While Marco Joachim's 2007 debut Songville was a fine album recommended on this site, he really took a quantum leap with last year's Hidden Symphonies, a Beatlesque marvel that made my top 10. Now he's back with a new single with a 70s R&B-influenced feel, "Made in the USA". and you can have a listen below:
CD Baby | iTunes
Showing posts with label Marco Joachim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marco Joachim. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Absolute Powerpop Top 75 of 2011: The Top 10
As I had hinted elsewhere, I'm doing something different this year at the top of the list. Because I didn't have a clear-cut, slam-dunk #1 disc of the year, I've decided not to arbitrarily designate one. So instead I'm presenting my top 10 in alphabetical order. They could each be #1, or they could each be #10. Either way I highly recommend them all and hope you already have all or most of them in your collection.
Phil Angotti-People and Places. Sweet, McCartney-esque pop from a veteran musician whom I belatedly came around to. "Me and Donnie Vie" was one of my favorite tracks of 2011.
Cirrone-Uplands Park Road. An audacious debut for this Italian band, who draw as much from Big Star and Badfinger as they do contemporary power poppers. Perhaps 2011's best "traditional" power pop album.
Marco Joachim-Hidden Symphonies. Joachim's previous rootsy, Wilbury-ish release in no way prepared me for this tour de force which I originally only mentioned on the site in passing. A bright ELO/Beatles melange, it really grew on me.
Steve LaBate-The Dead Art of Letter Writing. LaBate's Replacements-meet-The-Clash solo debut was an impressive achievement for a guy better known as a Paste Magazine writer/editor and a member of a rock-comedy act.
David Mead-Dudes. Reuniting with Adam Schlesinger, Mead got his mojo back and came up with the singer/songwwriter album of the year. "The Smile of Rachael Ray" was named NPR's Song of the Day last week and deservedly so as it might have been the most poignant thing he's written.
Meyerman-Who Do You Think You Are? A rare achievement for this New Jersey band - not only did they craft a power pop album with killer hooks and riffs, they also crafted a power pop album that's a meta-commentary on the state of power pop and being in a rock band. On whichever level you enjoy it, it's definitely a revelation.
Michael Oliver & The Sacred Band-Yin & Yanxiety. Since Cliff Hillis decided not to release an album in 2011, Michael Oliver did it for him. Like the former Ike/Starbelly pop wizard, Oliver has an effortless way with a melody and a hook, and he writes intelligent lyrics to boot. What more can you ask for?
The Red Button-As Far as Yesterday Goes. So they'll probably never top 2007's album-of-the-year-on-this-site She's About to Cross My Mind. So what? If Swirsky & Ruekberg can keep releasing discs as pop-perfect as this folowup, I won't complain. Instead of making Cross My Mind 2, they took a chance and decided to tackle the 70s singer-songwriter milieu. I'm thinking that 80s synth-pop will be a tougher nut to crack, though, should they decide to advance another decade next time.
Brandon Wilde-Hearts in Stereo. And here's the David Grahame/Emmit Rhodes/early solo McCartney album of the year. "Candy Apples" and "Ooh La" would be the near the top of my favorite tracks of 2011 list, were I to make one this year.
Miles Zuniga-These Ghosts Have Bones. At long last my favorite half of the Fastball singing/songwriting team released a proper solo album, and it's a gem. Mature, lyrical, hooky and assured, it's a nice blend of pop styles that reveals Zuniga as the songwriting pro he is.
Phil Angotti-People and Places. Sweet, McCartney-esque pop from a veteran musician whom I belatedly came around to. "Me and Donnie Vie" was one of my favorite tracks of 2011.
Cirrone-Uplands Park Road. An audacious debut for this Italian band, who draw as much from Big Star and Badfinger as they do contemporary power poppers. Perhaps 2011's best "traditional" power pop album.
Marco Joachim-Hidden Symphonies. Joachim's previous rootsy, Wilbury-ish release in no way prepared me for this tour de force which I originally only mentioned on the site in passing. A bright ELO/Beatles melange, it really grew on me.
Steve LaBate-The Dead Art of Letter Writing. LaBate's Replacements-meet-The-Clash solo debut was an impressive achievement for a guy better known as a Paste Magazine writer/editor and a member of a rock-comedy act.
David Mead-Dudes. Reuniting with Adam Schlesinger, Mead got his mojo back and came up with the singer/songwwriter album of the year. "The Smile of Rachael Ray" was named NPR's Song of the Day last week and deservedly so as it might have been the most poignant thing he's written.
Meyerman-Who Do You Think You Are? A rare achievement for this New Jersey band - not only did they craft a power pop album with killer hooks and riffs, they also crafted a power pop album that's a meta-commentary on the state of power pop and being in a rock band. On whichever level you enjoy it, it's definitely a revelation.
Michael Oliver & The Sacred Band-Yin & Yanxiety. Since Cliff Hillis decided not to release an album in 2011, Michael Oliver did it for him. Like the former Ike/Starbelly pop wizard, Oliver has an effortless way with a melody and a hook, and he writes intelligent lyrics to boot. What more can you ask for?
The Red Button-As Far as Yesterday Goes. So they'll probably never top 2007's album-of-the-year-on-this-site She's About to Cross My Mind. So what? If Swirsky & Ruekberg can keep releasing discs as pop-perfect as this folowup, I won't complain. Instead of making Cross My Mind 2, they took a chance and decided to tackle the 70s singer-songwriter milieu. I'm thinking that 80s synth-pop will be a tougher nut to crack, though, should they decide to advance another decade next time.
Brandon Wilde-Hearts in Stereo. And here's the David Grahame/Emmit Rhodes/early solo McCartney album of the year. "Candy Apples" and "Ooh La" would be the near the top of my favorite tracks of 2011 list, were I to make one this year.
Miles Zuniga-These Ghosts Have Bones. At long last my favorite half of the Fastball singing/songwriting team released a proper solo album, and it's a gem. Mature, lyrical, hooky and assured, it's a nice blend of pop styles that reveals Zuniga as the songwriting pro he is.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday night Link-o-Rama.
I have a bunch of new releases I want to spread the word about but don't have the time or motivation to write about them at length, so I'll just briefly summarize and provide the pertinent links.
The Hard Way-Tell Me When You Can't Breathe. Remember back in 1977 when the Klaatu record came out and people thought it was the Beatles under an assumed name? Well, substitute 2011 for 1977, The Hard Way for Klaatu, and Superdrag for the Beatles and you get the picture here. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Eric Bay-Pair Shaped. Fine debut EP from this British singer/songwriter who has a McCartneysque flair. Absolutely love the track "Cheer Up". CD Baby | Facebook | iTunes
The Test Dream-Shades of Love. Full-length debut from a band whose EP I featured a couple of years ago (did that lead them to send me a copy of the new one? No, I had to find it on my own. Hmph). Dreamy indie pop that meets the promise of the EP. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Dan Kibler-Capsule. How ironic that I feature a disc named Capsule in a blog post consisting of capsule reviews? OK, not that ironic. Anyway, Kibler (when not making cookies with elves) is a Pennsylvania guitarist who's played with Parallax Project and has this album produced and engineered by Shoes' Jeff Murphy. And the tunes match the pedigree, so give it a listen. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Marco Joachim-Hidden Symphonies. When we last visited Marco Joachim, he was releasing Songville at the end of 2007. That disc found Joachim channeling Wilburys-era Bob Dylan; this one finds him switching Wilburys to Jeff Lynne as he's gone for a more ornate and hooky sound. Verdict: it worked. "Those Days" has that late-period ELO sound down and "Things You Do" is bouncy Beatlesque pop. A very pleasant surprise. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
The Hard Way-Tell Me When You Can't Breathe. Remember back in 1977 when the Klaatu record came out and people thought it was the Beatles under an assumed name? Well, substitute 2011 for 1977, The Hard Way for Klaatu, and Superdrag for the Beatles and you get the picture here. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Eric Bay-Pair Shaped. Fine debut EP from this British singer/songwriter who has a McCartneysque flair. Absolutely love the track "Cheer Up". CD Baby | Facebook | iTunes
The Test Dream-Shades of Love. Full-length debut from a band whose EP I featured a couple of years ago (did that lead them to send me a copy of the new one? No, I had to find it on my own. Hmph). Dreamy indie pop that meets the promise of the EP. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Dan Kibler-Capsule. How ironic that I feature a disc named Capsule in a blog post consisting of capsule reviews? OK, not that ironic. Anyway, Kibler (when not making cookies with elves) is a Pennsylvania guitarist who's played with Parallax Project and has this album produced and engineered by Shoes' Jeff Murphy. And the tunes match the pedigree, so give it a listen. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Marco Joachim-Hidden Symphonies. When we last visited Marco Joachim, he was releasing Songville at the end of 2007. That disc found Joachim channeling Wilburys-era Bob Dylan; this one finds him switching Wilburys to Jeff Lynne as he's gone for a more ornate and hooky sound. Verdict: it worked. "Those Days" has that late-period ELO sound down and "Things You Do" is bouncy Beatlesque pop. A very pleasant surprise. CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes
Monday, December 31, 2007
Last post of 2007 - New Year's Eve Roundup.
With all of my limited (at this time of year) time for the blog being devoted to assembling the year-end lists, I've started to get a backlog of discs I've been meaning to mention. So before I head out for New Year's Eve (and before I spend tomorrow watching football), here are a few discs to consider while waiting for the big ball to drop:
The Janglemen-Tearjerker & 9 Others. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that this late-year release made the top 125 at #74 yet had no previous mention on the site. That oversight is remedied now, as this New York City band wins the Truth-In-Advertising Award; "jangle" is the operative sound here, and they'll appeal big time to fans of Bobby Sutliff, Walter Clevenger, Roger McGuinn, etc. In other words, Rickenbacker heaven. CD Baby | MySpace
Marco Joachim-Songville. Staying with our theme of NYC artists with a something-other-than-NYC sound, this singer-songwriter will appeal to anyone who loved Bob Dylan's stuff with The Traveling Wilburys. Opener "There" has a real "End of the Line" feel to it, and "Dream Away" will bring to a smile to anyone who enjoyed the Smith & Hayes disc. Great stuff. CD Baby | MySpace
Soft Gong-Pretend You Need Me. These guys hail from the power pop hotspot of Boise, Idaho, and have an interesting origin story. They started out playing cover tunes as the house band for a marketing company, and gradually branched out to doing their own stuff. Perhaps the absurdity of corporate life contributed to the wry lyrical perspective found in tracks like "Night School Sweetheart" and "My Sweet Embraceable Defeat". First-rate power pop here, and maybe David Bash should look into an IPO Idaho. CD Baby | MySpace
Dion Read & The Afterthoughts-The Shoes & Gloves EP. An impressive debut from this piano-based Aussie. He cites the Bens (Folds, Lee, Kweller - and Affleck) as influences, and you can hear certainly hear them (OK, maybe not Affleck). It's only four songs, but it's worth every penny as the quality is high. Had this one come earlier in the year, I'd have found a spot on the top 10 EP list for it. CD Baby | MySpace
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