December Mega-Roundup.

Making up for lost time with a mega-roundup with twice the albums!

Latvian Radio-Give in to the Night. Patrick Westoo & friends continue to deliver the goods on their seventh album, and it's more of the upbeat, buoyant pop they're known for. Combining new wave and power pop, the standouts here are the breezy "21st Century Shakedown" (complete with horns), the danceable title track, and the almost jangly "She's Back to Kill Again".

iTunes



Goodman-The Era of Buckets. It's been over 2 1/2 years since we last heard from Michael Goodman, but it was worth the wait. His latest collection of tuneful and insistent indie pop is another keeper, with the highlights being the opener "Don't", "Watch Your Mouth" (both reminiscent of AC Newman's work in The New Pornographers), and the heavy power pop of "Shallow (Completely Shallow)".

iTunes



Fallon Cush-Stranger Things Have Happened. Fallon Cush (a/k/a Australia's Steve Smith) is another returnee to these pages as he continues to mine a consistent career threading the needle between indie rock and alt-country, or as I've said before, Teenage Fanclub meets the Gary Louris-led Jayhawks. "Sleep Her Away" might be the quintessential Fallon Cush song with its sweet chorus, and "The Key" finds the alt-country side of things emphasized a bit more. Also of note are the lovely acoustic guitar ballad "Yaraman" and the Band-esque "Tempo over Time".

iTunes



Slumberjet-World of Sound. After a 9-year hiatus from their first collaboration, Barry O'Brien & Duncan Matiland team up again as Slumberjet. Both have had fine solo careers (with Maitland's Lullabies for the 21st Century clocking in at #2 on my 2010 year-end list), and here the whole is even better than the sum of the parts with tracks such as the Beatlesque "Round x 2", the infectious and rocking "(Theme from) Our Street", the could-have-been-an-80s-hit-with-its-synths "Across the Divide" and the McCartney-influenced "The Big Snow". A welcome return and a year-end list contender for me.

iTunes



Saul Glennon-North on Broadway. Saul Glennon is not a solo artist, but rather the name of an Ohio band derived from a Batman comic which riffed on the whole "Paul is Dead" rumor with Saul standing in for Paul and Glennon for Lennon. With that kind of background story, you won't be surprised to see the band draws from 60s and 70s British rock and pop and North on Broadway is a love letter to the area of Cleveland in which they grew up during the 70s. It's also one of the more pleasant surprises I've come across this year with one catchy guitar pop tune after another. From the Todd Rundgren-esque "Hello '76" to the Merseyside sounds of "Meet Me at Morgana" (with shout-outs to McDonald's and the old "special orders don't upset us" Burger King theme) to the whimsy of "Cause I was 15" it works as well as a concept album as it does a collection of cool tunes.

iTunes



The Inside Passenger (Cliff Hillis)-The Inside Passenger. The Inside Passenger is the alter-ego of the great Cliff Hillis, and this short (12 minutes and change) EP is a departure for him, hence the different name. Instead of the pristine power pop he's know for, Hillis has branched out into a more atmospheric sound which he compares to the likes of Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, Elliott Smith, Sparklehorse and Nick Drake. While this aren't his usual toe-tappers, songs like "Truth Be Told", "Listen to Your Mother" and "If I Swam the Seven Seas" see Hillis's melodic gifts put to use in the context of some beautiful, haunting music. Listen for yourself below.

iTunes

Tommy Zamp / Latvian Radio

A couple of new releases to feature before the year-end lists hit next week.

Tommy Zamp-You Don't Know Me. This is the solo debut album for NYC rocker Tommy Zamp (who was a guitarist in the bands Fixer and Circus Life) and it fits squarely into the Butch Walker/Cheap Trick wing of power pop, which emphasizes the "power" part of the genre. Opener "Pretty Girls" sets the tone with its loud guitars, sharp hooks, "la la" backing vocals and rockin' piano, while "Tattoos of Stars" sounds like a lost Walker track with its combination of swagger and melody. "Beautiful Losers" and the closing track "Goodbye NYC" show Zamp's facility with power ballads, while "Time" and "Calling Mother Mary" rock with abandon. Rock around the Christmas tree with this one.

iTunes



Latvian Radio-Pick Your Poison, Pick Your Blues. Longtime AbPow favorites Latvian Radio return with their sixth album, and it's another collection of driving, buoyant pop that will get your toes tapping. Patric Westoo and company do mix things up a bit here - "Shake the Tree" is almost straight-up punk rock - but for the most part it's breezy, almost danceable pop in the vein of New Pornographers and (a more upbeat) The Shins with tracks like "Paranoia" and "Four Letter Word", while "Observations in a Major Key" has a laid-back 70s vibe.

iTunes | Kool Kat

Late March Roundup.

Broken Promise Keeper-Broken Promise Keeper. Georgia's Rob Stuart is back for the first time in six years as Broken Promise Keeper, and BPK doesn't break the promise of prime power pop this time around with Stuart's best effort to date. The sound here is similar to fellow southern power poppers The dBs and Scott's Garage, with the standout tracks being the effervescent "She's So Cool", the Merseyside-influenced "Sasquatch Love" and the jangly "Get My Message". Don't miss out on the bouncy "Play Ball" either.

iTunes



Latvian Radio-Until Tomorrow Gets in the Way. One of my favorites, this New York Band which I've compared in the past to Brendan-Benson-meets-The-Shins is back with another collection of bubbly pop tunes. The indefatigable "Power Lines and Bedroom Blinds" is an instant favorite, while "From the Top of a Building" and "Weight of the World" are shining exemplars of their signature frenetic pop sound. They even use the Bo Diddley beat on "Letter to the National Enquirer", and close out the album with the lovely, reflective title tune. Don't let tomorrow get in the way of adding this one to your collection, get it today.

iTunes



Dropkick-Balance the Light. Speaking of bands that release consistently excellent albums, perhaps none are more consistent than the Scottish roots-poppers Dropkick, who with Balance the Light release their 12th or 13th (I've lost count and am just guessing) full-length album. This one's another fine addition to their canon and if you've liked their Teenage Fanclub-style pop in the past, you'll love this one. Tracks to go on your Dropkick best-of: the breezy "Slow Down", the pensive opener "Save Myself", and the brilliant "Out of Love Again", which perfectly distills their sound.

iTunes

Halloween roundup.

Latvian Radio-For Love & Spite. These New Yorkers return with their latest full-length, another collection of their joyous power pop that will appeal to fans of indie poppers like The Shins as well as traditional power poppers like Brendan Benson. There's plenty to love here, from the jangle pop of "To Find You There" and "On Display" to more reflective numbers like "North of the Keys" and "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors". And with the uptempo melodies of the title track and "Oh No", For Love & Spite is like an instant party you can attend whenever you put on the album. With autumn in full swing, this is perfect record to listen to while enduring the drudgery of raking leaves.

CD Baby | iTunes

The Well Wishers-A Shattering Sky. Consistency, even when at a high level, can sometimes be a curse. This comes to mind whenever it's time to review a new Well Wishers disc because Jeff Shelton is so good at what he does that it's hard to say anything that hasn't be said over the previous five albums and an EP he's released since I started this blog in 2006. And to a large extent A Shattering Sky, Shelton's latest, is "more of the same". But to paraphrase Animal Farm, some Well Wishers album are more equal than others, and I'd say this is his best release since 2005's Under the Arrows. What made that album my favorite of his were the slower, midtempo numbers like "Only Sky" and "Before the Race Was Run". While all of the WW albums in the interim had the top-notch, driving jangle pop tunes, A Shattering Sky stands out for me with the quality of the slower tracks like "The Last to Fall in Love" and "Right Here at Last". Of course there's plenty of the "full-bodied power pop" (as Shelton describes it) to go around here too, and those tunes are great as well, including the jangly "Bring it Back" and "Goodbye" and the rocking "I Believe". This is the Well Wishers album to get if you only have one (and you should have them all).

CD Baby | iTunes

Friday Roundup.

Latvian Radio-Kill the Static. This New York band snuck into my 2009 Top 100 with Seven Layers of Self-Defense, which at the time I didn't actually review. Rest assured they'll place significantly higher at the end of this year, however, as their latest disc Kill the Static is a joyous power pop delight. The best way to describe their sound is a mix of Shins-like indie pop, Brendan Benson and Elvis Costello. The title track is one of the standouts here - catchy, driving and pleasantly agreeable, while "Cigarettes & Soda" combines a new wave beat and sunshine-y pop. Elsewhere, "Dead Weight" could pass for a Replacements-styled rocker, and "Out of Your Mind" is a tasty treat that makes use of horns. A highly enjoyable disc that's perfect for the summer to come.

CD Baby | iTunes



Jonny Scaramanga-Listen EP. An impressive debut EP for this English rocker. Scaramanga fits the classic power pop mold, following the Butch Walker/Cheap Trick template of crunchy guitars and sugary melodies. "It's Good to Be Alive" opens with just the right amount of melody and swagger, and the title track could find its way onto "modern rock" radio. Meanwhile, the power ballad "What If I'm Not Enough?" shows that he has his craft down. Fans of the "power" side of power pop will want to give this a......Listen.

CD Baby | iTunes