When I started Power of Pop back in 1998, my favourite ‘genre’ was ‘power pop’. Wiki defines ‘power pop’ as

“…a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are usually kept to a minimum, and blues elements are largely downplayed. Recordings tend to display production values that lean toward compression and a forceful drum beat. Instruments usually include one or more electric guitars, an electric bass guitar, a drum kit, and sometimes electric keyboards or synthesizers. While its cultural impact has waxed and waned over the decades, power pop is among rock’s most enduring subgenres.”

When discussing ‘power pop’, inevitably the song used as a reference point is Big Star‘s “September Gurls”.

It’s easy to discern all the elements of ‘power pop’ that Wiki listed out in this song. Melody, harmony and gleaming guitars all in strong evidence. Of course, Big Star itself had many other kinds of musical styles but ‘power pop’ will always be the ‘genre’ the band will be most closely associated with.

The 90s Pop Underground was definitely influenced by Jellyfish (pictured above). The band formed around the nucleus of Andy Sturmer (Vocals, drums) and Roger Manning Jr (keyboard, vocals) and released two legendary albums (in ‘power pop’ circles, in any case) viz. Bellybutton and Spilt Milk. Sadly, Jellyfish‘s ‘power pop’ was out of synch with what was popular at the time i.e. ‘grunge’ and the band soon broke up after the failure of Spilt Milk. But its legacy was felt strongly for the rest of the decade. Here’s a video of the band playing “Joining a Fan Club” live. Amazing harmonies and dynamics.

In the wake of Jellyfish, many other ‘power pop’ bands also signed with major labels and released excellent albums which failed to register with the ‘grunge’ loving public. This list would include The Grays, Wanderlust, Jason Falkner and Greenberry Woods. A couple of ‘power pop’ indie labels like Not Lame and Big Deal soon surfaced to feed the appetites of the Pop Underground fans but by the early Noughties (despite initial mainstream successes of Fastball and Semisonic, the scene had faded away somewhat.

In the UK and Europe, there were also pockets of ‘power pop’ bands that also drew from 70s punk and 80s post-punk to remain relevant to critics but were essentially holding true to the traditions. Teenage Fanclub and a host of bands from the Scottish indie scene (like BMX Bandits and Captain America/Eugenius) flew the flag strongly for melodic guitar pop that bordered on ‘power pop’. But one UK band that really captured the imagination of the Pop Underground was Silver Sun.

Great melodies with crunching guitar work makes for primo ‘power pop’! However, the same decline that was seen in the USA was basically mirrored in the UK as well for ‘power pop’. So here we are in 2012 and the last decade or so has not been kind to ‘power pop’ and there has not been any significant ‘power pop’ band/artist in a long while. However, if you looked closely at bands like Surfer Blood, Best Coast and Cults, the unmistakable affinity for 60s pop blended with the modern guitar sound may be a subtle re-invention of ‘power pop’ for a entirely new generation of music lovers. I leave you with Singapore’s very own ‘power pop’ masters Typewriter with its instant classic, “That Deepest Blue” and hope that like me you will dream of a ‘power pop’ future…