Summer Singles Roundup.

Cliff Hillis-Seven Sisters. New music from Cliff Hillis is always a treat, and his latest single may not be the upbeat power pop he usually traffics in, it's a beautiful melancholy ballad featuring Louis Clark Jr. (of The Orchestra) on cello.

iTunes



Starbelly-Love Song 26 (feat. Roger Joseph Manning Jr.). And if a new Cliff Hillis single isn't enough, here he is with Starbelly and special guest Roger Joseph Manning Jr. "Love Song 26" is a classic Beatlesque mid-tempo number which features Manning on piano, backing vocals and orchestration.

iTunes



The Top Boost-Tell Me That You're Mine/Early Morning Days. And as we continue to thematically link the current single to the one before it, this Vancouver duo had their 2019 EP produced by Roger Joseph Manning Jr. This time around, the guys trade in their classic pop stylings for Sweetheart of the Rodeo-era Byrds on "Tell Me That You're Mind" while "Early Morning Days" has a more lush countrypolitan sound. An interesting but welcome departure.

iTunes



Dungeon of Skeletons-Valencia. Some of you may remember Justin Kline from earlier last decade. He's been quiet for a while but is back with his band Dungeon of Skeletons. Despite the death metal-sounding name, "Valencia" is more of the bright pop Kline was known for as a solo artist and it's a great summer track.

iTunes



Empty City Squares-Parmenides/History Rhymes. Big Stir Records has been bringing us some great power pop singles the last few years and the latest from Empty City Squares, whose 337 was one of the pleasant surprises of 2019, is a double-sided single which is "thinking man's pop" as it's literally about a thinker, the philosopher Parmendies. But don't worry, these are catchy tunes, not ponderous navel-gazing.

Buy at Big Stir (scroll down)



Bryan Estepa-Weight in Gold/Subject to Change. Like Cliff Hillis above, Bryan Estepa has been one of most consistently excellent power pop artists of the past 15-20 years and fresh off his grabbing of the top spot in 2019's year-end list on this site he has two new tracks that are, uh, worth their weight in gold. "Weight in Gold" is a sweet, subdued track that gets by on charm and melody, while "Subject to Change" is more classic Estepa with its big, catchy chorus.

iTunes



Ryan Allen-Hope and Control/Feeling Alright?. Ryan Allen is back with more of his heavy power pop (but without his Extra Arms this time) on a couple of new tunes. "Hope and Control" is classic Allen while "Feeling Alright?" has a glam sound. Proceeds from this single are going the Black Lives Matter Foundation, so check it out.

Bandcamp

Early November Roundup.

Extra Arms-Up from Here. Ryan Allen returns with his Extra Arms with an album that's as rocking and raw for us as it was cathartic for him. Having gone through a divorce the year before, Allen lets it all out with eight tracks that clock in at about 22 minutes total. Leading things off naturally is "F.L.Y." (which stands for "fuck last year"), a raucuous, almost punk-rock anthem for anyone who's gone through a bad period. "Disruptor" is another aggressive gem, and "Comes in Waves" is loud power pop that any Bob Mould or Superdrag fan would be glad to add to their record collection. And the closing title track might be one of his finest songs, melding his raucous rock with a hint of optimism.

iTunes



The Pozers-Crybaby Bridge. The Pozers are one of power pop's best-kept secrets despite having been around for some 25 years. On their seventh album (and first in seven years), they continue to deliver the goods. Unlike a lot of other power poppers, all the songs on a Pozers album don't sound the same, and here we have "SoCal" which despite its title sounds more like The Beatles than The Beach Boys, "The Only Girl" which kinda does sound like The Beach Boys, the psych-rock of "Telling My Secrets" and the 70s pop of "If You Really Wanna Know". Quality all around, and disc comes with acoustic and remixed versions of most of its tracks if you're into that sort of thing. All in all not bad for a band led by a guy (Jim Richey) who's an English professor with a Ph.D.

iTunes



Anny Celsi-Kaleidoscope Heart: 12 Golden Hits. It's been six years since I last checked in on Anny Celsi (not counting her album with Duncan Maitland and Nelson Bragg) but there's no better time to catch up than the present with this 12-track career retrospective. Showing why she's become of the first ladies of power pop over the years, this collection starts off with the title track from my favorite album of hers, the Byrds-ian "Tangle-Free World" and continues with gems like the jangly "Empty Hangers", the lovely folk-rock of "The Night She Learned to Drive" and perhaps her best track, "Little Black Dress" which is as slinky and sultry as the title would imply. If you're new to Anny Celsi, this is the perfect place to start.

iTunes

Election Day Roundup.

It's Election Day in the USA, so here are some releases worth voting for:

Creamer-Creamer. If this were a blurb on Kool Kat's site, Ray would lead it off with "BIG STAR ALERT!" as the debut of Phillip Creamer's new band channels Alex Chilton & Co. to great effect here. Co-produced by Wilco's Pat Sansone, the album opens with "Daydreamer", which manages to be both anthemic and downbeat at the same time with a vaguely Lennon-esque middle eight, followed by the poptastic "Record Machine", which is the #1 Record Big Star to "Daydreamer"'s Third/Sister Lovers. "Drugs No More" was released as the single to tease the album and it's easy to see why - it boasts a memorable chorus and encapsulates Creamer's sound, and "Ride or Die" makes good on the band's promise of glam mixed with Americana ("Glamicana", anyone?). And then there's "Magic", a magical concoction of rock, pop, honky tonk, R&B and who knows what else. Even the ballads like "A Better Side" and "Love Yourself" soar. A contender for album of the year.

iTunes




Tim Jackson-Better Late Than Never. In a year in which it seems I've been seeing new releases from artists I've long given up on hearing again comes Tim Jackson. The name may not ring a bell but Jackson was the main force behind Third Floor Story, who had one of my favorite 2006 albums with Lonely City, and the album title and title track acknowledge this absence with a choice slice of power pop. Other standouts include "Little Girl" (Jackson started a family in the interim), the slightly funky but fully catchy "Black Dog" and the uptempo pop of "Back Again". Welcome Back, Tim.

iTunes




Extra Arms-Headacher. Previously known as "Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms", Allen has taken his own name out despite continuing to front the group and that's not the only change this time around. The focus has shifted from traditional power pop to a somewhat harder-edged, noisier sound he calls "loud pop", hence the album title. Don't get worried, though, Allen hasn't gone thrash metal or anything, and the melodies are still there. The title track rocks with abandon, "Done to Death" cranks up the guitars, and then "Why I Run" really cranks them up. But fret not those who liked Allen's more traditional sound - "Under Surveillance" and "Honey Brown" are a bit more mellow (relatively speaking) and don't quite quality as "headachers". But if you like the "power" part of "power pop" better, this is your album.

iTunes

Late September Roundup.

Bubble Gum Orchestra-Sticky Love Songs Vol. 1 and 2. If it's the classic ELO sound you desire, you had to have been excited last fall when Jeff Lynne released a new album as "Jeff Lynne's ELO". It turned out to be fine, but it sounded more like a latter-day Jeff Lynne solo album than ELO in its heyday. This of course meant your next option was to wait for Michael Hildebrandt to release another Bubble Gum Orchestra album. That wait is over, as not only is there a new BGO album, but there's the equivalent of 2 new albums as Hildebrandt has gone Out of the Blue here with the 20-track Sticky Love Songs Volume 1 and 2. With 20 tracks to play with, Hildebrandt spreads out a bit here. Of course you get the vintage ELO sound in tunes like "You Called to Tell Me" and "My World Blue" (a Jeff Lynne title if there ever was one), but you get the straight-up Beatlesque "Peppermint Smile", the more rocking "You Gave Up on Love" (with guest vocals from Lannie Flowers), and even some acoustic guitar on the acid love song "You're Not the One That Got Away". Closing it all is the self-referential "BGO Motel", a track as catchy as it is clever. You won't find this at the usual sites, so click on the link below to listen and purchase.

Sample and buy here

Greg Pope-Guiding Star. The man I named the Pope of Power Pop is back with his sixth full-length solo release (not counting the Pete EP and his best-of compilation) and once again he's delivered another fine collection of southern-fried power pop. Featuring a Stranger Things-inspired cover, Guiding Star demonstrates why Pope is the one of the more consistent artists in the genre. Opener "Innocent Breakdown", with its nervous, insistent beat shows Pope (a one-man band who can drum with the best) isn't content to sit on his laurels, while "Four Leaf Clover" lashes at the singer's dudebro ex in service of a catchy chorus. Elsewhere, "Sun is Gonna Rise" rocks with gusto, the acoustic guitar-based shuffle "I Think Not" is classic Pope, and "If You Want Answers" may or may not have them, but it's a great listen and could have been a hit in another era. No longer the "company man" he was back in his Edmund's Crown days, Pope is now older and wiser and Guiding Star is as humanistic as power pop gets.

Bandcamp



Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms-Basement Punk. Every time I turned around there's another great new release from the Michigan power pop scene. Last time out it was the latest from Nick Piunti and today it's Ryan Allen and His Extra Arms. (Next time it may be The Legal Matters, who have a new one out in a few weeks). Basement Punk is Allen's third album and builds off the promise of last year's Heart String Soul. "Watch Me Explode" is the kind of frenetic rocker that's perfectly situated as the album opener, and "Chasing a Song" is a brilliant bit of pop in the vein of Big Star. "Mal n' Ange" is another winner, sounding like an early-70s English classic rock track complete with guitar solo between the second and third verses, while "Gimmie Some More" is a fun "In the Street"-style rocker. Between the Greg Pope album above and this one, it's a great time for one-man bands.

iTunes

Don't forget the Motor City.

Nick Piunti-Bayond the Static. The premier hotbed for power pop lately has become the Detroit area, with the likes of Chris Richards, Andy Reed, Andy Klingensmith, The Romeo Flynns (and you can go back to bands like The Romantics and The Knack) and the two artists featured today. First up is Nick Piunti (formerly of The Respectables) who returns with the followup to his brilliant 2013 release 13 in My Head, which came in at #2 on my list that year. Beyond the Static is a more-than-worthy successor, as Piunti knocks out the hooks and melodies one after the other in the most classic of power pop styles. "It's a Trap" (Admiral Ackbar finally gets a theme song) and "Heart Stops Beating" draw you in from the start, while "Time Machine" and "Seven Days a Week" (the latter featuring vocals from Richards) are two of the more melodic rockers you'll hear all year. Elsewhere, "Head in the Clouds" incorporates a bouncy Beatle-y melody and "Quicksand" could have been a hit in the 80s. There isn't one "off" track here among the 11, and Piunti might just meet or exceed that #2 ranking this year when it comes to my 2015 list.

Bandcamp



Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms-Heart String Soul. Another member of the Detroit power pop mafia I listed above is Ryan Allen, and he plays on the Piunti album as well. But it's his own second release with the Extra Arms that stands on its own, another collection of top-shelf power pop. "Should Be Me" is a brilliant opener, frenetic and melodic with the refrain "the song on the radio/should be me", and I would not quarrel with that notion one bit. "Born Radical" sounds like Gin Blossoms if they really rocked (and was also the title of an album he released with his previous band The Friendly Foes, although that one had no title track), "Angela '97" traces a relationship over 17 years with rocking aplomb, and "Not Hanging Out" could have fit snugly on Big Star's #1 Record if it weren't for a reference to texting. If albums like Piunti's and Allen's keep coming out I may need a separate "non-Detroit" category to give other releases a fair shake at year's end.

CD Baby | Bandcamp

Bandcamping it.

More and more artists are using Bandcamp, which allows for full streaming of tracks, downloads (many free or name your price), etc. Here are a few that caught my eye recently:

A free download of Plasticsoul & Brandon Schott covering Big Star? You don't have to drag me screaming to that.



Chris Richards with another vault-clearing collection? Always good stuff if you recall his previous Pathetic History.



Daniel Person is a UK artist whose sound falls somewhere between Elliott Smith, Ryan Adams and Jesse Malin, and he's offering up "Wishing Well", the first single from his new album as a free download. It's a quality tune.



Nick Piunti of The Respectables brought Ryan Allen & His Extra Arms to my attention and I'm certainly glad he did. Some of you may know Allen from his work as frontman of The Friendly Foes, and this is crunchy power pop par excellence. Best part is that most of the songs clock in around 2:15, and the slower ones sound like Paul Westerberg:



Oh, and it's not on Bandcamp, but here's a free download of the new single from Fountains of Wayne, Richie and Ruben.