Posted on

CHEATING SONS

CHEATING SONS Masters, Wives, Daughter (Self-released)

Regular visitors to the Power of Pop will be aware that I declared Masters, Wives, Daughters as my album of 2010 even though it would only be released in 2011. That assessment has not changed an iota in the month or so that I have been listening to this magnificent debut album almost non-stop. Songs like Isles, Ah Long on the Run, The Last Queen, Tales of Glory, Mr Green et al have been fixtures on my playlist and there’s no indication that I will tire of them anytime soon.

Continue reading “CHEATING SONS”

Posted on

LANEWAY FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2011

Warpaint2011

OR HOW I LOST MY SOLE AT RAINWAY…

Where do I start? How about being hugely bummed out at missing on Foals, the band I most wanted to catch at Laneway? Or should that be “Rainway”? Most of the inaugural Singapore edition of this Aussie indie festival was a washed in showers from on high and the venue Fort Canning Park was turned into a mud bath.

Notwithstanding the inclement weather (which continued well in Sunday), the fans lapped it all up. A good sized crowd packed the park decked out in their ponchos and umbrellas, with the ladies getting all wet, the men didn’t complain too much! But it began oh so differently, when what looked initially like a passing shower blessed the festival grounds even before opening act Warpaint took to the stage but it was soon apparent that the rain was here with us to stay…

Continue reading “LANEWAY FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2011”

Posted on

TYPEWRITER – LIVE IN SINGAPORE

There’s been a lot of talk about the S-ROCK scene of late – Should the government provide more support? Should there be campaigns to change the public perception of S-ROCK? Should corporations get behind S-ROCK to act as patrons and sponsors? Should gig organizers be compelled to feature S-ROCK bands as opening acts for the flood of foreign artist/bands playing in Singapore? All of which, in my humble opinion, would be pointless, if S-ROCK was not even any good to begin with.

Continue reading “TYPEWRITER – LIVE IN SINGAPORE”

Posted on

POWER OF POP INTERVIEW – VILLAGERS

Here’s an interesting story behind the interview I had with Conor O’Brien/Villagers which formed the basis for my TODAY piece. I had originally sent a list of email questions for Conor via Greenhorn Productions. But then I was given to understand that Conor would prefer a phoner instead and so I called him and we had a good 20 minute chat. Subsequently, I received from Greenhorn Productions, Conor’s duly completed answers to my original list of questions!  I had TWO interviews! Therefore, I took the written answers and fashioned the article that you can read in TODAY and now I set out below the full text of the phone interview with Conor – it’s long but well worth reading. Conor is serious about his songwriting craft and he is a shining example of what a modern day songwriter-musician should be – literate, passionate and yet down to earth and humble. If you haven’t got your tickets for Conor’s performance on Monday, I strongly urge that you do so quickly before they are sold out. Get them from SISTIC.

Your debut album was short-listed for a Mercury Prize. How does that make you feel?

I was embarrassed. I don’t enjoy attention that much unless I’m singing. Then I don’t enjoy getting no attention when I’m singing (laughs). I felt somewhat honored I guess – it was a nice thing to hear but my overall feeling was one of embarrassment.

Continue reading “POWER OF POP INTERVIEW – VILLAGERS”

Posted on

CHARLES J TAN – LIVE IN SINGAPORE

Charles J Tan is a folk-pop singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. Tan is Australian with roots from Singapore and has just released his album, The Pelham Sessions and is currently on tour to support the release in Singapore and Asia. His next show is on 31st Jan 2011 at The Esplanade, with a two month long residency at TAB Singapore to follow in February and March. Admission is free.

Review of The Pelham Sessions to come.

Official Site

Posted on

FALLON CUSH

FALLON CUSH s-t (Self-released)

Australian singer-songwriter Steve Smith is the person behind Fallon Cush, this ‘band’ moniker being Smith’s preferred persona in lieu of using his own name. That said, this eponymous album is very much a group project with Smith recruiting the likes of Bill Gibson (bass, backing vocals), Matt Galvin (guitar), Scott Aplin (keyboards), Josh Schuberth (drums) and Bert Thomson (also, drums). The aforementioned players are well known in Sydney music circles and are all seasoned players, which is borne out in this accomplished effort, despite being recorded in only seven days!

Continue reading “FALLON CUSH”

Posted on

DESTROYER

DESTROYER Kaputt (Merge)

On previous releases, Dan Bejar (aka Destroyer) pretty much channeled his 60s/70s obsessions through like-minded musical heroes like Syd Barrett, David Bowie and Marc Bolan. On Kaputt (his 9th album), Bejar has moved forward a decade to land perfectly on the 80s! The influences of the aforementioned “three Bs” still linger on but this time via the post-punk movement. Thus, astute listeners will no doubt pick out references to New Order, Japan/Rain Tree Crow, the Blue Nile, Talk Talk, Ultravox & Ryuichi Sakamoto/Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Continue reading “DESTROYER”

Posted on

LANEWAY FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2011

Australian indie rock festival Laneway makes its debut in Singapore in a few days’ time (Saturday, 29th January). LA band Warpaint is one of the bands playing and here is the transcription of the phone interview I did with drummer Stella Mozgawa late last year and formed the basis for my TODAY article.

Who is the big David Bowie fan in the band?

I think we all are in many ways. I can definitely call myself a big David Bowie fan. He is a staple for musicians these days. He is so popular and so influential, and yet so credible. We’re all big lovers of his music.

Continue reading “LANEWAY FESTIVAL SINGAPORE 2011”

Posted on

TYPEWRITER – LIVE IN SINGAPORE

TypeWriter plays at the Esplanade Recital Studio this Friday, 28th January and it’s an event not to be missed. Tickets available at SISTIC. Power of Pop caught up with TypeWriter’s Yee Chang Kang to find out more…

2010 was a good year for TypeWriter – what were your personal highlights?

The biggest highlight would definitely be getting our album out! It feels just wonderful to be able to finally hold a copy of the finished product in my hands. On top of that, performing together with Jon Auer of The Posies for Baybeats last year would be another one. Writing our last 2 songs for the album, Sunlight Takes Over and That Deepest Blue, and hearing how both songs have come alive and materialized, along with my bandmates – that’s definitely a great highlight too!

Continue reading “TYPEWRITER – LIVE IN SINGAPORE”

Posted on

FRANK ZAPPA

AN EVENING WITH FRANK ZAPPA during which… The Torture Never Stops (Eagle Rock)

The late Frank Zappa was an iconoclastic songwriter-singer-musician that butted heads with the conventional music industry on his own terms. Talking classical, jazz and pop-rock music and molding these genres into his own avant garde perspective, adding to the incongruous mix satirical, absurdist lyrics, Zappa exerted his singularly weird sound and vision onto the music world till his untimely death in 1993.

Continue reading “FRANK ZAPPA”

Posted on

PENGILLY’S

PENGILLY’s Ode Vii single (Good Foot)

“Pengilly’s is the project of 20 year old Ric Hollingbery and his band.  Pengilly’s mix orchestral arrangements with beats; shouts, choral phrases and processed sounds.  They play live with strings, brass, laptop, bass and drums” goes the official press bio. Not far off the mark certainly, as this debut single fully demonstrates. Stripped of the electronics, one could conceivably describe Ode Vii as baroque folk-pop and in this way share affinity with the current wave of British neo-folk. A refreshing combination. Augers well for the full length album to come.

Buy | Myspace

Posted on

LLOYD COLE

LLOYD COLE Broken Record (Self-released)

Cole’s country and folk influences are evident in the use of instruments like the pedal steel, banjo and mandolin, as well as the narrative nature of his lyrics. I must confess that’s basically the extent of my knowledge about Cole or any other pop-country-folk-ish music, so if I go ahead and say that this album is worth listening to, it’s completely without reference or comparison or expectation. And this album really is worth listening to.

Continue reading “LLOYD COLE”

Posted on

FRINGE SEASON 3

Episode 10 – Firefly

Well, Fringe is back… hooray! Unfortunately, Firefly turned out to be one of the most cryptic episodes yet… and that’s really saying something. Instead of always hiding in the background of events, the Observer called September inserted himself into human affairs in order to test Walter Bishop. Apparently, the point of September’s intervention – and it involved a rather prolonged convoluted thread of unrelated circumstances – was to see whether, if push came to shove, Walter could sacrifice Peter’s life for (presumably) the greater good.

Continue reading “FRINGE SEASON 3”

Posted on

TIGER RIOT

TIGER RIOT Look Up! (Brookvale)

Look Up! is the soon-to-be-released debut album from Tiger Riot, a five-piece band from Long Island. Look Up! is an album verging on pop-punk (All Time Low, The White Tie Affair) rather than one planted firmly within the alternative/indie rock genre.

Continue reading “TIGER RIOT”

Posted on

POWER OF POP CONFIDENTIAL: BEAR CULTURE

BEAR CULTURE

The future of S-ROCK lies with our young people. Bands in secondary school, JC, poly and uni, and what they do about music will have an impact of where the S-ROCK scene will be in 5 years. My understanding is that the members of Bear Culture are currently studying in Republic Polytechnic (where I’m currently working, of course), so obviously when I received a request to review their music, I was interested.

Continue reading “POWER OF POP CONFIDENTIAL: BEAR CULTURE”

Posted on

TELEKINESIS

TELEKINESIS 12 Desperate Straight Lines (Merge)

Michael Benjamin Lerner returns with his sophomore effort, with more of the same well-crafted modern alt-pop-rock. Also returning is producer Chris Walla (out of Death Cab for Cutie). Lerner basically carries on from where he left on his enjoyable eponymous debut. Eschewing any particular style or approach, Lerner chooses to envelop his melodic, vibrant songs in different arrangements that cover the several eras of alt-rock.

Continue reading “TELEKINESIS”

Posted on

LISTENING BOOTH – NOAH & THE WHALE

English band Noah & the Whale is – like Mumford & Sons – at the forefront of the current UK retro-folk movement. Consisting of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar, ukulele), Tom Hobden (fiddle), Urby Whale (bass), and Fred Abbott (guitar/keys), the band is set to release its third album, Last Night On Earth, on March 15th via Mercury Records. The band’s first album since 2009 will feature ten brand new tracks, including the infectiously melodic first single L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

Posted on

LIVE IN SINGAPORE – RACHAEL YAMAGATA & SARA BAREILLES

As congested as the gig schedule in Singapore for February and March is, one item worth nothing is the upcoming performance of Rachael Yamagata at the Esplanade Recital Studio on 16th February. Certainly, Yamagata has already played on our shores twice before, but this time, Yamagata will be performing an intimate solo set on acoustic guitar/piano in a “up close and personal” setting. Punters who have experienced previous choice gigs organized by Greenhorn Productions like Lloyd Cole, Patrick Watson and Owen Pallett will be aware that these unique shows at the Recital Studio offer a completely different experience from the bigger gigs at the Fort Canning Park, Indoor Stadium or even the Esplanade Concert Hall. Not to be missed. More information here.

On 11th May, at the Esplanade Concert Hall, the popular singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles makes her debut in Singapore and it promises to be a night of pure pop confection. Already in possession of a #1 record on the Billboard Album Charts with Kaleidoscope Heart in 2010, no doubt that tickets for this gig will be a hot item, when they go on sale. More information here.

…still there’s more…

Posted on

SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK…

I am a 70s kid. Meaning I become a teenager in the early 1970s, when bell bottoms were in… AND the popular cutting edge music then was HARD ROCK. Not metal (have never really been comfortable with that word). Simply, it’s rock (without the roll) and it was hard – meaning it was played loud and fast! The first hard rock band that I really got into was the legendary Deep Purple. Purple fans all agree that the second incarnation of the band was probably the best viz. Ian Gillan (vocals), Richie Blackmore (guitars), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums) and Roger Glover (bass). Like many of the bands of that era, Purple started out as a psychedelic/garage rock band and simply got harder. My favourite Purple album is undoubtably Deep Purple in Rock, which contained classics such as Child in Time, Flight of the Rat and Speed King (see live version below)

Continue reading “SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE”

Posted on

HARD ROCK BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Another band competition beckons! Hey, don’t turn away cynically – looks at the big prize – winning band gets to perform at Hard Rock Calling in London’s Hyde Park! Sounds good to me.

Interested now?

Send your band information and video clips (Youtube links) to [email protected].

Get your registration form here. More details.