Two for Thursday, 6/20/13

Travel Lanes-Hey, Hey, It's Travel Lanes! Philly's Frank Brown has been in the power pop scene for quite a while now, in bands such as Flight of Mavis and Buzz Zeemer, and most recently went solo with 2005's excellent Out of the Blue. He now returns with 3 of his fellow Philadelphians as Travel Lanes, and their 7-song debut EP is a treat for fans of Tom Petty and The Replacements. The catchy "Scared of Girls" opens the EP, with Brown's Elvis Costello-styled vocals and the driving rock beat recalling EC's own "Red Shoes", and "Intervention" could pass as one of his mid-80s guitar ballads. "Delinquent" is a sardonic and melodic mid-tempo tune that's Graham Parker meets Nick Lowe, while "Let You Down" closes the EP in riff-rocking fashion. No frills here, just high-quality rock like they used to make it.

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Third of Never-Downrising. Kurt Reil doesn't let the grass grow under his feet - while not churning out records with his main band The Grip Weeds and releasing solo material, he's giving us new music with side project Third of Never, and Downrising marks that band's full-length followup to 2007's Moodring (with a split 2011 EP in between). Downrising features more of Reil's retro rock, kind of The Grip Weeds meet The Smithereens (literally so to an extent as Dennis Diken guests on drums). In between the various interstitial instrumental tracks that give it a 20th-century album feel are some top-drawer tunes. The driving "Automat" is a standout, with verses that recall The Moody Blues in their more rocking moments and a chorus that channels the Weeds. Also of high quality is the jangly "Green Roses", while "So Long" is classic psychedelic rock and "On My Way" betrays a hint of The Move. A classic example of classic rock.

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Two for Thursday, 8/18/11

Wiretree-Make Up. The career of Kevin Peroni (a/k/a Wiretree) has coincided with the existence of this site; his debut EP was one of the first reviewed here. So it's been interesting to follow him these past 5-6 years and see how his sound has evolved. He's gone from the Tom Petty/Wilburys sound of the debut and Bouldin to more of an indie rock sound with Luck, and has completed the transition here with Make Up. The one constant has been the songwriting, and whatever the subgenre, Peroni has consistently given us fine tunes. This time around, it's the ringing guitar chords of "Make Up", the catchy heartland rock of "Broken Foot" and the rollicking "The Shore", which is reminiscent of Green Day's "Holiday". The disc even closes with the Jayhawks-like country ballad "Josephine". But there are a few remnants of the classic Wiretree sound here with "Tinyhearts" and "Tonight". Overall, it's nice to see him branch out without sacrificing the quality of the tunes, and I look forward to what comes next.

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Third of Never, Kurt Reil & CJ Grogan-Life Saver (Three Fifths of a Third EP). Grip Weeds alert! Fans of that longtime power pop band will want to grab this split EP, which features lead singer Kurt Reil's Third of Never side project, two tracks from Reil himself, and two others from CJ Grogan (also in Third of Never). Third of Never's title track is excellent (and leads us to hope a followup to 2007's Moodring is the offing), Reil's catchy "Gonna Find My Way" is another standout, as well as his psych-rocking "Wake Up Time". Grogan's "Tracer" is an energetic rocker, but his piano ballad closer "Margaret" meanders a bit. Still, 4 out of 5 ain't bad.

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