It's IPO Time Again!

One of my favorite annual power pop traditions is the release of the new International Pop Overthrow compilation. This year sees compilation #16 from David Bash, the man behind the festivals and the discs. As always, the IPO compilation works on two levels - one as a sampler of some of today's best independent power pop artists, and the other as a chance to sample new artists in the scene. The former is represented by tracks (new and old) from the likes of Lannie Flowers, Dave Rave, Jeremy, Adam Daniel, The JAC, Didn't Planet, Lisa Mychols, Laurie Biagini, Stephen Lawrenson and Private Jets.

Among the new artists, the tracks that caught my ear (and will lead me to investigate these artists further) are Mothboxer, whose "Shame it Always Rains" leads off the compilation and boasts a groovy, psych-pop sound that recalls The Green Pajamas; the straight-ahead power pop of the Cronin Tierney Band's "Harmony", Hawk Bjorn's piano-popping "Who Do You Say I Am"; Cool Whips' "Boom Shang-a-Lang" which you might guess is goofy fun; the edgy, mod sound of Norrish Reaction's "Let it Go"; the fine garage rock of Gooey's "Watch Out"; the Ray Davies-esque "Mrs. Reginald" courtesy of John McMullan; and the jangly pop of Salvadore Dali Llama's (love the name) "City in the Sky".

Head on over to the official IPO site to hear a nice sampler of tracks from the compilation - maybe some of those will strike your fancy. The IPO comp always make a great holiday gift for the power popper on your list, or of course a fine gift from you to yourself.

Kool Kat | Amazon

CD of the Day, 11/18/12: VA-International Pop Overthrow Vol. 15

One of the more welcome annual traditions in the power pop community is the release of David Bash's International Pop Overthrow compilation, guaranteed to be 3 CDs of top-shelf power pop with new tracks from old favorites and a wide variety of tracks from up-and-coming power poppers. Volume 15 is no exception, including many artists who have been featured on these pages such as The Condors, Private Jets, Clockwise, The Foreign Films, The Afternoon, Vegas With Randolph, Throwback Suburbia and The Shamus Twins. But it's the new discoveries that make these compilations special, even for those who consider themselves well-plugged in to the scene.

Disc 1 starts off, however, with one of the genre's icons. As most of you know, Shoes are back with the first album in ages and the fine "Head vs Heart" is one of the better tracks off their highly recommended return, Ignition. Among the lower-profile artists, the standouts here include the Stonesy rawk of Marvin Etzioni's "The Grapes of Wrath", Fireking's jangly "So You Say You Lost Your Baby", the Who-like power chords of The Seasongs' "New Love" and the 60s pop of "Yesterday" by The Secrets.

Disc 2 opens with the harmonic, melodic pop/rock of King Washington's "The Gears", and The Sunychmes' "Revelations in Her Mind" is a great introduction to their 60s California sound found on their latest disc, Let Your Free Flag Fly. Other treats include the Brill Building pop of "The Coast is Clear" from The Housekeeping Society, Norman Kelsey's 70s R&B-influneced "On the Rebound", and the 70s AOR of "No One to Blame" by the wonderfully-named Salvador Dali Llama.

Disc 3 features the great retro-pop of Portland's The Cry ("Modern Cinderella") and the Beat Rats ("Only 16"), the trippy psych-pop of The Pondhawks' "Drive", some fine Popicana from the (unfortunately-spelled) Pengwins in "Naive", and the bright 60s pop of The Airwaves' "Miracle". And things close on a high note with Ed Tulipa's "Barbie", a catchy midtempo Beatlesque tune. These IPO compilations always make a great holiday gift for the power popper on your list, and not a bad present to buy yourself.

Kool Kat | IPO site (with streaming IPO 15 tracks)

CD of the Day, 3/19/09: International Pop Overthrow Volume 11

A yearly rite of passage in the power pop community, the International Pop Overthrow 3-CD compilation is a tribute to the state of independent power pop, the artists themselves, and the man behind the curtain, David Bash. Every year, the IPO comp features great tracks from established artists and tracks off upcoming albums, but the real treat is making new discoveries of some of the lesser-known artists.

First of all, any compilation featuring tracks from arists that have been featured on this site like Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Private Jets, The Backroom, Leave, Wiretree, The Respectables, Peter Baldrachi, Kai Reiner, Steve Caraway, The Afternoons, Chris Brown, and The Tomorrows is worth it for that alone. And then you have the new tracks yet to be released. Plasticsoul's "Throwaway" is one of the best songs here, and has me salivating for his followup to 2005's brilliant Pictures from the Long Ago. Throw in great new tracks from The Vandalays and The Ringles as well, and it gets even better.

But it's the new discoveries that always make the IPO comps so much fun, and here are a few that are featured (you may find others that stand out for you):

Service Group. "I'm in Love" shows off their Knack-influenced, vaguely new-wavy (with a dose of Superdrag thrown in) style of power pop. It's off their 2007 release Principals of Electronic Circuitry, which you can check out at CD Baby, or on MySpace

The Generous Days. These Norwegian poppers offer up "Smile", a Beatlesque treat complete with the stacatto, "Getting Better"-like chords and recall fellow Scandinavian poppers Private Jets. MySpace

Pleasure Trip. Their "Without You" is a new track to IPO, but it's of a piece with their self-titled 2007 debut, a fine blend of power pop, Americana, and 60-styled roots pop.

Twenty Cent Crush. "Summer (You Know My Name)", the leadoff track of Disc 2, is a great confection of sunshiney 60s pop from a band comprised of advertising professionals. They've been around for quite a while, but haven't released much material, so this is your best place to get this fine track. MySpace

As always, the comp is on the Not Lame label, and you can get it from the source here.

CD of the Day, 1/24/08: Various Artists-International Pop Overthrow Vol. 10

Year in and year out, the IPO compilations are the best bang for the power pop buck going. The latest edition has been out a while, and I finally get around to it today. I always look at these comps as comprising three categories: great tracks by "known" artists (this year The Orchid Highway, Evan Hillhouse, Admiral Twin, The Afternoons, Nelson Bragg, Chris Brown, Kelly's Heels, The Well Wishers, etc.); new tracks by known artists that are teasers for their next disc (Naomi Star, The Ringles, The Pulltops, The Tearaways); and the best reason for picking up the discs: the unknown artists who hit you out of left field with a great track. Needless to say, it's the latter category that I want to concentrate on here.

A couple of months back, I touted Morton Richter as someone who caught my ear from this comp, but in the time since, there have been several more:

Brownline Fiasco. Their fine track "Milk & Honey" is on Disc 1, and their late 2006 release New Revolution is worth your listening time. They're a "christian rock" band, but don't let that put you off - the preaching is kept to a minimum and the big hooks are there with the power pop sound of bands like Cheap Trick, The Knack, etc. CD Baby | MySpace

The Dirty Royals. Their IPO entry, "Cover Up The Sun", is one of the catchiest tracks on the whole compilation. It's great jangle pop that has a bit of a Swedish feel to it. Interestingly, they're Anglo-American, and their only proper release to date, the EP Obsessed America (which doesn't have this track), has a somewhat different, more punkier sound, but is still worth checking out. Keep an eye out for what these guys do next. CD Baby | MySpace

All Day Sucker. This LA band contributes "Picture", a new track from their forthcoming disc The Big Pretend. It's catchy as hell, with a radio-ready pop sensibility. Their 2004 self-titled debut is worth a listen as well, especially the amusing "Worst Case Scenario". CD Baby | MySpace (with several additional new tracks streaming)

David Levin. The title track from his new disc Criminal is featured here, and it's a great singer/songwriter soft rock track which will appeal to fans of Neil Finn, Ben Folds, etc. CD Baby | MySpace

These four are by no means the end of discovery on the disc; I'm still checking out some of the artists that are new to me, and who knows, I might have another one of these posts. It's truly the best value in power pop.

Meanwhile, I can't let a review of IPO 10 go by without singling out the first track on Disc 2: Kelly and Kimberley's "moc.emalton". In case the title intrigues you, just read it backwards. You may never visit their site again without hearing this track in your head.

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