Early March Roundup.

The Dates-Ask Again Later. To paraphrase the old saying, you can't judge an album by its cover, and while the debut from this LA band's cover looks like your typical adenoidal punk-poppers it's not. Instead, this is a beautifully melodic Big Star/Teenage Fanclub-inspired collection of jangle pop that's one of the year's early best. "Any Other Nite" would fit right in on Bandwagonesque, and "Star" would do likewise on #1 Record or Radio City. And get lost in "Summer Girls", probably the quintessential song title for a band like this.

iTunes



The Popravinas-Willy Nilly. The Popravinas have always struck me as the West Coast equivalent of New Jersey's The Successful Failures, as both bands serve up a mix of rock, power pop, alt-country and roots rock filtered through a humorous yet sardonic outlook. On their latest, the band (pronounced POPE-ravinas) find themselves "Talkin' Out Loud", hanging out in "Tim's Basement", and "Almost Sick" while finding a "Hard Way (to Make an Easy Living)". It's all very fun, and very catchy.

Bandcamp



Lund Bros-"Loser" 1993-97 - Remasters and Rarities. Back before they were indie power pop darlings, the Lund Bros started out in the early 90s as a melodic bank who caught attention of Geffen Records, who funded their recordings for a "speculation deal". Geffen rejected them (their loss) for sounding "too much like The Beatles" (as if that isn't a feature and not a bug). Rather than changed their sound for the man, they kept on keepin' on and now they've released those unearthed gems from that era. Despite Geffen's misgivings this is actually more of a harder melodic rock sound than their recent stuff, but still excellent in a Cheap Trick sort of way.

CD Baby

Thursday Roundup.

The Popravinas-Everybody's Fault But Ours. This Santa Monica band pronounces its name with a long "o" (as in "Pope" rather than "pop"), which you'll find out right off the bat with "Popravina Weekend", a track that encapsulates their good-timey, power-pop-meets-alt-country sound - think a more down-to-earth Old 97s crossed with an American Faces. The band is led by Eddy Sill, late of the semi-legendary LA band The Mutts, who were kind of SoCal's answer to The Replacements back in the 80s and 90s. Plenty of quality tracks here, including "She's Got Fashion", "Biggest Shot" and the fine midtempo number "She Feels 101". Pick this one up and have your own Popravina Weekend.

CD Baby | MySpace


The Jeff Michael Band-The Other Side. Jeff Michael can best be described as a one-man Traveling Wilburys, at least the Tom Petty and George Harrison part of that supergroup. On the band's debut EP, Michael combines Petty's jangle pop and a Harrisonesque voice to fine results, with "When Will I See You Again" and "Straight Line" sounding like outtakes from the Wilburys' Volume One. The John Hiatt-ish "Enjoy The Ride" is another winner, and the EP closes with "Empty Lives", a track heavily influenced by "Tomorrow Never Knows" with its hypnotic drums and backwards guitars. As I always say with quality EPs, bring on the full length!

CD Baby | MySpace


Chewy Marble-Modulations. Theyyyy're baaaack! After a seven-year absence, Chewy Marble is back with the third disc and it's like they never left. Now on Nelson Bragg's SideB label, they serve up a disc of classic power pop that bridges the gap between Badfinger and Cheap Trick. "She Roxx" namedrops Britney Spears and Ozzy Osbourne while it, ahem, roxx; "Don't Look at the Sun" breezes by with effortless grace; meanwhile, the Brian Wilson-influenced "Cross Hatched World" is another standout, and "Picture The Finger" sounds like it could have come off of Badfinger's Straight Up or No Dice. All I can ask of them is that they don't make us wait another seven years for #4.

CD Baby | MySpace