Late July roundup.

Todd Herfindal-Two Track Mind. It's been a long wait but ex-Meadows frontman Todd Herfindal is back with a new album, his first since 2013's Right Here Now. As always Herfindal is ably assisted by longtime collaborator Rich McCulley, who plays on and co-wrote several of the tracks here, and Two Track Mind is another collection of his roots-infused power pop. Opener "Bright White Light" has a "Wanted Dead or Alive" vibe to it, and "Muddy Water" is a stomping rocker while "Lucky One" has the signature Tom Petty-influenced sound of The Meadows. Other standouts include the midtempo "Bound for the Sun" and the straight-up power pop of "Sweet and Low (Get That)". A welcome return.

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Scott Gagner-Hummingbird Heart. Hummingbird Heart is the latest from Scott Gagner and a fine followup to 2017's Pins & Needles. Gagner remains one of today's more thoughtful singer-songwriters and this latest collection is another example. His songs range from folk/rock to power pop and once again the legendary (and indefatigable, judging by how many records he shows up on) Ken Stringfellow of The Posies collaborates. Leadoff track and lead single "Bella" definitely leans to the power pop side of the equation and it wouldn't be out of place on a Posies album while "Baby Gets What Baby Wants" is another catchy number complete with handclaps. "Other People" is a real highlight, a wonderful folk/rock song which gradually builds to a peak, complete with piano and a late guitar solo, the title track is a languid beauty with sweet backing vocals from Omega Rae, and the roots rock of "You Can't Break a Broken Heart" belongs on a late-70s playlist somewhere. And that's just the first half of this 13-track album, which should place highly on my year-end list.

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Farrington-Pictures of Pretty Things. LA's Farrington is one of the more exciting new artists to come across my radar this year and their debut album is a love letter to glam 70s rock/pop (and mastered by Andy Reed). After a couple of throat-clearing rockers to start the album the fun begins with tracks influenced by Elton John ("Stones"), Queen ("When I Was You", "The Love Show"), Jeff Lynne/ELO ("Hey Mr. Rock'N'Roll"), Jellyfish ("Stupid Plastic War", "Maybe if You Leave Her", "Blue"), and even some Ken Sharp ("Long Way to Nowhere", "Violins"). If you're looking for a new favorite band, you can do a lot worse than Farrington.

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Early October Roundup.

Scott Gagner-Pins & Needles. Scott Gagner is back with the followup to 2014's Rise & Shine, and he's brought the help - among the luminaries contributing here are The Posies' Ken Stringfellow (who helped out last time) and Pete Thomas, Elvis Costello's drummer in The Attractions. This is about as good as singer-songwriter rock gets, from the bright opener "Someone" to the Americana-ish "El Rancho Inn" to the psychedlic pop of "The Ghost of Me & You". There's also straight-up power pop ("You Don't Know"), a lovely piano ballad ("Place in This World") and the album closer, a wonderful version "America the Beautiful" that was originally recorded for his grandmother's funeral as she wished.

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The Safes-Tasty Waves. I've always enjoyed these unreconstructed power poppers from Chicago, but their latest is a leap forward in songcraft and their best to date. Reminiscent of The Lolas and other similar early 2000s bands, they also draw on influences such as Rockpile and Guided by Voices to produce a bunch of quick-hitting melodic gems (no track here tops the 3-minute mark). They're all fun, but special marks go to "Hometown", "Crystal Ball", and "Mind of its Own".

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Mozley-X. The most reclusive man (band?) in power pop serves up his (their?) 10th release, hence the title. I've been writing about Mozley on these pages for over 6 years and I'm still no closer to knowing anything about the artist than I was then, given the complete lack of an internet presence except for these releases that seem to drop every 6 months or a year. X is 8 more tracks of Replacements/Big Star-styled rock. Highlights here are the opener "Staying Home Tonight", "Roll the Dice" (which has become one of my favorite Mozley tracks) and the Westerbergian "Dopamine Machine". Long live Mozley, whoever the hell you are.

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Jon Latham-Lifers. Regular readers will know that my second-favorite genre after power pop is Americana, and last year I had a top 20 Americana year-end list. Normally I don't review that genre here, but I feel compelled to give a mention on these pages to Jon Latham, who had my favorite Americana album of 2015 (Real Bad News) and follows that up with Lifers. Coming in somewhere between Steve Earle and Jason Isbell (before Isbell got all sober and respectable), Latham's tunes crackle with rootsy rock-n-twang and excellent songwriting. Just about every song has a story to tell, from the "Lifers" of the music scene to "Kimberly Met Billy", a 21st century "Jack & Diane" that drops so many 80s rock references that I couldn't stop smiling. And "Learning Now" is a melodic rock tune that will even catch the ear of power poppers. If your tastes run at all in the Americana field, Jon Latham is your new favorite artist.

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Midweek Roundup.

Electrolic-Live on Land. Electrolic is the latest project from Scott Gagner, who's released discs under his own name and Cartographer that have been featured on this site. This time around, he's teamed up with Steve Enstad for a work that's similar to his previous offerings but a bit more electronic and psychedelic. "Hello Hello" is a catchy opening number that serves the purpose of its title, while "Benefit of the Doubt" is the kind of lush, intricate pop Gagner has become known for, but with a synth twist. The highlight here is "Refreshing", which at its roots is a jangly pop song but becomes a distillation of what the album is all about with its drum loops and psychedelic sheen. Also of note are "After the Fall" (another jangler at heart) and "Belmont Pedigree" (a twisty rocker recalling later-period Wilco). While this is all a bit off the beaten power pop path, it's still rewarding and enjoyable listening.

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Paul Rocha-Crayons. Californian Paul Rocha describes Crayons as "British Invasion by a left-handed American" and his take correctly pegs the album as a somewhat quirky, tongue-in-cheek evocation of Beatlesque pop. Rocha's pop is similar to artists like Roger Klug and XTC, and opening track "Sevens into Nines" gives you a good idea where he's coming from as it segues from sweet pop into a White Album-like guitar freakout into a bombastic pop song. Meanwhile, "Peaches and Lemon Lime" takes a slight psych turn (love that sitar) in its straight-ahead power pop, "Medicine Ride" is McCartneyesque chamber pop, and "Don't Go in the Water Now" and "Fairies in the Yorkshire Glen" have that Andy Partridge pastoral feel. Elsewhere, Rocha offers up his twisted yet melodic outlooks on Amelia Earhart, peace signs on the wall, and why nobody names their babies Adolph (or OJ or Lee Harvey) any more. Another excellent pop disc in a year full of them.

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CD of the Day, 1/24/11: Scott Gagner-Rhapsody in Blonde

San Franciscan Scott Gagner is back, and if the name doesn't ring a bell it might be because he's known to readers of this page as Cartographer, who released an excellent EP right about three years ago. With other acts using the Cartographer moniker, Gagner decide to go with his own name on the full-length and it's a disc anyone would be proud to put their name on. With more room to breathe, Gagner expands his sound on Rhapsody in Blonde to encompass psychedelia, folk/rock and Americana in addition to power pop.

However, it's power pop that grabs you out of the gate here with "I Hate to Say", an effervescent number that adds a bit of that famous Motown bassline into the mix. The quality jangle-pop of "Speak & Spell" follows, and "Laura No. 1" recalls prime Marshall Crenshaw. Elsewhere, "Ride" and "Take Two" are fine rockers with a 70s sheen.

As alluded to, Gagner isn't afraid to change gears. The spare "Right Before My Eyes" is a gorgeous acoustic number, and "Love You More" is almost in Roy Orbison territory with its pedal steel and emotional falsetto chorus. "Houdini" manages the trick of bringing the Pernice Brothers to mind, and "Laura No. 2" is haunting dream-pop. "Golden Mean" is 7 minutes of psychedelia that serves well as an album closer, but Gagner decides to add a coda, a hushed acoustic cover of Guns'n'Roses' "Sweet Child O'Mine" that shows Axl Rose for the folkie he may be at heart.

Rhapsody in Blonde is the work of a real talent and although it's extremely early, Gagner is the leader in the clubhouse for top album of 2011.

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