Steely Dan – Aja is the first to be featured in our new (hopefully) regular feature of classic album reviews. Of course, as usual, what qualifies as a classic album is a matter of opinion and typically, I will highlight albums that I have listened to quite a fair bit in order to ultimately arrive at this particular specific assessment.
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In my recent opinion piece on music appreciation, I opined that music has become less time sensitive in the new media age. So I am starting a new music feature to highlight recommended new (mainly) pop-rock albums on a post-monthly basis. So here it is – Recommended Albums (September 2020). Check them out!
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Since I reviewed his 2017 album, Something/Nothing, English singer-songwriter Nick Frater has been keeping up a steady yearly release schedule with Goodbye Kayfabe (2018), Full Fathom Freight-Train (2019) and his latest Fast & Loose this year. The self-described ‘60s/70s inspired power-pop’ specialist is determinedly prolific, by all accounts.
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I’ll be honest. This new album from The Neighbourhood shook me to the core. Now, this is a proper pop album. Not the shitty 2nd-rate lazy hip-pop that is popular nowadays but an old-school pop album. But with 2020 pop sensibilities. How did this happen?
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A review of Bill Lloyd – Working the Long Game.
Bill Lloyd returns with a smart new album that will appeal to the PoP Faithful with its sophisticated take on Power Pop Rock N Roll. Lloyd is a Nashville based songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer who is most often remembered as half of the late ‘80’s RCA country-rock duo, Foster and Lloyd.
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Lost within the hype, attention and brouhaha over the 50th anniversary re-issue of The Beatles “White Album”, is First Collection 2006 – 2009, a retrospective on the early Fleet Foxes recordings.
After the success of last year’s Sgt Pepper remix reissue, this 50th anniversary edition of my favourite Beatles album was the one to look out for!
Seattle new wave revivalists Spirit Award are back with a new album, Muted Crowd.
It’s impossible to be objective about Bohemian Rhapsody as I have been a Queen fan since 1977.
Good to hear that James Lye who played guitar with me in The Groovy People years back has set up his own label – Maker Records, and it has released the new single from Bakers in Space.
A rare thing indeed to come across a pop song that addresses the social issues of Singapore but Shannon Luke has done exactly that with his latest single, “The Survey”.
Photo credit : James Omara
EC fans received a bit of a scare after the singer-songwriter cancelled a clutch of live dates due to ill health. But news of his recovery and the release of Look Now – one of Costello’s best albums of recent times – must have cheered diehard followers!
There is a pleasing new wave of music artists taking the bold step of making ‘real’ music again. The old-fashioned way, so to speak. Like Texas-based singer-songwriter Molly Burch.
In 2018, retro pop rock still has relevance though probably not for millennials and younger generations. But it matters not. I know that the PoP Faithful will enjoy these releases. Good enough!
Songwriting duo Scott McPherson and Jamie Grant present a debut album that lives up to its name.
Continuing our lookback at our publishing history with a decade-old review of Brass Bed!
BRASS BED Midnight Matinee (Self released)
I’m guessing that Brass Bed got their name from Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay but I could be wrong.
Mention Styx online and chances are you are going to be trolled. But for a time, the pop-rock quintet were one of the biggest bands on the planet.
When Trump became President, there was lots of talk about how resistance to his administration would inspire loads of protest music similar to the 80s with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Has not quite panned out that way, so thank goodness for Seattle’s The Refusers!
The moment one gets into Ken Sharp’s latest album, Beauty in the Backseat, one is transported back to the ’70s, where pop-rock was king of the airwaves.
Once again, Bittersweet Machines (a.k.a. Matt Mocharnuk) delivers another potent shot of melodic adrenaline infused with 80s pop-rock sensibilities of the highest order!
Faithful visitors to Power of Pop will know how much I am a fan of the music of young singer/songwriter/guitarist Huxley Rittman.
This month I celebrate the wonderful music of one of my favourite bands – Genesis.
Blast from the distant PoP past – 15 years on…
THE JAYHAWKS Rainy Day Music (Lost Highway/American)
After the greater pop emphasis of Sound of Lies and Smile, the Jayhawks return to the roots rock approach of their earlier albums (especially Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass) with this, their first album with the Lost Highway label (also home of that other alt-country standard bearer, Ryan Adams).
If you are a rabid fan of Power Pop Rock N Roll, then Addison Love‘s new album (out now on Big Stir Records) is an easy sell.
Risk-taking is such a rare thing in the contemporary music scene, that when it does happen it hits us like a lightning bolt!
