Two Four for Tuesday, 2/18/14

To make up for no new posts last week, I'll double the usual two featured discs with a quick look at four:

Shake Some Action!-Catch the Sun. James Hall is back again with another collection of top-drawer jangle-pop with Catch the Sun, his fifth full-length as Shake Some Action!. "Colors Exploding" is just as groovy as its title implies,
"Wait for the Summer" is the kind of 60s/70s power pop that Hall does best, and "Moonlight Mind" jangles so hard it would make Roger McGuinn jealous. You know what you're getting with an SSA album, and you're getting more of it this time around.

CD Baby | iTunes



The Rationales-Dream of Fire EP. Also back with new material are The Rationales, who bring us a strong 5-track EP this time around. As before, they offer up a mix of power pop and Americana with leadoff track "Drunk All the Time" a great Tom Petty-esque raver with a memorable chorus and the Replacements-styled "Last Words" the standouts here.

CD Baby | ITunes



Ryan VanDordrecht-Beast of Love. Upon the release of his debut EP in 2009 I wrote the usual "can't wait for the full length" comment, and lo and behold five years later here it is. This Portland musician specializes in tuneful pop/rock with a touch of Americana and the top tracks here are the anthemic Jayhawks/Gin Blossoms-like "Great American Life", the jangly "Wild Ones" and the 70s-styled rocker "You Got a Hold on Me". Good stuff here.

CD Baby | iTunes



Preston Cochran-Waiting for the Day. This is the third album for Virginia's Preston Cochran, but the first that caught my ear. Cochran has a slick yet tuneful adult-contemporary sound that brings the likes of Matt Nathanson and Graham Colton to mind. My favorites here are the laid-back "Shoes in the Sun", the melodic title track, and the midtempo gem "Footnotes", which reminds me of Josh Rouse. A bit more "pop" than "power pop", but definitely worth a listen.

CD Baby | iTunes

Two for Tuesday: 6/9/09

Dave Caruso-Elizabeth Parker EP. This EP from Michigan's Dave Caruso bears a 2004 copyright, but only recently emerged on CD Baby and the digital download outlets, so I seriously doubt that more than a handful of AbPow readers have heard of it. Now's the time to remedy that, as Caruso demonstrates pop craft of a high order here. The title track is the standout, a jangly treat that would have fit it perfectly on The Red Button's 2007 album of the year. "I Can't Be on Time" is no slouch either, 2:13 of Michael Carpenter-esque power pop, and "Letter to My Ex" follows in the same vein. A couple of demos (including a version of "Elizabeth Parker" that recalls Elvis C's "Veronica") round out the EP. I'm going to have to make a judgment call on whether this one qualifies for the 2009 EP list, because on merit alone it's a gimme.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Elizabeth Parker

Ryan VanDordrecht-Hurts Like Hell. It seems like a lot of the good music this year has come in EP form, and this one from Portland's Ryan VanDordrecht (who looks a bit like Elvis Costello in the album photo) is no exception. He was in the bands Castella and Sidestar, who played bills with the likes of The Gin Blossoms and Cake, and his solo debut is high-grade melodic rock. "One More Cigarette" has a Tom Petty-meets-The Smithereens vibe, and "I Ain't Coming Home Tonight" takes off on a more Jayhawks/Son Volt tangent. Elsewhere, the title track recalls the Blossoms' more melancholy moments, while "Your Records" is the poppiest treat on the EP with an irresistible chorus. Here's hoping this one propels him to record a full-length.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes