Summer of Sax.

Over the last 18 years or so, Scot Sax has been a big deal in the power pop community whether it be his solo material or band efforts with Wanderlust, Feel and Queen Electric. So it's noteworthy to have two Scot Sax-related releases out this summer, one of which features a Wanderlust reunion.

Wanderlust-Record Time. It's been a year of power pop reunions (Shoes and dBs among others), and none is more welcome than Wanderlust's. With bandmates Rob Bonfiglio (a fine solo artist in his on right), Mark Getten and Jim Cavanaugh back in tow, Sax led them in recording a "live in the studio" record of new material. Instant classics abound, from the opening rocker "Lou Reed" to the melodic and soulful "Blow Away" to classic rock sound of "Fork in the Road". It's been 12 years since their last album, but it doesn't sound like a day has passed.

Kool Kat



Scot Sax-The Los Angeles Years. Also newly out via Bandcamp is a 15-song collection of unreleased "songs written and recorded in the fun-loving, sushi eatin', sunny songwriting days from the Warner/Chappell years in Los Angeles 1999-2005", as Sax himself puts it. While Sax was penning tunes for megastars like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, he continued to record his own material and some of these tunes stand among his best. "Cell Phone Again" recalls his slightly-mellower sound in Feel, "Busy Being Free" is a charming, bouncy, piano-based number, and "OK, You're Beautiful" sounds like it had to have been a hit for somebody at sometime. This must-have for Sax fans is a digital-only release at Bandcamp.