Friday, February 17, 2017

Mid-February Roundup.

Theo Katzman-Heartbreak Hits. My most pleasant surprise to date of the new year, Theo Katzman's Heartbreak Hits is unlike most of what I review here as it's not truly power pop or roots rock, but pop with a capital "P" which has enough grounding in the classic sounds of the 70s and 80s that kind of reminds me of 10 years ago when the likes of Mika and the Scissor Sisters were at their peak. Katzman, better known as a guitarist and drummer with the LA funk band Vulfpeck, brings on the fun here with a variety of styles. Opener "Hard Work" might be the closest thing to traditional power pop here with its loud guitars but brings in some R&B elements. Speaking of R&B, "Break Up Together" is a slinky tune with a simple hook that could have been a mid-70s hit, and speaking of hooks, the chorus of the Prince-esque "My Heart is Dead" is a true earworm. And then Katzman pivots from Prince to pedal steel with "Good to Be Alone", a wonderful low-key country-tinged number that shows off his versatility. Elsewhere, there's the rave-up of "As the Romans Do", the pretty ballad "Love is a Beautiful Thing" and the rare bonus track that's a real bonus, the catchy "Pop Song" which Katzman had previously released as a single. In the end, Heartbreak Hits is a real breath of fresh air and one that you can probably listen to with your teenage kids.

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Room for Dream-A Little Taste. iTunes calls this a single while I'm calling it an EP, but the three-song release by San Francisco's Room for Dream is a fine debut however you categorize it. Songwriter and lead singer Nicholas Lyon-Wright has a knack for the Beatlesque here which becomes apparent right away on "Catch it for a Second", while the piano-backed "A Trace of You" boasts real charm along with some fine harmonies from Luna Fuentes and "Silly Dream" reminds me of Jellyfish in their less-frenetic moments. Lyon-Wright told me they'll have a full album later this year, so enjoy this "little taste" for now.

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The Fisherman-Down. Greece's Tony Panou is The Fisherman and he's been releasing his one-man bedroom recordings for a few years now (Down is his fourth album). I'm glad to have caught up with him because if Down is representative of his output, we've been missing out the last few years. His songs have a 60s-pop type of charm to them, McCartneyesque to be sure but also reminiscent of other artists of the era. The breezy title track exemplifies this, and "The Guitar or the Girl" sounds like a title that should have been used in that decade. Other standouts here include "Girl With the Blue Eyes (and the Long Blonde Hair)", which has 1965 written all over it, the jangly "Rain" and the piano pop of "Turn Off the Lights". Groovy stuff.

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Friday, February 03, 2017

Early February Roundup.

Brent Cash-The New High. Georgia's Brent Cash has made a name for himself over the past 10 years with a pair of smooth, sleek pop albums of superior craft. He's back with his third album, the first since 2011's How Strange it Seems, and The New High is a new high indeed, once again channeling the likes of Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks and Burt Bacharach in places. For openers the stately, mellow pop of the title track (reminiscent of Kyle Vincent) gives way to the glorious piano pop of "Out for Blood", a Brian Wilson-meets-Todd Rundgren melange. Meanwhile, "The Wrong Thing" wouldn't be out of place on a Seth Swirsky album, "Every Inflection" only needs a flugelhorn to quality as a lost Bacharach track and "The Way You Were" is McCartneyesque chamber pop. Fittingly the album concludes with a track titled "Perfection Comes Near", an apt description of the proceedings here if your tastes run toward soft pop.

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Thorcraft Cobra-The Distance. Despite the name, Thorcraft Cobra is not 80s-styled hair metal band but rather the LA duo of Billy Zimmer and Tammy Glover. Their album here is kind of a "tweener", somewhat power pop, somewhat classic rock, and somewhat roots rock, but all melodic goodness. Opener "Carolina" has an anthemic buildup in service of a 70s Laurel Canyon sound, "Uncoupling" brings Michael Penn and Aimee Mann to mind, and "Caught in Between" reminds me of Gary Louris' Jayhawks classic "Smile" and the album of the same name as a whole. A great example of an album made by adults and for adults.

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Smisch-The Story of My Life. Smisch is a singer-songwriter from Sweden, and his debut album The Story of My Life is kind of the "Swedish pop" version of a typical singer-songwriter album. The opening title track is a gem, recalling Neil Finn and "I Will Never" has its own breezy charm as well. Other standouts include "Together", which adds some piano to the mix and has an early solo McCartney feel, the sprightly "Summer Love", and "Break Yourself Free", a fine pop number that sounds like it could have come from Finn's band, Crowded House. At 15 tracks, there's something for everyone here in this quality debut.

iTunes