Late August Roundup.

Marshall Holland-Paper Airplane. San Francisco's Marshall Holland is back with his first pop album in 6 years, and it's a welcome return. Holland's brand of winsome pop draws on bands like The Posies and artists like Brendan Benson and Ken Sharp. Some of these songs speak to our world today, like the driving, Attractions-era Elvis Costello stomp of "Our Fate" and the anti-Trump "Whatcha Gonna Do". Elsewhere he gives us timeless-sounding tracks like "When the Rain Comes" and "Waiting for the Peace & Love" which display his effortless-sounding pop as well as the McCartney-esque, largely acoustic "When a Hand Holds a Bird". And the sophisticated 70s singer-songwriter title track recalls Seth Swirsky. Another best of 2020 contender.

Bandcamp



J.P. Cregan-Twenty. We've waited even longer for a new J.P. Cregan full-length as it's been 8 years since Man Overboard, and it's also great to have him back. Twenty is a concept album (or to use today's preferred term, a "song cycle") about his 20 years of marriage but you don't need to follow the concept to enjoy his sweet pop confections. "History of Man" is a great opener with melody and drive, and "In California" sounds like a old folk song brought to life with its martial beat and harmonica. "Pay to Play" is the kind of upbeat power pop you get from Michael Carpenter and Cliff Hillis, and "The Belle of USC" recalls the skinny tie sound of the late 70s. And "Fern, Destroyer of Worlds!" could almost be a lost Guided by Voices track. There's not a bad track here (I'm not counting the interstitial bits).

iTunes



Robby Miller-Robby Miller EP. I don't know much about this guy and I forgot how I stumbled on to this EP about six weeks ago, but it's good stuff and "Lovesick Again" is the kind of silly pop that gets stuck in your head for good. "Freya" and "Take a Smile" are classic guitar pop, and "This Guy" and "Perfect Form" are perfectly fine ballads, but the gooey pop of "Lovesick Again" and its 80s-sitcom theme song sound is something else. You'll be hearing "Can't go in to work/whole body hurts/guess who's lovesick again?" on repeat in your brain if you dare listen.

iTunes

Pre-Thanksgiving Roundup.

J.P. Cregan-Elba. JP Cregan's 2009 debut Man Overboard was one of the more pleasant surprises of that year, placing #12 on my year-end list. Now he's back from exile with his followup full-length Elba, and serves proof the debut was no fluke. Opening track "Wreck" is a great slice of melodic pop which practically swings with its playful guitar riff and horns, "Here it Comes Again" is straight ahead power pop in the Cliff Hillis/Michael Carpenter vein, and "Saw Her on the Metro" has enough of a wall of sound that it recalls a Jeff Lynne production. But in addition to the traditional power pop sound, Cregan moves into foik/rock territory on a few tracks, including the winsome acoustic-based "Susie, Please" and the near-rockabilly of "I Want to Let You Know". This is definitely another strong candidate for the year-end Top 20 in what's shaped up to be a very strong year for power pop.

CD Baby

The Pozers-The Sun's Going Down. Another artist unveiling their sophomore effort is The Pozers, whose debut disc Embrace Your Addiction got quite a bit of love in power pop community back in 2004 before yours truly got immersed in the scene, and on the basis of their fine newly-released followup I'm going to have to back and check that one out. As for The Sun's Going Down, it's a tour de force of power pop styles produced by none other than Roger Manning. The fuzzed-out guitars of "Spacecar" answer the question of what Guided by Voices would have sounded like in 1968, the loping yet melodic "All She Wrote" could pass for a lost Nuggets classic, and "The Separation" expertly evokes Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys. They may be retro, but when you get retro this right you can't be wrong, and that's no pose.

CD Baby | iTunes

Lala embeds added.

Thanks to their becoming available on Lala subsequent to my original reviews, you can now listen to Valley Lodge's Semester at Sea and J.P. Cregan's Man Overboard in their entirety by scrolling down to the respective reviews below. A great way to spend the next hour and fifteen minutes or so.

CD of the Day, 4/15/09: J.P. Cregan-Man Overboard

As those who subscribe to my Twitter feed might know, I'm big into fantasy sports as well as power pop. But never the twain shall meet - or so I thought until I ran into the debut release of LA's J.P. Cregan. For those into fantasy basketball (I'm a baseball and football guy myself), you may know him as ESPN's John Cregan, who writes a column on the topic at espn.com. But to those in the power pop community, you'll be knowing him as J.P. and you'll be enjoying his debut release Man Overboard as one of the top singer/songwriter discs of 2009.

Cregan isn't a musical novice - he's played in several bands and is currently in Parklane Twin, a "Popicana" band who put out a fine 2007 disc. But on his solo debut he emphasizes the pure pop (for now people) and it's all catchy as hell. Although opener "Carolyn (The Pledge Drive)", with its Nick Lowe/Brian Jay Cline-style country/roots vibe, might be lumped in with his band work, it's a springboard to the power pop stylings of "Count to Three" and "Barbara is Strange", perhaps the album's best track - pure ear candy with Beatlesque backing vocals, tambourines, fine Telecaster work, and a great melody.

That opening three might be worth the price of admission alone, but the hits just keep on coming. "Jeni", with its "Misery"-style tumbling piano chords, a Costello/Lowe melody and chiming British Invasion guitars, is another standout. "Out of Our Minds", with its Spectorish opening, is a treat, "Miss Highland Park" lays on the handclaps as it recalls Marshall Crenshaw, "Shouldn't Take it (So Hard)" rocks a la Matthew Sweet, and "Winter of '85" both namedrops and serves as an answer song to Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69". The disc ends on a high note with "The Underdog", another outstanding Elvis Costello-inspired track. In the vernacular of fantasy sports, Man Overboard is a no-brainer first-round pick, a power pop equivalent of Albert Pujols, Adrian Peterson or LeBron James.

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