California pop day.

Linus of Hollywood-Something Good. Back with his first album of new material since 2006's Triangle, Kevin Dotson a/k/a Linus of Hollywood is back with the same winning combination of classic pop and power pop that made him a force in the power pop community in the first half of the last decade. The buoyant, driving 1-2 punch of "Caught Up in a Feeling" and "Ready for Something Good" will get your toes tapping right off the bat, the McCartney-esque "A Girl That I Like" is very easy on the ears, and "I Don't Wanna Go Home if You're Not There" makes for a great power ballad. Linus even throws in a faithful cover of the Kiss classic "Beth", while the overall quality of the album heeds the admonition of one of the disc's catcher tracks, "Don't F**k it Up". One of the year's best.

Bandcamp | iTunes



Jeff Larson-Close Circle. Having reviewed the previous five releases of this wonderfully consistent folk-rocker, it's getting hard for me to say something new about him, so how about this? Close Circle might be the best and most assured of his recent releases. For those just tuning in, Larson's music is the epitome of laid-back, melodic mellow SoCal rock and reflected in the fact that he's a confidant of and collaborator with Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, better known as America. After opening with the beautifully understated "Rescue", the disc clicks into gear with the excellent "Following the Echoes". Other standouts include the Jeffrey Foskett-backed "Goodbye Ocean Street Beaches" and "Rain Soaked Cloud", which features the America boys on backing vocals.

CD Baby | iTunes | Kool Kat

NOTE: Kool Kat is also releasing a CD-R of last year's download-only Larson EP Leaves for those who want a physical disc.

Tuesday Roundup.

Nick Capaldi-The Golden Summer EP. Nick Capaldi is a singer-songwriter from the south of England who had a quality full-length release in 2012 that I didn't get around to reviewing, but his new EP is too compelling to stay quiet about. The Golden Summer is four upbeat pop tracks in the spirit of its title. "In My Shoes" has a smooth and slinky melody that recalls Neil Finn had he been a 90s Britpopper, and "Dumb it All Up" is a catchy slice of midtempo pop that falls somewhere between Jellyfish and Michael Carpenter. Elsewhere, "The Right Time" is an atmospheric ballad with strings, and closer "First of the Runaways" is top-notch piano-based power pop with a Beatlesque flair. This is a slam-dunk top 5 EP of the year.

CD Baby | iTunes

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Jeff Larson-Leaves EP. Like clockwork, every year or two finds a new Jeff Larson release and more of his laid-back, melodic mellow SoCal rock. The twist this time around is that the new EP is actually a collection of unreleased material. But such is the quality of Larson's output that this EP doesn't sound at all like an outtakes collection. "Good Good Morning" is a lovely piano-and-guitar ballad, and the plaintive "Frontier Village" sound like it could be the soundtrack to an indie movie. "Postcard from Here" builds to a swelling chorus, and "World I'm In" has a folksy charm with some fine harmonies. And "The Satellite Sky" is a catchy uptempo number that has a fine country-rock feel. Larson's at work on a new full-length record to be released next year, just like...clockwork.

CD Baby | iTunes

Tuesday Roundup.

The Slingsby Hornets-Borrowed and Blue. Jon Paul Allen (a/k/a Frank Slingsby) is back with his fourth album of half-covers and half-new material and the results are once again appealing. On the covers side, his rocked-up "Lady in Red" (Chris DeBurgh) and "Yesterday Once More" (The Carpenters) are his most daring reinterpretations to date while David Essex's "Rock On" also succeeds. Meanwhile among the new tracks, the Tommy Keene-like "It's Gonna Rain" is the standout. If you enjoyed the Slingsbys' mix of covers and new tracks before, you'll want this one.

CD Baby | iTunes

Jeff Larson-The World Over. Consistency, thy name is Jeff Larson. He should have a patent on the laid-back, melodic sound of mellow SoCal rock that he cranks out every year or two, and once again he's assisted by Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America as well as Jeffrey Foskett. So you know what you're getting here, but if you were to going to update your "Best of Jeff Larson" playlist, you'd want to pick "Monday Clouds, Tuesday Rain", "Approaching Midnight" and "Point of Rising" (which rocks a bit harder than Larson's usual fare).

CD Baby | iTunes

Mark Lane-Something New. Something New is LA singer-songwriter Mark Lane's first release since 2004's Golden State of Mind, and it's a treat for fans of artists like David Mead and Josh Rouse (the pre-move-to-Spain Josh Rouse, that is). Among the highlights, the ornate opener "For Whom it Concerns" brings back memories of Luxury-of-Time-era Mead, "Back in the Swing" and "Please, Lillianne" are lavish piano pop with a hint of the Beatlesque (incidentally, Lane played all the instruments here except strings), and the midtempo rocker "The King of Silence" has a noir feel to it. Fine stuff, and make sure you have a listen below:

iTunes

CD of the Day, 9/22/09: Jeff Larson-Heart of the Valley

If George Martin, Billy Preston, Murray the K et al. have been known as the "Fifth Beatle", then Jeff Larson could be called the Third American, as in America the band. Larson has closely worked with America's Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell over the years, but he takes it to a new level here with Heart of the Valley, which features eight original tunes penned by Beckley, two co-written with Beckley, and one Larson original. Beckley also produced, engineered and recorded the album.

Last year I wrote when reviewing Larson's last disc that "we all know the cliche about death and taxes being the only certainties, but there's another one to add to the list: about once a year, Jeff Larson will release a quality disc of laid-back California pop in the vein of America, Dan Fogelberg and The Eagles and make it sound effortless." With Beckley's help, he's done it again. The title track sets the template for the disc: an easygoing melody, fine singing from Larson and backing vocals from Beckley. "Sudden Soldier" is more in the vein of upbeat America, a la "You Can Do Magic", and "Minus Marci" (a Larson co-write) might be the album's best track with its irresistible chorus, fine Larson-Beckley harmonizing and some quality guitar work. Elsewhere, "Calling" is a great rainy day ballad, "Five Mile Road" sounds as well-worn and rustic as its title, and Bunnell himself sings backup on "Southern Girl", making the America connection complete.

Let's face it: a Jeff Larson disc is a no-risk proposition. If you enjoyed his previous releases and/or a fan of America and/or a fan of the laid-back 70s California sound, you've got your album of the year.

CD Baby | MySpace

CD of the Day, 8/15/08: Jeff Larson-Left of a Dream

We all know the cliche about death and taxes being the only certainties, but there's another one to add to the list: about once a year, Jeff Larson will release a quality disc of laid-back California pop in the vein of America, Dan Fogelberg and The Eagles and make it sound effortless. He's done it again with Left of a Dream, his best since his 2006 career-highlight Swimming in the Make Believe.

After opening with the fine-but-brief "Wake Up", Larson gets down to business with "Anywhere She Goes", complete with guest vocals from America's Dewey Bunnell. "Ghosts of San Miguel", is California soft-pop noir featuring backing vocals from the other half of America, Gerry Buckley. Meanwhile, "Red to Rust" stands out as a particular highlight with its upbeat melody and Larson's use of the gitjo, which as its name implies, is a guitar-banjo hybrid. "Where Is Indio, CA" is another winner, and although Buckley's harmonies are prominent here, the sound is more Jayhawks than America.

Other standouts include "California Rail", which features the gitjo again and sounds as rustic as the title would indicate; the Eaglesque "Easy on Me" (both of which feature Brian Wilson bandmember Jeffrey Foskett on backing vocals), and album closer "Be Here Anyway", which just seems to be the quintessential Jeff Larson track.
Larson isn't plowing any new ground here, but that's OK - with the Eagles and America only making new discs about once a decade, he fills a niche that's certainly worth filling.

CD Baby | MySpace

CD of the Day, 7/28/06: Jeff Larson-Swimming In The Make Believe.

Some of you who perused my top 33 1/3 of 2006 may have noticed a few of the discs didn't have links to other posts on the site extolling their virtues. One of those was Jeff Larson's Swimming In The Make Believe, which clocked in at #24.

Rather than try to be eloquent and get into a song-by-song breakdown, I'll just keep it simple. This is the best soft pop, California pop, sunshine pop, Eagles/America/Beach Boys-influenced record I've heard in a long, long time. One great track after another, and if any of this sounds remotely enticing to you, buy the disc. There's no pretension here, no grand artistic statement, just a disc with cover art that has the sun setting over the ocean and song titles like "You Remind Me of the Sun", "Southaways", "Summer Fades" and "Leaving California". There's going to be a new America album coming out later this year, and if it's half as good as Swimming In The Make Believe, it'll be comeback album of the year. Meanwhile, it's no coincidence America's duo of Gerry Buckley and Dewey Bunnell play on the record as well as Chicago's Robert Lamm. So if it's a pedigree you need, that should say a lot as well.

Where to sample? The best place is probably either at CD Baby or Not Lame. It's not on eMusic right now, but his EP release from last year on the same label, Two Part Confessional, is, so I imagine it's a matter of time before it's available there. So if you want The Eagles without the misogyny or America without the muskrats, Swimming In The Make Believe is the disc for you.