The Absolute Powerpop Top 100 of 2017, #1-50.

Here's the top half of the list, and since I never did formally review the album at #1 I'll say a few words about it below. 2017 was another pretty good year for pop, and I say "pop" instead of "power pop" as 2017 was a great year for softer pop, be it 70s AM Gold-style pop or Bacharachian pop or more baroque pop. Albums from Brent Cash, Bill DeMain, Rob Martinez and Kyle Vincent held down spots in my top 50 (Cash and DeMain in the top 10), while Almost Charlie, Dave Caruso, Paul Steel and Lewis Wilson were in yesterday's bottom half, plus tomorrow's EP list will feature an EP tiled AM Gold.

1. The Nines-Colour Radio (American Transistor)
The Nines have been a long-time staple of these lists, and have released albums in the autumn of each of the last three years. But the previous two were soundtracks, while this was their first proper album since their self-titled 2013 release and it's perhaps their best to date. Steve Eggers & company tried on a lot of pop styles and wore them all quite well, from the ELO-influenced "Crazy Little Girl" to rowdy piano pop of "On and On She Gets By" to the straight-up 70s R&B Stevie Wonder-influenced "You Can Get More Than This" and "Don't Be Losing Your Game". And as always Eggers shines on piano ballads such as "Guess I'm Crazy" and "I'm Lucky". This album really is like listening to an American transistor radio circa 1975, and that's as high a compliment as I can pay.

2. Pugwash-Silverlake
3. Liam Gallagher-As You Were
4. Corin Ashley-Broken Biscuits
5. Theo Katzman-Heartbreak Hits
6. Brent Cash-The New High
7. Bill DeMain-Transatlantic Romantic
8. Hornal-The Game Begins With the Lights Out
9. Plasticsoul-Therapy
10. Chris Lund-Great Event Syndrome
11. Derrick Anderson-A World of My Own
12. Terry Anderson-Jimmy's Arcade
13. Darryl Rahn-Everything is Fine
14. Brian Jay Cline-Hang Ups
15. Blitzen Trapper-Wild and Reckless
16. Scott Gagner-Pins & Needles
17. Wesley Fuller-Inner City Dream
18. Colman Gota-Fear the Summer
19. Eyelids-Or
20. Tommy Zamp-You Don't Know Me
21. Greg Ieronimo-Never Leaving California
22. Hemlock Pop-Crushing on What Might Be
23. Gospelbeach-Another Summer of Love
24. Koria Kitten Riot-Songs of Hope and Science
25. Rob Martinez-Today My Mind...Tomorrow the World
26. The Hangabouts-Kits & Cats & Saxon Wives
27. Trip Wire-Cold Gas Giants
28. The Safes-Tasty Waves
29. Matthew Sweet-Tomorrow Forever
30. The Lunar Laugh-Mama's Boy
31. Bret Bingham-The Well Curve
32. Dave Keegan-S/T
33. Marble Party-Sometimes a Great Ocean
34. Cotton Mather-Wild Kingdom
35. Kyle Vincent-Miles & an Ocean
36. Shane Nicholson-Love and Blood
37. Sitcom Neighbor-Shag
38. Paul Bertolino-Toy Box
39. Christopher Galen-The Master Plan
40. Ruby Free-Shades
41. Danny de la Matyr-Crybaby
42. Jesse Terry-Stargazer
43. The Rallies-Serve
44. Daisy-Ornament & Crime
45. John Rooney-Still Here
46. The Glad Machine-S/T
47. The Fisherman-Down
48. Dan Auerbach-Waiting on a Song
49. Rich McCulley-Out Along the Edges
50. Eric Harrison-Mercy Road

Mid-November Roundup.

The Nines-Alejandro's Visions And now for something completely different. OK maybe not completely different, but Steve Eggers & Co. (with help from The Foreign Films' Bill Majoros) have returned in the space of a year with the "soundtrack" to Alejandro's Visions, a fictional 50s/early 60s movie that has allowed them to branch into 50s rock-and-roll, doo-wop, early Beach Boys, and other sounds that were the rage among the cool kids of that era. Additionally, many of the songs open with radio jingles or dialogue from the "movie" to add to the mise-en-scène. So from the pre-rock era "I Have Found You" and "My Sweet Marie" to the Beach Boys-ish "Escape from a Small Town" to the Phil Spector-influenced "Operator (Coming Home to You)" the album is a tour-de-force of early rock era pop styles. Throw in a couple of classic Eggers ballads in "And Suddenly" and "When Our Love Was in Bloom" and you have one of 2016's most interesting, if not best, releases.

iTunes



Denny Smith-An Overnight Low. The frontman of The Great Affairs and fORMER finally put his own name on the cover with his solo debut. Unlike the harder-edged pop of fORMER, his solo excursion is more a piece with his other band; in other words, classic mid-tempo pop/rock that's radio-ready (90s radio that is). "Silver Lining" opens the album in fine fashion with just the right dose of melancholy to go along with a winning melody, while the more uptempo "Hard Stop" finds the golden mean between Butch Walker and The Gin Blossoms. "All in the Livin'" is an upbeat, acoustic number that's quite ingratiating, and the power ballad "Missing You" is another delight. Smith isn't going to reinvent the wheel, but that doesn't mean the ride isn't still smooth.

iTunes



Preston Cochran-Sunshine EP. Preston Cochran's Sunshine is one of the best EPs of 2016, but I have to dock him points for not releasing this until the fall, so what could have been the soundtrack of the summer will instead have to brighten your day as the leaves fall and the temperatures drop. As its name implies, the title track is a jangly delight of 12-string guitars, a pretty melody and a catchy chorus, while the buoyant "Superstars" does nothing to kill the buzz of its predecessor track. Elsewhere "Ocean Drifting" boasts a Beatlesque sheen and the carefree "Sunday Poetry" captures the sunny, pastoral vibe of the album cover.

iTunes

Midweek Roundup.

The Nines-The Nines. The Nines are back! Their self-titled latest is their full album of all-new (well almost all-new, as "Jack McGee" was on their CQDZ Transmission Files EP many years back) material since 2007's Gran Jukle's Field. Steve Eggers & crew once again deliver their ELO-meets-1980s-Moody-Blues power pop, although this new one isn't quite the genre-hopping affair Gran Jaukle's Field was. Opener "Blackout" is a blast, with fake crowd noise and a funky backing that builds into a quintessentially Nines chorus and it's following by "Far Away" a driving piano-based number that channels Ben Folds. Meanwhile, the garage riffs of "Jackie Smokes" and the Bleu-like "No More Time" add to the fun. Elsewhere, "Don't Worry Misery" and "Martin" are in the spirit of Eggers' classic piano ballads, and the jaunty "Seasons" recalls The Red Button. Odds are if you're a reader of this site, you already know The Nines, so if you haven't picked this one up already, run - don't walk - to your nearest online retailer.

CD Baby | iTunes



Bohemian Radio-On the Air. Bohemian Radio is Brooklyn's Brett Stratton, and his debut here (billed to be the first in a series of releases) is a loose concept album about a fictional radio station, WBOH, that plays a variety of genres from rock to pop to Americana. After an acoustic intro number and a station ID, we get the Replacements-style rocker "About Nothing", built around a nice guitar riff and followed by the midtempo "The Sky Was Brighter", which sports a memorable chorus. Other standouts include the moody power ballad "Sincerely", the banjo-backed "Summer Friend", and the Cheap-Trick-meets-The-Ramones straight-ahead power pop of "Fan Club". The album closes with the wonderful "What Have You Done?", a wistful ballad with a lovely melody, and "WBOH Signing Off", a hypnotic electro-rock number that repeats the station's call letters. Stratton shows quite a bit of potential here as he masters multiple genres but never loses sight of the hooks, and I look forward to his next installment.

CD Baby

CD of the Day, 10/25/07: The Nines-Gran Jukle's Field

It's probably not an understatement to say that The Nines' Gran Jukle's Field might be the most anticipated power pop release of 2007; after all, 2006's Calling Distance Stations was perhaps the most well-received disc of the year in the power pop community, placing #1 on the year-end Audities list (as well as a pretty high #23 on my list). So the question on everyone's mind is "Does it live up to expectations?" In a word: no. But that's not a bad thing. Whereas Stations had a fairly cohesive sound (80s Moody Blues meets XTC meets ELO), Gran Jukle's Field is an exercise in pop eclecticism - their motto here could have been Monty Python's "And Now For Something Completely Different".

It's perhaps no accident that Bleu (of recent L.E.O. fame) and Jason Falkner were involved with this disc, as opener "Insanity (The Sanest Thing You've Got)" is a rollicking delight that's pure Jellyfish in a McCartney-meets-Queen way. While Falkner's stamp might be all over that track, Bleu's is apparent on the track he produced, "Dance Just For Me", in which he lends his LEO production sound to Steve Eggers' plaintive tale of being in love with a stripper. Meanwhile, Eggers & Co. induldge their love of smooth R&B/disco-inflected pop with "Don't Be a Fool" and "I Am Lost", the latter of which would have fit in unnoticed on the last Scissor Sisters disc. Not your style? Then try "Chantel Elizabeth", part drinking song, part sea shanty. And if you act now, you also get the bossanova of "Safe" (which reminds me of The Pernice Brothers' "Cronulla Breakdown"), the pastoral-era-Kinks sound of the title track, and the countrified "Find Our Way Back Home". Finally, for those who wanted Calling Distance Stations II, you have a quartet of tracks ("Eileen", "She Hijacked Me", "Virginia" and the "Sexy Sadie"-ish "Monotony's Song") that could be packaged in a red can and sold as Nines Classic.

And after all that, I just have to say "Wow". Although you may get genre whiplash from listening to it, every song on the disc is excellent, and I definitely see them higher than #23 on my 2007 list and an Audities repeat at #1 wouldn't shock me either.

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