Mid-May roundup

Joe Benoit-Greetings from Forest Hills, NY EP. Judging by the Ramones homage of the cover, you'd be forgiven for thinking this new EP from former Regulars frontman Joe Benoit is full of short and sweet punk rock tunes. Instead, it's a crackerjack collection of power pop and classic rock that starts off with "Waiting for Revolution", a soaring pop tune that finds the golden mean between The Gin Blossoms and Big Star and is one of my favorite tracks of 2019. "Paying the Toll" is a Cheap Trick-styled number, "Easy to Seem" would sound at home on your local classic rock station, and "Disconnected" finds Benoit in one-man band mode on a searching ballad.

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Joe Sullivan-Growing Up Schlockstar. Futureman Records' Michigan machine continues to roll along with Joe Sullivan's followup to 2014's Schlock Star, an outstanding debut which finished #13 on my year-end list. The sequel is more of a "prequel" as Sullivan mines his childhood memories for many of these classic-sounding power pop tunes, including the "Penny Lane"-esque "Greenfield Acres", the midtempo "Gifted and Talented" (complete with Brian May-esque guitars and help from the gifted and talented Brandon Schott) and his mash note to a "Cheerleader". And after closing Schlock Star with a Star Wars-inspired tune Sullivan ends this one with "Space Princess", a clever pop tune which could be about Leia & Han, but isn't necessarily. Fellow Futuremen Andy Reed and Donnie Brown contribute to the proceedings as well, and I could see this one somewhere around #13 at the end of this year too.

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Lolas-A Dozen or Seven Tapestries. The last few years have seen several artists which I thought I'd never hear from again re-emerge with new music, and the latest entry in that category are the Lolas, who haven't released a proper album of new music since 2006's Doctor Apache. Tim Boykin & Co. sound like they haven't been away for 13 years as the title track embodies the high-energy power pop they'd been known for, usually clocking in at well under 3 minutes per tune (as all but one track here does). "Bon Voyage" are "Indigo" are another couple of quick and catchy nuggets, and "Lightning Mountain (NSFW)" is only not safe for work if your co-workers can't take power pop awesomeness. Welcome back, boys.

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Friday Roundup.

Joe Sullivan-Schlock Star. 2014 has the year of Michigan power pop, with quality releases from The Legal Matters and their constituent members (Chris Richards, Andy Klingensmith). The latest in the pipeline might be the best yet, as Saginaw's Joe Sullivan (with major help from The Legal Matters' Andy Reed) gives us the highly catchy and highly infectious Schlock Star. Opening with the Beach Boys-influenced "Conspiracy Radio", Sullivan displays his pop chops right away, and the "ba-da-da" chorus of "Nurse Tracy" will stick in your head. Elsewhere, the bubblegum pop of "Okinawa Girl" stands side-by-side with the Paul Simon pop of "Sean Patric's Balloon" and the pensive "Look at Me Now", which reminds me of one of Reed's crafty compositions. Star Wars fanatics will enjoy the album closer, "Victims of the Sarlaac", but you don't need to know the difference between Jabba the Hutt or Pizza the Hutt to find it enjoyable. Right now, this is a Bandcamp-only release, but you can get the CD or the mp3s.

Bandcamp



Willodean-Willodean. One of my favorite discs of 2005, and really of the previous decade, was Randy & The Bloody Lovelies' Lift, which featured piano pop of the highest order with a sophistication not often seen in the genre. The "Randy" in question here was Randy Wooten, who also supplied the husky, pack-a-day vocals that added to the atmosphere. Wooten then dropped off the radar, and there was no followup to Lift. So I was quite pleased to see Wooten resurface with Willodean, teaming up with Eric Holden and Dan Barrett with the latter providing vocals in the same raspy manner as Wooten and the former on upright bass. The result is a soulful melange of pop and Americana with a bit less piano than Lift but a worthy listen nonetheless. From the laid-back vibe of "Pieces" to the late-night cabaret feel of "Ghost Town" to the pop-with-pedal steel of "Oh Darkness", there's a nice mix of sub-genres here. But the real fun to be had here is the catchy "Julie Drinks With Demons", which will have any Bloody Lovelies fan grinning from ear to ear.

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