New at Kool Kat Musik.

We've been kind of partial around here to Not Lame, but another "Kool" place to buy power pop is Kool Kat Musik. Although KKM sells all genres of music, they have a specialty store within that concentrates on our kind of stuff. And Ray, the guy in charge there, has promised to keep me apprised of the latest they receive. So without further ado, here's what the Kat has new for us:

Robert Post-Robert Post

I've been spinning (or should I say my iPod's hard drive has been spinning) this one for a couple of months. Post is from Norway, and has emerged big time in Europe (the disc is only available as an import in the US). Post gives us pure pop of the highest order, from the bouncy, anthemic "Got None" to the Neil Finn-esque "High Tide" and even a little David Mead in "There's One Thing". Although some might lump him in with the David Grays and James Blunts of the world, Post is a superior artist and deserves the same, if not more, success.

You can sample his wares at his official site (just click on "media"), and stream four tracks (including "Got None" and "There's One Thing") at his myspace page.

Patrik Tanner-Soft.

This is a 2004 release I picked up early last year, and it's a good one. With an album titled "Soft", you're kind of know what you're getting. And Tanner delivers the goods - this is quality singer/songwriter pop. My favorite track is the Beatlesque "Hello Tomorrow", complete with chimes at the end.

The best place to sample is the cdbaby page, and yes, Virginia, he has a myspace page with four streaming tracks.

Abandon Ship-The Best Game

This one is brand new, and I have to confess I'm not familiar with these guys. I will note that on name alone, they'd make a good double bill with Barnacle Bill. (I've always called for a double bill of Anthrax and The Cure, but they've never listened to me.) Anyway, I'm doing what any of you who might be interested in checking them out would do, and that is to listen to the samples at their cdbaby page (where it's out of stock, by the way). They self-describe by saying "this is indie pop", and from what I'm hearing as I type, it's a spot-on description. It sounds like fans of the Spectacular Fantastic will enjoy this one.