Early June Roundup.

Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men-Downtime. Nick Piunti has been the gold standard for indie power pop over the last decade with year-end top 10 spots for all four of his previous releases, so a new record is always a welcome thing. This time around he bills his backing band and the more the merrier as Downtime is another lean, mean collection of 10 instant power pop classics. With the backing band more prominent there's a slightly harder edge to the tunes but not at the expense of melody. Opener "Upper Hand" will wake you out of whatever slumber you were in, "Every High" is one of his typical could-have-been-a-hit-in-the-80s tunes, and "Gonna Be Good" is both one of the better tracks on the album and what I'm thinking when I hear there's a new Nick Piunti album.

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The Breakup Society-Before the Intervention Ruined Everything. Power pop isn't always known for its sharp or clever lyrics, but Ed Masley and his band The Breakup Society have been giving us tunes with a twist for a while now. A search of my archives reveals that this is the first time I've written about them, an injustice I'm remedying now. Masley's lyrics are reminiscent of a less bitter, less acerbic Elvis Costello and the music is first-rate. Titles like "My Little Cautionary Tale", "Slow Day at the Outrage Factory", "Her Alpha Male" and "Don't Let the Hipsters Catch You Crying" speak for themselves and you'll have your share of "aha" moments while listening. And album closer "Strength Was Always Your Weakness" was co-written by kindred spirit Scott McCaughey, with his Minus 5 catalog being another touchstone for Masley & Co.

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Tom Curless and the 46%-Almost Ready for the Future. Like Nick Piunti above, Tom Curless is an honorary member of what I call the Michigan power pop mafia, and also like Piunti he brings his backing band, the 46%, front and center on his latest solo release. This is his second under his own name; before that he had released several albums as Your Gracious Host. This one's a more rocking affair than his 2018 album Songs of Movement and you could put the album on a playlist with Piunti's and it would fit right in. "Always in Between" gives the album rocket fuel right out of the gate and following is probably the album's best track "House on Fire", which throws in some cheeky Cars-esque synths. "Just Wanna Talk" has a bit of a Beck vibe (without the white boy rap) while "Unexpected Knock" rocks hard. Whatever future you're almost ready for, it should include Curless's latest.

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Streetcar Conductors / Tom Curless

Streetcar Conductors-The Very Best of Streetcar Conductors. Naming your debut album The Very Best of is a cheeky thing to do, but technically true (of course it's just as technically true that it's The Very Worst of). Nevertheless Jonathan Moore and friends live up to the billing here as this does play like a greatest hits album from a parallel universe as right off the bat we get "Pushover", a Jellyfish-vibed number that pushes all the power pop (belly)buttons, and with Carmen Charters providing harmony vocals and its prominent synths "Let's Not (and Say We Did") could pass as a New Pornographers track. Other "greatest hits" include the 70s singer-songwriter pop of "Other People's Happiness", the ambivalent ode to selfies "Pictures of Ourselves", the 60s-influenced "Staring at the Sun" and the sophisticated adult pop of "True Love, They Say". One of 2018's more impressive debuts.

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Tom Curless-Songs of Movement. If the name Tom Curless doesn't jump out at you, it's probably because you know him better from the seven albums he's released as Your Gracious Host. Curless stated that he felt a bit different on this record which is why he went with his name, but it's in the same vein as those YGH releases you've come to know and love over the last ten years - in fact this might be his best since 2012's 1Up2Down. "Gennessee County Stomp" kicks things off with a Tom Petty-styled rocker while "The Dream is a Lie" could pass for a lost Posies track. "Oceans of Love" is as lovely and ethereal as its title implies, "Always Bloom Forever" is straight-ahead power pop, and "Accelerated Moon" recalls Gary Louris' Jayhawks. Another quality release from Futureman Records, which has released more quality records in six months than many labels do in a year.

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Midweek Roundup

The Mike Benign Compulsion-Martha. These Milwaukee power poppers are back with the followup to 2010's excellent Rollicking Musical, and the results are once again...compelling. In fact, this time around legendary dB Chris Stamey is on hand to mix, and he lends the proceedings a timeless sheen that places the sound of this disc comfortably in any recent decade. Whether it's the stomping opener "Chemicals to Candy" or the Shoes-like pop of "My Michelle" or the jangly "Valentines and Honeybees", the MBC delivers the pop goods here. And they really hit their stride on "I Won't Let You Down", which wouldn't have sounded out of place on one of Stamey's releases. Album closers "Feed the Family" and "Tattoos of Bruises" find the subject matter getting serious, but without a loss of melodic focus. There's something for every power pop fan here.

CD Baby | iTunes

Your Gracious Host-1UP 2DOWN. Tom Curless has become a regular in these parts, and his fourth album might be his best since his self-titled 2008 double-disc debut. What makes the new one a step in the right direction is Curless' decision to crank up the guitars, a decision that's almost always good in my book (for example, I defiantly cling to Monster as my favorite 90's REM disc). You don't have to wait long to hear for yourself, as "Made to Suffer" rocks harder than anything on his previous two discs, and "Wheels are Turning" marries his trademark melodic sound to a Petty-esque rocker. But the highlight here is "Merry Go Round", perhaps the most Beatles-influenced track Curless has produced to date. It's nice to see an artist shake up the formula a bit, and here it really pays off.

CD Baby | iTunes

Friday Roundup.

Longplayer-Longplayer. Attention ELO fans: The self-titled debut from the Swedish band Longplayer might be the closest thing to a new ELO album since Bleu's LEO project five years ago. Like LEO, the songs here represent different styles and phases of ELO's sound: "Won't Let You Down" channels ELO's latter-day rockabilly sound a la "Hold on Tight"; "The Messenger" has a little of "Don't Bring Me Down" in it; "Silicone Sue" has their mid-period (New World Record/Out of the Blue) feel; and "Cool Cat Walk" might be a gender-reversed "Evil Woman". While not the classic that Alpacas Orgling was, this is still a lot of fun and a must for fans of Jeff Lynne & Co.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes



Your Gracious Host-Sleepers Awaken. Tom Curless is back with his third disc in a little over two years as Your Gracious Host, serving up more of the indie-flavored power pop we got on the first two discs. The standouts this time around are the Posies-esque "Decision Tonight", the dreamy midtempo "Episode in Contrast", "Surrender Me", which has a Well Wishers/Spinning Jennies vibe, and the Teenage Fanclub-influenced "Reach the Shore". Let's not keep this one a "sleeper".

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Three for Thursday.

Three discs to chew on in this late week roundup, two from familiar faces and one from a new one.

David Brookings-Glass Half Full. Nashville may have been getting all the Tennessee-related attention around here lately, but here's some equal time for Memphis as favorite son David Brookings returns with his fifth solo album since 2000. Brookings has long been a favorite in the power pop community with his easygoing melodic style, and has drawn comparisons to the likes of Jim Boggia, Mike Viola, Matthew Sweet and Michael Penn. With Glass Half Full, it'll hardly take an optimist to warm up to this collection of tracks. "Don't Wake Me Up" gets things off to a rollicking start with its McCartneyesque feel, "I Wish I Could Be With You" is as sweet as its melody, "Love Goes Down the Drain" mines some Jellyfish/Viola sounds, "Hazel" jangles and shines, and "Still Not Crazy Yet" is pop at its brightest. This might be his best yet.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Your Gracious Host-Easy Red. All I can say is that Tom Curless (a/k/a Your Gracious Host) is one productive guy. Not content to rest on the laurels of last fall's double-album self-titled debut, he's returned as YGH about nine months later to bring us Easy Red, 11 more tracks of the same winning indie-flavored power pop we loved on the debut. Standout tracks on this disc include the urgent "Alibi", which reminds me of Teenage Fanclub mixed with mid-70s Roxy Music, the angular "Rescue Me", the Andy Partridge-like "Blue Sky", and the pretty, languid title track. At this rate, I'll be back in the spring reviewing the 3rd YGH disc, and I'll be happy to do so.

CD Baby | MySpace

Billy Schafer-First to Believe. The debut mini-album (7 tracks) from this San Francisco singer/songwriter has been a revelation. Although it didn't bowl me over at first, it really has grown on me and become a real favorite. Schafer's style is similar to artists like Elliott Smith, Gus Black, AM, and Mark McAdam. Two tracks really stand out here as some of my favorites of the year - the opener "Wondering", which sounds both contemporary and classic, and the lovely "My Mona Lisa (The One)", whose chorus has been embedded somewhere in my brain for quite a while now. Both tracks make excellent and tasteful use of strings as well. The other five tracks are no slouches either, with "April Fool for You" and "The Dream is Alive" worthy of particular note. A very nice debut.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

CD of the Day, 12/2/08: Your Gracious Host-Your Gracious Host

Flint, Michigan has been synonymous with documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and as ground zero for the economic blight that has hit the manufacturing sectors of the United States, but there is a flower in the dirt: Your Gracious Host, the new project from Flint singer/songwriter Tom Curless. YGH has fashioned one of the most audacious tricks in the music industry book - the double-disc debut album - and has pulled it off. Curless mixes indie pop and power pop to fine effect, and fans of Teenage Fanclub, The Shins, XTC and a host of other similarly minded and sounding bands will enjoy this generous offering.

The uptempo "Minutes=Hours" begins the proceedings, and it has a TF vibe; the densely melodic "Admit to Myself" recalls Elliott Smith; "Changed So Much" sounds a track off the Pernice Brothers' Yours, Mine & Ours album; The acoustic guitar-driven "The Big Leap" has a breezy, 70s feel; the power poppin' "Time to Spare" brings Robert Pollard to mind, while "Reaching Stars" is positively Posies-esque. And that's just the first disc.

Disc 2 rocks a bit more and features "I Feel Alright", a rootsy power pop number in manner of Marshall Crenshaw; the driving "Why You're Here"; the dreamy "Taking Time Away", which also channels The Posies; "Really Too Late", which brings a bit of Bob Mould into the mix; and closes with the lovely "Cloud In The Sky" which has a bit of a High Llamas/Cloud Eleven feel. All in all, there's 21 tracks here for the price of a single disc, and if they all don't work for you, odds are at least 2/3rds of them will. You'll want to RSVP to Your Gracious Host.

CD Baby | MySpace