Two for Tuesday, 2/19/13

JoDee Purkeypile-Messenger. Former Alice Rose frontman JoDee Purkeypile is back with his second solo album after his triumphant 2011 release October House, and Messenger is a more than worthy follow-up. Once again, Purkeypile purveys polished indie pop with a touch of a British influence - kind of like Glenn Tilbrook meets Jon Brion, with a hint of Elliott Smith. The piano-backed "Cruel Movements" opens the disc and is both melodic and haunting, the insistent guitars of "I Think It's Alright" and "My Inner Me" bring Bends-era Radiohead to mind, and the jaunty "Wired Wrong" has an AC Newman feel to it. The proceedings close nicely with the title track, which boasts a serpentine melody and biting lyrics. This is first-rate stuff, and an early contender for Best of 2013.

CD Baby | iTunes

The Amprays-Brave New Strange. Another act returning to our pages is The Amprays, whom we last heard from with 2007's Low Sun Fire. This Ohio band largely consisting of former members of Rosavelt has a sound that draws from Guided by Voices, The Replacements and Wilco, and those who fondly recall the debut will want to check this one out. "M.I.A.", with its stripped-down sound and plea to "be there" recalls another favorite of this site, Wiretree; "The Farthest Close" reminds me of one of Jeff Tweedy's midtempo numbers on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot without all the bells and whistles, and the raucous but short "4 Blank Walls" is where the Westerberg-meets-Pollard comparisons come in. Elsewhere, the fuzzed-out guitars of "All of This Hasn't Happened" is another example of GbV-styled rock, while "Cold Sweat Goodbye" is the kind of earnest, melodic ballad their forebears effectively used as a change of pace. Again, nothing groundbreaking here - just 9 quality tracks that won't wear out their welcome and feel like music for grown-ups.

CD Baby | iTunes

CD of the Day, 10/16/07: The Amprays-Low Sun Fire

Kevin Grasha doesn't have your ordinary musician's biography. First of all, Grasha is a journalist who, according to his site, "has interviewed Kim Deal of the Breeders, Barack Obama, at least three convicted murderers, and a man who auctioned on eBay appearances of a cup filled with water that Elvis allegedly drank in the 1970s." Meanwhile, he also underwent an emergency craniectomy (that's brain surgery) a few years back. More conventionally, he was once in Rosavelt, a band who put out a fine record in 2004 called The Story of Gasoline only to break up later.

But all of this would be merely another human interest story if his record didn't rock. But it does, and Low Sun Fire by The Amprays (Grasha's band/project which includes a couple of other ex-Rosavelt members) is music for the ears of anyone who's into The Replacements, early Wilco and Guided by Voices. "Levitate" comes roaring out of the gate, nailing their sound with guitars and hooks all wrapped up in 2:24. "Less Than Safe at Last" is reminiscent of the better moments of Paul Westerberg's solo career; "I Woke Up" would have fit in nicely on Wilco's AM and "The Stuntman" is where the Robert Pollard comparisons come in. While The Amprays may be not reinventing the wheel here, they're certainly doing their best to keep it spinning in a manner that you can rock to.

CD Baby | "I Woke Up"(mp3) | "The Stuntman"(mp3)