After teasing a couple of excellent singles (“Ginger Ale” and “Baby” in particular), the debut EP of Vancouver’s Hotel Mira has dropped today.
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PoPTV | THE NEW ROCK N ROLL : HUX & THE HITMEN – “GO FIGURE” (UNOFFICIAL VIDEO)
Huxley Rittman is back with his merry band of Hitmen with the slinky blues-rock number, “Go Figure”.
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THE LISTENING BOOTH | THE NEW ROCK N ROLL : FERNANDO PERDOMO – “CALIFORNIA MOON” FT. PAT SANSONE
A gorgeous country-inflected slow rocker from Fernando Perdomo featuring vocals from Pat Sansone (of Wilco, Autumn Defence fame).
PoP20 | SUPERHERO FILM : THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s game-changing Dark Knight is a decade old! Here’s my contemporaneous review.
It makes a whole lot of sense that the second film in Christopher Nolan’s reboot of the Batman franchise is called The Dark Knight. After all, Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns revived the moribund comic book industry (together with Watchmen) and challenged fans to take the super hero a bit more seriously than before.
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : BIRD STREETS – S/T
My favourite music revels in eclecticism – taking basic building blocks and constructing wildly imaginative creations that impress and surprise even the most jaded of music experts.
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : DOT DASH – PROTO RETRO
I have previously covered the music of DC power trio Dot Dash and will always be pleased to do so as they competently encapsulate everything Power of Pop stands for.
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LIVE IN SINGAPORE | PoP LEGENDS : BOB DYLAN – STILL BREAKING ALL THE RULES…
“NO PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEOGRAPHY & AUDIO RECORDING ALLOWED”
A warning on the ticket was repeated by ushers throughout Bob Dylan’s third concert in Singapore.
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : LIVINGMORE – IT’S ALL HAPPENING EP
There’s a slinky 60s pop vibe around L.A. band Livingmore that is simply irresistible.
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : MICHAEL SLAWTER – LAST CALL FOR BREAKING HEARTS
The Pop Underground lives on in new Power Pop Rock N Roll releases like Michael Slawter’s Last Call for Breaking Hearts.
PoP20 | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : P. HUX – KISS THE MONSTER (2008)
10 year old review!
P. HUX Kiss the Monster (Nine 18)
My 1st encounter with P. Hux came in the unlikeliest places. A discount CD store somewhere in a Sydney suburb in 1997. That’s where I found Deluxe, which I consider to be one of the finer power pop albums in that pristine period of pop renaissance that was the late 90s.
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LIVE IN SINGAPORE | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : ASH @ THE HARD ROCK CAFE
It says a lot about the current state of the live music scene in Singapore that Northern Irish power trio, ASH’s display of melodic crunch last night at the Hard Rock Cafe was a rare occasion for music fans to truly rock out in an intimate setting!
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KEVIN SAYS …
I believe in rock ‘n’ roll.
That’s probably a corny sentiment to share but music is all I have in life now. Living the virtually solitary existence can be a mental challenge but eased immensely by the power of my favourite music.
To me, the terms “rock ‘n’ roll” or “pop” are meaningless especially when applied in a cold technical manner.
It has to be about how the music makes me think and feel. And that’s what the best rock or pop music does, in my humble opinion.
It’s all about the art, the craft, the emotion invested by music creators to express a real idea or feeling to the listener – making a genuine connection.
That’s what it has to be all about.
LIVE IN SINGAPORE | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : WHY ASH @ HARD ROCK CAFE IS ESSENTIAL
Our kind of music is under threat! But thank heavens ASH will be in town this coming Tuesday to give us a timely reminder of what the music world is missing!
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GEEK OUT!!! SCIFI TV : IMPULSE SEASON ONE
Remember Jumper from a decade ago?
The Doug Liman-helmed scifi adaptation of Steven Gould’s novel starred Hayden Christiansen and Jamie Bell, but wasted a promising premise with bad plot and characterisation.
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PoP20 | PoP LEGENDS : XTC – COAT OF MANY CUPBOARDS (2002)
Continuing our look back at our review history. Here’s one from 2002!
XTC
Coat of Many Cupboards
(Virgin)
Be warned! This 4-CD box is NOT for neophytes but for the diehard fans who can’t wait to get their grubby hands on any XTC material.
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : SUMMER MAGIC – SHARKS AND OTHER DANGERS
Another authentic Power Pop Rock N Roll treasure dropping our way soon with Summer Magic’s Sharks and Other Dangers!
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PoP RECOMMENDS | THE NEW ROCK N ROLL : THE OBSERVATORY X MOE – SHADOWS
Two experimental artrock bands get together to make sweet music together.
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POP POWER !!! BITTERSWEET MACHINES – NO BAD HORIZON
I have been a fan of Bittersweet Machines (a.k.a. Matt Mocharnuk) ever since I reviewed his debut release, Solituda, in 2012. I believe I described the experience as an “eargasm!”
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PoP20 | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : THE ROSENBERGS – MISSION : YOU (2001)
Another blast from the past out of the PoP archives. One of our favourite albums of 2001!
THE ROSENBERGS
Mission: You
[DGM]
The Rosenbergs have created a bit of brouhaha with their turning down a spot on Jimmy (Iovine) and Doug’s (Morris) Farmclub.com due to unfavorable contractual terms in favor of a more progressive deal with Discipline Global Mobile, the label co-owned by Robert (King Crimson) Fripp and David Singleton.
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THE LISTENING BOOTH | THE NEW ROCK N ROLL : THE LEMON TWIGS – “SMALL VICTORIES”
The Lemon Twigs (aka Brian and Michael D’Addario) recently announced that their second album, Go to School, would be released by 4AD on August 24th.
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PoPTV | POWER POP ROCK N ROLL : CLASSIFIED FREQUENCY – “NO MORE SEX”
Maryland power pop quartet Classified Frequency has released a super fun new music video for their single “No More Sex.”
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THE LISTENING BOOTH | THE NEW ROCK N ROLL : HOTEL MIRA – “GINGER ALE”
Vancouver-based trio Hotel Mira (fka JPNSGRLS) is building up nicely to the new EP with its latest single, “Ginger Ale”.
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KEVIN SAYS …
It’s almost been three years since my final solo album – Present Sense – was released. The tepid response to that release prompted me to retire completely from releasing and performing music.
PoP RECOMMENDS | POP POWER!!! ASTRAL DRIVE – S/T
Astral Drive is songwriter and producer Phil Thornalley’s vision of a long lost album from the 1970s that only existed in his own mind. A labour of love that is very much the statement of a lifelong music fan living in the modern world. (Official bio)
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PoP RECOMMENDS | POP POWER : PAUL STEEL – CAROUSEL KITES
Back in 2009, this is what I wrote about Paul Steel’s debut album, Moon Rock.
“Favouring dense instrumentation and arrangements, melodic hooks galore, whimsical moments and trainspotting references, Moon Rock is one of those albums that true pop enthusiasts will obsess over for weeks on repeat mode, headphones on, salivating over every nuance.”
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