Late August Roundup.

Bryan Estepa-Sometimes I Just Don't Know. Bryan Estepa may have titled his new album "Sometimes I Just Don't Know" but that phrase hardly applies to whether you should get a new Bryan Estepa release as the Aussie has shown over the past 15 or so years that he's as consistently good as they come in the power pop community. With his signature brand of melodic pop/rock that owes as much to power pop as it does to Brian Wilson-styled California pop and roots rock/Americana, there's just one quality track after another here. I've already reviewed the singles "I'm Not Ready for This" and "No Ordinary" but among the previously unheard "Like the Cruel" (with it's "whoa-oh-oh" chorus) and "Drawn Like Magnets" are the standouts. Sorry other artists, but a year with a Bryan Estepa release means one fewer spot in my year-end top 20 for you to grab.

iTunes



Rob Laufer-The Floating World. Another beacon of consistency over the last 15 or so years has been Rob Laufer, although his new albums are fewer are farther between. The Floating World is his first since 2010's Excruciating Bliss, and it finds him in fine form again albeit this time in a bit of a softer pop mode. As always, these are well-crafted tunes which are easy on the ear, from the Harrison-esque opener "Avalanche" (featuring some fine slide guitar) to the chugging "Bolt of Blue" (featuring Danny McGough on "alien signals") to the title track (as pretty-sounding as the title implies) to the stately "This River". First-rate pop that can be called "adult contemporary" as opposed to the pablum that typically is given that label.

iTunes



The Junior League-Adventureland. And the theme of today's post - proven commodities - is complete with the latest from Joe Adragna's The Junior League. No waiting nine years here, though, as he follows up 2018's Eventually is Now with a more raucous collection than usual. The none-too-subtle signal for this is that the opening track is titled "Heavy" and it features louder and crunchier guitars than previous JL releases. Melody is not sacrificed in the process, though, and Adventureland is clearly the most "power pop" of today's three featured albums. "Have Faith in Yourself" (written by The Minus 5's Scott McCaughey) follows with just enough touch of weird (dig those swirling keyboards) to pass for a Minus 5 track, while "Falling in Love" hews more closely to Adragna's traditional sound, a catchy number with handclaps and female backing vocals. Elsewhere, "Queen of the Dead" and "Town in a Box" rock loud, making Adventureland the Monster of Adragna's catalog (and by the way, Monster is my favorite R.E.M. album, so there).

iTunes

CD of the Day, 3/17/10: Rob Laufer-Excruciating Bliss

Rob Laufer should be a bigger name in power pop circles than he is. As I wrote in my review of his previous disc, 2006's The Iron Age, "Rob Laufer is a pro. A pro's pro, in fact. He's played George in Beatlemania, he's played with Frank Black and Fiona Apple, he's produced, he's written for commercials, and he wrote "Reactionary Girl" (a great track) for Robin Zander's first solo disc." The Zander connection continued as he played live with Cheap Trick on their Sgt. Pepper DVD. Perhaps his problem is that his solo discs are few and far between; Excruciating Bliss is only his third disc over a 15-year period.

On the new disc, Laufer branches out a bit from his Beatles/Marshall Crenshaw/Jon Brion template to incorporate some contemporary pop stylings. Not that's he rapping or going American Idol on us, but opener "Come on Sunshine" makes use of some almost Beck-like psychedelia, and "Bad Math" has an acoustic punk feel to it. That's not to say that Laufer has abandoned the hook. Far from it, as "New Life" is "She's Leaving Home" on steroids; "Faith" is the kind of Macca-influenced number that David Grahame is famous for; and "Mary Entertaining" is 3:35 of vintage power pop.

Other highlights include the Michael Penn-like "Tears of Home" and the driving, catchy "Someday I Know". It's too bad we have to wait an average of 5 years for new Rob Laufer music, but 2010 is our lucky year. It's available now on CD Baby and will get a wider release on April 6.

UPDATE (4/6): Lala embed and iTunes link now available.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

CD of the Day, 8/23/06: Rob Laufer-The Iron Age

Rob Laufer is a pro. A pro's pro, in fact. He's played George in Beatlemania, he's played with Frank Black and Fiona Apple, he's produced, he's written for commercials, and he wrote "Reactionary Girl" (a great track) for Robin Zander's first solo disc. And now he's released his first solo disc in 11 years, The Iron Age. It was worth the wait.

This is a disc that will appeal to fans of David Grahame (another Beatlemania alum - he played Paul), Jon Brion and David Baerwald (remember David & David?). It's great singer/songwriter pop/rock, and it contains one of (if the not the) best songs I've heard this year: "Did You See Her Dance". It's a perfect combination of Grahame, Marshall Crenshaw and McCartney. There are plenty of other highlights as well: rockers "Inside Story" and "Open", the ballads "Mister Perry" and "Sweet Downfall", as well as the Brionesque "Angelyne" and the jaunty "In The Frame", currently used in an HP television ad.

Four tracks from the disc are streaming at his myspace page, while the full disc can be sampled and bought at CD Baby. There's also a music player at his site, but I couldn't get it to work.

UPDATE: Per the comment from NY Mary, note that The Iron Age is available on eMusic, and her comment also contains a link to her post on the album.