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.

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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.

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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.

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Pre-Thanksgiving Roundup.

J.P. Cregan-Elba. JP Cregan's 2009 debut Man Overboard was one of the more pleasant surprises of that year, placing #12 on my year-end list. Now he's back from exile with his followup full-length Elba, and serves proof the debut was no fluke. Opening track "Wreck" is a great slice of melodic pop which practically swings with its playful guitar riff and horns, "Here it Comes Again" is straight ahead power pop in the Cliff Hillis/Michael Carpenter vein, and "Saw Her on the Metro" has enough of a wall of sound that it recalls a Jeff Lynne production. But in addition to the traditional power pop sound, Cregan moves into foik/rock territory on a few tracks, including the winsome acoustic-based "Susie, Please" and the near-rockabilly of "I Want to Let You Know". This is definitely another strong candidate for the year-end Top 20 in what's shaped up to be a very strong year for power pop.

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The Pozers-The Sun's Going Down. Another artist unveiling their sophomore effort is The Pozers, whose debut disc Embrace Your Addiction got quite a bit of love in power pop community back in 2004 before yours truly got immersed in the scene, and on the basis of their fine newly-released followup I'm going to have to back and check that one out. As for The Sun's Going Down, it's a tour de force of power pop styles produced by none other than Roger Manning. The fuzzed-out guitars of "Spacecar" answer the question of what Guided by Voices would have sounded like in 1968, the loping yet melodic "All She Wrote" could pass for a lost Nuggets classic, and "The Separation" expertly evokes Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys. They may be retro, but when you get retro this right you can't be wrong, and that's no pose.

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