Sparkwood's Jalopy Pop is much in the same vein as my #20, Checkpoint Charley: Catchy as hell, influenced by Jellyfish/Queen/Fountains of Wayne, etc. I'd even say there's some ELO influence in here as well, and a bit more of a 50s/60s vibe than Checkpoint. Standouts here include "Emergency", "In Your Lovin' Arms", and "D".
Some abdridged mp3s and a music video can be had at the band's site, and you can get some full-length streaming at their myspace page. It's all good - this Jalopy is one smooth-running machine.
UPDATE: I just noticed that Jalopy Pop was David Bash's #1 album of 2005. For those of you who don't know who he is, David is the man behind International Pop Overthrow, which is power pop's Lollapalooza, SXSW and Woodstock rolled into one. Actually IPO is several regional shows around the USA (and elsewhere) throughout the year. Here's the current schedule:
Nashville: March 15-19 and 21-22
Chicago: April 21-May 6
Liverpool: May 24-29
Los Angeles: July 28-August 13
San Francisco: August 16-22
East Coast U.S. (Philadelphia, New York, Boston): November
Make sure you go to one of these if it's in a city near you.
Steve--Just wanted to thank you for bringing to my attention all the great CD's you have been posting about lately. Your blog is like a treasure trove of power pop! I have purchased six CD's this week, mostly of CD's you have blogged about here, from Not Lame and CD Baby. And I am about to order Sparkwood and some more now.. Please keep it up. I will visit your blog page everyday to check out your latest entries. My wallet will surely take a hit, but I ain't complaining. There is nothing quite like getting a new CD in and sticking it in the player and falling absolutely in love with it. Which is what I am sure will happen as I start getting these CD's in next week. Thanks again and please keep it up.
ReplyDeleteGreat to hear, sacflies...that's what we're all about here. I hear you about the wallet, though - with all the money I've spent on cds, I could probably have retired by now. But then what would I be doing with all that free time?
ReplyDeleteExactly. BTW have you looked further into Green and Yellow TV "Sinister Barrier"? Sounds fantastic. It's in my latest shopping cart on CD Baby, along with Tide, Sparkwood, and Travis Hopper. And with Supraluxe, The Well Wishers, Checkpoint Charley, David Mead (Wherever You Are), The Happies, and Gary Henson coming in...next week should be fun. I had to hold off on quite a few others I wanted to get (The Clintons, The Superficials, James Cooper, The Bodingtons. Oh, and the Jason Collett CD sounds fantastic as well...will be picking that one up. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Green and Yellow TV is on its way to me from CD Baby as we speak. In fact, I was hoping it would be there today, but a phone call home to the wife disabused me of that notion. Now I'm really hoping my order is here tomorrow, otherwise I'll have to wait until Tuesday with Monday being Presidents' Day.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great advice on power-pop cd's. Just picked up both Sparkwood CD's.....they're incredible!!!
ReplyDeletejellyfishman