standout, and "Inside Your Shoes" is pop brilliance. And if you want well-crafted ballads, "Running Home to You" and "Honey Sweet Baby" fill the bill. Hux's best in years and a worthy addition to your collection.

iTunes



Greg Pope-A Few Seconds of Fame. Another artist who needs no introduction on this site is the Pope of Power Pop, Greg Pope. One of the more consistent power poppers of the last 15 years, both solo and with Edmund's Crown, Pope is back with another top notch collection of southern-fried DIY power pop. Once the chunky guitars and shimmering melody of "Forget About You" comes out of your speakers, it's like reuniting with an old friend - and the hits keep coming. "She's Already There" sparkles and shines, and Pope's albums are always good for one unforgettable track. This time it's "Cave Days" in which Pope chronicles a day in the life of a caveman, set to an insanely catchy melody. Also don't miss the martial melody of "Planet Earth" and "Dreams About You, which recalls Elliott Smith in his more rocking moments.

iTunes



Zander Michigan-Kitchen Sink #2 EP. Zander Michigan (the stage name of Alexander Melidis) isn't quite power pop, but it's somewhere between pop and rock and undeniably catchy. "Yoga Poses" boasts a keyboard hook and a chorus that will burrow its way into your brain. "Set Me Free" is heavy guitar pop, and "Watch Your Body Sing" might even be catchier than "Yoga Poses" with another clever piano hook. The 4-song EP concludes with "Colors in Your Eyes", another memorable number which starts as a stately piano ballad but transforms into something louder with ringing guitars in its second half, not unlike Coldplay's "The Scientist".

iTunes

Late September Roundup.

Bubble Gum Orchestra-Sticky Love Songs Vol. 1 and 2. If it's the classic ELO sound you desire, you had to have been excited last fall when Jeff Lynne released a new album as "Jeff Lynne's ELO". It turned out to be fine, but it sounded more like a latter-day Jeff Lynne solo album than ELO in its heyday. This of course meant your next option was to wait for Michael Hildebrandt to release another Bubble Gum Orchestra album. That wait is over, as not only is there a new BGO album, but there's the equivalent of 2 new albums as Hildebrandt has gone Out of the Blue here with the 20-track Sticky Love Songs Volume 1 and 2. With 20 tracks to play with, Hildebrandt spreads out a bit here. Of course you get the vintage ELO sound in tunes like "You Called to Tell Me" and "My World Blue" (a Jeff Lynne title if there ever was one), but you get the straight-up Beatlesque "Peppermint Smile", the more rocking "You Gave Up on Love" (with guest vocals from Lannie Flowers), and even some acoustic guitar on the acid love song "You're Not the One That Got Away". Closing it all is the self-referential "BGO Motel", a track as catchy as it is clever. You won't find this at the usual sites, so click on the link below to listen and purchase.

Sample and buy here

Greg Pope-Guiding Star. The man I named the Pope of Power Pop is back with his sixth full-length solo release (not counting the Pete EP and his best-of compilation) and once again he's delivered another fine collection of southern-fried power pop. Featuring a Stranger Things-inspired cover, Guiding Star demonstrates why Pope is the one of the more consistent artists in the genre. Opener "Innocent Breakdown", with its nervous, insistent beat shows Pope (a one-man band who can drum with the best) isn't content to sit on his laurels, while "Four Leaf Clover" lashes at the singer's dudebro ex in service of a catchy chorus. Elsewhere, "Sun is Gonna Rise" rocks with gusto, the acoustic guitar-based shuffle "I Think Not" is classic Pope, and "If You Want Answers" may or may not have them, but it's a great listen and could have been a hit in another era. No longer the "company man" he was back in his Edmund's Crown days, Pope is now older and wiser and Guiding Star is as humanistic as power pop gets.

Bandcamp



Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms-Basement Punk. Every time I turned around there's another great new release from the Michigan power pop scene. Last time out it was the latest from Nick Piunti and today it's Ryan Allen and His Extra Arms. (Next time it may be The Legal Matters, who have a new one out in a few weeks). Basement Punk is Allen's third album and builds off the promise of last year's Heart String Soul. "Watch Me Explode" is the kind of frenetic rocker that's perfectly situated as the album opener, and "Chasing a Song" is a brilliant bit of pop in the vein of Big Star. "Mal n' Ange" is another winner, sounding like an early-70s English classic rock track complete with guitar solo between the second and third verses, while "Gimmie Some More" is a fun "In the Street"-style rocker. Between the Greg Pope album above and this one, it's a great time for one-man bands.

iTunes

We have (a) new Pope!

Greg Pope-Fanboy. The Pope of Power Pop is back! I'm speaking of course of Greg Pope, one of the genre's best and most prolific artists of the last decade-plus, be it in Edmund's Crown or as a solo artist (Popmonster was my #1 album of 2008). And for those who remember Edmund's Crown, you might be interested in knowing drummer David Sprouse joined Pope on the most of the tracks here, and the opener "New Beginning" wouldn't have sounded out of place on their last release, Regrets of a Company Man. Pope also takes a page from Jeff Tweedy, involving his sons in the album as 17-year-old Asher Pope co-wrote "Pretend it's Yesterday" (a lovely acoustic ballad) and plays acoustic guitar on several tracks, while 15-year-old Noah plays drums on "How it Ends". Meanwhile, quality numbers like the title track (which speaks to us obsessives of all stripes) and "Greater Threat" will end up on that best of Greg Pope playlist you'll undoubtedly compile someday soon. When it comes to Greg Pope, I can't help but be a bit of a "fanboy" myself here, and at his site he's offering up a 23-track deluxe edition of the album that includes acoustic work tapes, demos and the like of the main tracks.

Deluxe Edition | iTunes



Johnny Stanec-No Horizon. Speaking of prolific, Johnny Stanec seems determined to stay on your music player of choice, with his third solo disc out now hot on the heels of last fall's First in Space album. When solo, Stanec trades in the Replacements-style rock of his band for more of a singer-songwriter vibe in the vein of Jesse Malin or Ryan Adams. "Let it Slip Away" starts off slowly and acoustically, and then builds into a full-band anthem, while "The Trouble With Spies" sounds like a track that could have been heard on the radio in the late-90s heyday of the likes of Semisonic and Third Eye Blind. The standout for me, though, is the folk-rockish "Winter's Song", which recalls peak-era Blue Rodeo. A solid effort.

CD Baby | iTunes

Friday Roundup.

Greg Pope-Pop Motion Animation. It's always a good day when Greg Pope releases an album, as his body of work as both a solo artist and as frontman of Edmund's Crown is some of the very best power pop of the last decade. And while the adage "brevity is the soul of wit" is true, brevity is also the soul of power pop, and Pope never outstays his welcome as the 11 tracks here clock in around 28 minutes and leave you wanting more. The opener "Partner in Crime" might be his best opening track since Popmonster's "Sky Burn Down" with its staccato guitar riffs and crunchy melody, while "More Like You" is 1:44 of breezy guitar pop. Meanwhile, "The Mattress" is a southern-styled power pop stomp that's right out of Terry Anderson's playbook with its imagery of losing a mattress off a truck, "Don't Wait" is an acoustic guitar-propelled mid-tempo gem, and "Cloud and Thunder" is a gentle, lovely near-ballad that shows Pope can pull off the slow numbers as well as the rockers. And one could almost view the Police-influenced "Meanwhile Back at the Office" as a sequel or allusion to his last Edmund's Crown record, Regrets of a Company Man. All in all, The Pope of Power Pop has delivered again.

CD Baby | iTunes



Brendan O'Neill-Outside Worlds. Singer-songwriter Brendan O'Neill debuts with a promising 4-track EP which features the guitar work of site favorite Rich McCulley. Like McCulley, O'Neill specializes in smooth-sounding roots pop/rock, and the four songs here leave you wanting more. "Orchard Girl" sounds like a long-lost hit single from the 90s with its slow buildup and powerful chorus, all augmented by McCulley's slide guitar. "Tic Tac Toe" is a soulful number that makes great use of O'Neill's vocals, while "White Picket Fences" is a Wilco-like mid-tempo gem. The reflective "Workin'" closes the EP in fine fashion, and the best part of all this is O'Neill is offering up the EP as a free download at the CD Baby link below.

CD Baby | iTunes

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CD of the Day, 5/9/13: VA-Drink a Toast to Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock

Perhaps the most anticipated release of 2013 to date has been Andrew Curry's "Monsters of Lite Rock" project, funded by Kickstarter, to assemble a compilation of those sort-of-cheesy "lite rock" (also known as "yacht rock") hits of the late 70s and early 80s covered by today's power pop artists. The Kickstarter was successful, and the fruits of Curry's (and the artists') labor is here with the double-disc, 28-track Drink a Toast to Innocence. The lineup Curry has assembled is impressive, featuring the likes of Bleu, Mike Viola, Willie Wisely, David Myhr, Michael Carpenter, Linus of Hollywood, Seth Swirsky and so many more of my (and your) favorite artists.

As with most covers compilations, Toast features the usual mix of faithful re-creations and bold re-imaginings. To what degree you prefer either is always affected by the level of your fondness for the original and the covering artist, but there are plenty of each to choose from here. To me, however, my favorite covers have fallen into a third category: covers that sound like they could have originals by the covering artist. In other words, they make the cover their own. The two here that stand out in that regard are Greg Pope's cover of Poco's "Crazy Love" and Lannie Flowers' version of the Orleans staple "Dance With Me". In Pope's case, it's a great match of cover and artist; by taking the original and speeding it up just a microsopic bit it sounds like one of his typical slightly off-kilter pop gems, while Flowers turns "Dance With Me" into one of his usual rollicking (and rocking) power pop numbers by adding a honky-tonk piano to the mix in contrast to the highly laid-back original.

In the re-imagining department, there are several standouts. The Davenports turn Randy Van Warmer's borderline treacly "Just When I Needed You Most" into a driving power pop track, Lisa Mychols speeds up the David Soul (of Starsky & Hutch fame) ballad "Don't Give Up on Us" and gives it the full-band treatment, while Willie Wisely takes the sexual subtext of The Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You" and makes it the text, complete with moaning female vocals in the outro. Also rocking things up a bit is Vegas With Randolph and their version of Little River Band's "Cool Change". Plus I give them credit for keeping a straight face while singing lines like "The albatross and the whales/they are my brother".

As for the faithful covers, there are plenty to choose from here. Kyle Vincent, whose style is pretty much 70's lite rock and would be a natural to cover any of the songs featured here, is perfect on Ambrosia's "How Much I Feel"; ex-Merrymaker David Myhr captures the spirit of 10cc with "The Things We Do for Love", and the two halves of The Red Button play to their strengths - Mike Rukeberg with the power poppy "Believe it or Not" (theme from "The Greatest American Hero") and Seth Swirsky's eerily channels Henry Gross almost note-for-note on "Shannon", the ultimate tear-jerking dead dog song. Boston buddies Bleu and Mike Viola take on "Baby Come Back" and "Steal Away", each of which sound exactly you'd hear them in your head singing these tracks, but I'll give Viola kudos for starting to sing "What a Fool Believes" at the end of "Steal Away", since the latter was pretty much a rip-off of the former.

Ironically there's no cover here of "Same Old Lang Syne", the Dan Fogelberg lite rock classic from which the title of the compilation derives. Curry has said it was on the list of songs submitted to the artists to cover, but nobody took it up. Hmmm...sounds like an opening for a Volume 2. The lack of Fogelberg notwithstanding, this is without doubt the best covers compilation since Not Lame's Right to Chews from 2002, which had power poppers covering early 70s' bubblegum classics, and it deserves to be highlighted outside the immediate power pop community.

CD Baby | iTunes | Bandcamp

Two for Tuesday, 11/15/11

Greg Pope-Monster Suit (Original Soundtrack). The pope of power pop (or should we just call him the "power pope"?) is back with another collection of top-drawer tracks, but this time with a twist. Not only has he taken the world of independent power pop by storm, but now his creative energies have been turned towards independent film as he's on the verge of releasing "Giant Monster Playset", a short film he wrote and directed. Monster Suit is the soundtrack to the short film, but it's not a collection of incidental music with a few songs scattered among it. Instead, it's a full-length disc that stands on its own and fits right in with his previous releases. There's a lot to like here, from the heavy, cascading guitar rock of "Modern Plaything" to the melodic pop of "Soulless Heart" to the anthemic "Hero". The acoustically-strummed "The Chance You Don't Take" harkens back to Pope's Edmund's Crown days, and "Place on the Hill" sounds like a lost classic rock gem. Pope's been on quite the creative run the last few years, and we're all enjoying the ride.

CD Baby | iTunes



The Liarbirds-Allegedly. This Greek band caught my attention in 2008 with their debut EP Second Quartet, and three years later they've emerged with an impressive full-length followup. They have an easy, melodic sound that brings Teenage Fanclub, The Byrds and Cosmic Rough Riders to mind, and opener "Chewing Gum" is an impressive statement to this end, as it merges laid-back verses with an intense power pop chorus. "Running Mind" is another breezy wonder, and "Fortune Tells May Tell You" will have you thinking you're listening to Daniel Wylie's latest. "Soul Keeper" has a retro-60s vibe, while "Disarray" finds them in good form on a slower number. An impressive record, and it's nice to see good news out of Greece for a change these days.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

New Greg Pope album - free! (for a week)

Wow - a nice holiday gift for everyone: the new Greg Pope album Blue Ocean Sky, and it's free for the downloading until December 20th. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but unless he's now into death metal or Yoko Ono-like screeching, it should be great.

Download it at his official site.

EP Thursday.

Greg Pope-Pete. It's Greg Pope's power pop world, and we're all just living in it. That's the only conclusion to be made after he's followed up last year's Absolute Powerpop #1-rated album Popmonster with this brilliant 7-song EP. Pope's sound is a compendium of power pop through the ages - from British Invasion to the "mod" sound of The Who to straight-up 70s styled Badfinger/Raspberries pop to the today's modern power pop. The seven tracks here clock in just under 18 minutes, with "Fall Into Your Arms" a blast of an opener like Popmonster's "Sky Burn Down", while the slinky "How Do You Do It" has a....oh hell, all 7 tracks are great, just go listen to them below for yourself. All I can say is "Jeez Greg, give someone else a chance for the top of the year-end lists some time".

CD Baby | MySpace

Pop Archeology Transmission-Welcome to the New Improved Dark Ages. Another act that released a fine 2008 album is back with an EP of new material, as this Portland band releases the followup to It Is What It Is. They're kind of a mix of Derby, Guided by Voices, and The Shins with some Milk & Honey Band thrown in, with no filler among these four tracks. And one can almost hear a little early Elton John on the title track and a bit of Alan Parsons on "Rain on Your Window". Good stuff.

CD Baby | MySpace

Rob Holub-Stranger on 2nd Avenue. OK, here's someone who isn't following up a 2008 release. This is the debut EP from NYC's Rob Holub, who serves up six quality tracks of piano pop, as you might have guessed from the cover. Holub leans to the softer side of pop here, in the manner of the recent Brian Dilts EP. Opener "Pick Me Up" has a Coldplay feel to it, while "Just a Pop Song" boasts a fine chorus. Meanwhile, "Miss Face Book" might be the first Web 2.0 social media-themed track I've come across (perhaps there'll be a Twitter-themed track on the full-length). Go ahead and add him as a friend.

CD Baby | iTunes

CD of the Day, 10/15/08: Greg Pope-Popmonster

One of the more underrated power pop bands of the last several years has been Edmund's Crown, whose Regrets of a Company Man was one of my favorite releases of 2006. The Tennessee band has been one of the leaders of "southern power pop", along with artists like The Luxury Liners (whose frontman David Dewese has ironically just released a solo disc of his own), The Rewinds and Bill Lloyd. The man behind the Crown is Greg Pope, and he's out with his solo debut that not only continues the Edmund's Crown sound but expands upon it (and which sports pretty cool album art to boot). Popmonster is a true solo debut as well, with Pope writing, singing and playing all the instruments on each track.

Freed to do his own thing, Pope lets loose a total of 16 tracks here but there really isn't any filler. Opener "Sky Burn Down" lets you know you're not in Kansas (or at least Tennessee) any more as he revs up a Robert Pollard-style rocker in both sound and length (2:08). "I Got a Life" is another infectious barnburner which recalls both Matthew Sweet and The Who in places, while "Lost My Friend" and "Playing Nashville" travel in more familiar Edmund's Crown territory. "The Only Thing I've Got" also clocks in around 2 minutes, and has a definite Alex-Chilton-by-way-of-Paul-Westerberg vibe. Other standouts include the aching Jon Brionesque pop of "Only One You", the jangly "Footpath", the bright Americana-influenced "Little Things", and "Reason With You", another track that would have fit on nicely on Regrets of a Company Man.

A real tour-de-force and with Halloween approaching, this Popmonster will be scaring its way up my year-end list.

CD Baby | MySpace