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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My Top 20 of 2005, #9: Randy & The Bloody Lovelies-Lift

Randy & The Bloody Lovelies' Lift was one of the truly special and unique releases of 2005. I was quite happy to see it be featured by Not Lame the other night, as this album deserves all the exposure it can get.

But while Not Lame used contemporaries like Ben Folds and the Argument for comparison purposes, Lift takes me back to the sophisticated piano pop and distinctly English-influenced pop that was commonly heard in the first half of the 1970s. The piano men most in evidence here as influences are Randy Newman and early Elton John, and I even hear some Gilbert O'Sullivan and Leo Sayer (the Leo Sayer of "Long Tall Glasses" that is). There's a bluesy, almost cabaret-style undercurrent to many of these tracks as well. And the vocals here remind me of Chris Rea circa "Fool (If You Think It's Over)". All in all, piano pop doesn't get much more tuneful and sophisticated than Randy Wooten & Co. have managed here.

There are so many great tracks on this album that I almost feel I'm slighting some by pointing out others. But particular standouts are "Pop" (as in "I'm about to"), "Isabella" (featuring a great slinky piano groove), "Red Carpets" (the outstaning opener), the early Elton-influenced "New Disguise", and the beautiful ballads "Wondrous Things" and "Blue Horizons". If what I've described is remotely your bag, do your best to scrounge $13-15 from your couch cushions, break open the piggy bank, or dip into your child's college fund and pick this one up.

And make sure you check out their site. Let it launch, and watch the amusing Kiev character in the hotel lobby. Just make sure you click on him and select "shut up" when you stream the album, which you can do so there with a few well-placed clicks. You could start at the beginning, but go right ahead to "Pop", one of my top 10 tracks of the year. If you're put off by Kiev, or can't figure out how to shut him up, go over to their myspace page, where you can stream "Pop", "Wondrous Things", "Blue Horizons" and the also-outstanding "Twilight Kids".

Oh, and did I mention that you can get this album via eMusic? One more reason to subscribe if you haven't already.