Kevin Lee / Celsi, Bragg & Maitland

Kevin Lee & The Kings-Sticks and Stones. Let it be known that Kevin Lee is a believer in truth in advertising. His site promises "big hooks & chunky guitars", and once again Lee delivers on his promise with Sticks & Stones. "To Tell the Truth", "How it Feels" is that you'll be "On Top of the World" by picking up this album, so you have "Nothing to Lose" by giving this one a listen. All of these tracks comprising the previous sentence have a strong classic rock DNA to them ("To Tell the Truth" is what you get when you look up "power ballad" in the dictionary), and if it had a cool video and came out in 1983, "Alone" would have been a megahit. So roll down the windows, crank up the stereo and let loose with Kevin Lee & The Kings.

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Celsi, Bragg & Maitland-The Road to Glasgow. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the "Summer of Love" Anny Celsi, Nelson Bragg & Duncan Maitland, three artists well-known to the power pop community, decided to combine forces to tour the UK and record a few tracks on the side and The Road to Glasgow is the result. Celsi dominates the proceedings here, with her charming "The Second Summer of Love" opening the album and an excellent cover of Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" both standouts. Maitland, whose Lullabies for the 21st Century was #2 on my best-of 2010 list, chimes in with "Heavenly Day", a track from his days in the band Picturehouse (as well as "Insect Under the Stone" from Lullabies for the 21st Century) and Bragg covers Paul Kelly's folk/rock classic "To Her Door". It's a fun collection from three high-quality artists and worth your listening time.

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CD of the Day, 7/8/10: Duncan Maitland-Lullabies for the 21st Century

As it appears XTC is no longer a going concern, the void left by their Beatles-meet-Brian-Wilson-with-a-British-pop-sensibility sound has begun to be filled with artists like Pugwash, Captain Wilberforce and The Eisenhowers. The latest entrant into this pop sub-genre is Dublin's Duncan Maitland and his most excellent debut disc Lullabies for the 21st Century. And not only does Maitland have help on this album from artists like Fran King and Barry O'Brien (whose 2004 Spark EP is an overlooked gem), XTC's Colin Moulding himself pops up to contribute bass on the opening track.

That opening track is "Your Century" and it's a great indication of what's to follow: a tuneful, buoyant number that has the XTC meets the Beach Boys sound. "Terry the Toad" follows, a wonderful midtempo track that recalls Michael Carpenter and Cliff Hillis and isn't as silly as it title might indicate. "Crash Position" is firmly in the Brian Wilson camp, with it's Beach Boys "ba ba ba" backing vocals, while "Handbirds" is first-rate British chamber pop and "Alien at Home" synthesizes the styles already set forth on the disc in a manner reminiscent of The Red Button's "Floating By".

Elsewhere, you have the rollicking pop of "Up to You", the lovely and reflective "Supermarket Dream", the Beatlesque "Lucky You" and the languid "Cry Me to Sleep". All in all, an excellent debut, a must for XTC fans, and another year-end contender.

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