“The NEW RELEASES Podcast” – Episode 5

Your Host: BRUCE BROWN

Part of our information disseminating goal at PGH is keep you posted on the newest Power Pop music coming our way. If you’ve ever checked out my Fix It In The Mix blog, you know that I take a rather liberal view of new stuff. It could mean released last week, last month or last year – but, as I am so fond of saying, ‘If it’s new to me, then it’s new.  Check out the blog  at THIS LINK.

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Pop Geek Heaven – PGH PODCAST – New Releases, #5

DOWNLOAD -“New Releases Podcast #5” –  HERE

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1. The Dandy Warhols – We Used To Be Friends (Veronica Mars Soundtrack)
(Okay, not even remotely new. But in light of the recent VM Kickstarter campaign, I had to include it.)
2. Union Starr – Landing Lights (Falling Apart Together)
(These British lads started this album over a decade ago and split before it was finished. The result of a 2010 reconciliation is this finally-completed set of timeless melodic pop.)
3. Magnet – Doldrum Days (Doldrum Days single)
(I’ve tried to collect everything I can by Magnet [Even Johansen], whose folkie, electronica-influenced pop is consistently compelling. I somehow missed this 2011 single.)
4. Blinker The Star – Future Fires (Future Fires Bandcamp single)
(This alternative leaning Canadian combo consistently serves up great melodies and creative arrangements.)
5. Ducktails – Ivy Covered House (The Flower Lane)
(On a busman’s holiday from his main band, Real Estate, Matthew Mondanile sounds more 80s Mancunian than Jersey indie rocker. And that’s a good thing.)
6. Ken Kase (of the Sun Sawed in 1/2) – Quality Control (SoundCloud single)
(The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree on this brilliant solo excursion.)
7. The JAC – Time Machine (Faux Pas)
(No matter what decade or genre he’s working in – in this case, 60s garage rock – Joe Algeri always delivers the goods!)
8. The Successful Failures – Sea Flowers (Sea Flowers Bandcamp single)
(These Jersey-based rockers survey everything from alt-country to power pop, all with killer chops and hooks.)
9. Hart Lake Mystery – Sunny All The Time (Solace Seeker Bandcamp EP)
(Cranky guitar hooks put the bite in this 2012 power pop gem.)
10. Swiss Alps – Summershine (Sea Urchins cover) (Summershine Bandcamp single)
(Delaware/Philly area indie pop outfit that is so lo-fi it issued its early recordings on cassette only. This summer 2012 single is a free download and includes tape hiss.)
11. Spygenius – All My Skeletons (The Comfortable Suture)
(My compadre Bruce Brodeen once said of Spygenius “you’ll hear lots of Squeeze and late-era XTC” – can’t disagree with that!)
12. Matt Pond – When the Moon Brings the Silver (The Lives Inside the Lines In Your Head)
(No PA, except maybe to blast acoustic-driven rockers like this one.)
13. Miracles of Modern Science – Dear Pressure (MEEMS Bandcamp EP)
(These guys mix acoustic and electric sounds with They Might Be Giants-calibre lyrical smarts and great hooks.)
14. Dodgy – Did It Have to Be This Way? (Stand Upright In a Cool Place)
(Veteran British popsters come through again. This disc is a bugger to find in the States, but worth the effort.)
15. Punky’s Dilemma – Shooting Stars (Echelon)
(Sweet, 60’s-influenced baroque pop from a Swedish couple – bonus points for cool band name. This one was rescued from 2006.)
16. Jens Lekman – I Know What Love Isn’t (I Know What Love Isn’t)
(Jens, another Swede, specializes in sentimental, soaring melodies that temper the impact of his often melancholy lyrics.)
17. Fleetwood Mac – Silver Springs (Rumours Super Deluxe Edition)
(If you want to know how such a clearly superior song could be relegated to B-side status, check out recording engineer Ken Caillat’s excellent book, Making Rumours.)