Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More!: Round up of the week with, Nick Piunti, The Mad Doctors, The Joy Of Painting, Ballard, Welcome Pariah, Paul Messis and The Royal Flares

Once again, I am way behind with my mail, so many e-mails come through from great bands playing great music that I simply don't have time to get them all out there, so I am going to continue with my "round ups" in order to get them all out to you and what a blinding album to start with. Nick Piunti, who you may know as one of the Respectables (Detroit) or member of Chris Richards and the Subtractions, apparently, he is the cutest member of the band, but we are not able to confirm or deny this here at ICM headquarters, but, we do know that he has made a blinding power pop album with "13 In My Head" and that you should bag yourself a copy of this album with immediate effect!

Stream and get your copy from the very excellent Futureman Records here: Futuremanrecords.Bandcamp

Contact, befriend, follow, like and love Nick Piunti here: Facebook

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Brooklyn based garage punk band The Mad Doctors have just released an EP of surf rock, garage punk and psychedelic sludge and it contains exactly that, if The Black Lips had a slimy kid with The Ghastly ones, then this is what it would sound like and we like this, it kicks in all the right spots and hits the parts that other music just can't reach.

Yep, definately mad!

Stream and buy the EP here: Bandcamp

Join in with the madness, contact, follow, befriend, like and love (at your own peril) here: Facebook

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The Joy Of Painting have been a favourite of mine since I first stumbled across them on Bandcamp with their album "Asterix" and now a few singles later they have unleashed another mini album which once again reminds me why I fell in love with them in the first place, 7 songs of complete and utter joy, no pun intended, this is top quality pop craftsmanship direct from Nashville, check it out, seriously, check it out!

The Joy of Painting get the thumbs up from me too!

Stream and buy the album here with many different colouful packages available, including vinyl, T shirts etc here: Bandcamp

Contact, befriend, follow, like and love The Joy Of Painting here: Facebook

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Ballard started working on this album immediately after releasing his previous album "Little Rockets" (which we featured on the blog earlier in the year), it began with the track "Everybody Knows" which was a departure from the punky/mod sounds of "Little Rockets" with the visions of a more epic Phil Spector type sound, whilst still retaining the lo-fi qualities of the previous Ballard recordings.

"Bucky" is more varied album in styles of music with Nilsson, The Kinks and Working Boys as inspiration.

The album is a short affair with 9 songs clocking in at just over twenty minutes which leave you wanting for more and I am quite sure that there will be more this year.

There are rumours abound that Ballard are to be recording with Dana Myza of Cotton Mather in the future and we'll certainly keep you abreast of any developments there as that promises to be something very special indeed. For now, enjoy this great album.

Stream and buy the album here: Bandcamp

Contact, befriend, follow, like and love Ballard here: Facebook

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From Southampton, vocalist/lead guitarist John Waghorn, vocalist/guitarist Josh Butcher, bassist Daniel Manuel, and (session) drummer John Martin are causing a bit of a stir on the music scene. Supporting The Dexters, The Moons, Chris Helme, Steve Craddock and Mark Morriss; landing an interview with the Huffington Post, and debuting their latest single, ‘Neither Here Nor There’ at This Feeling… Say hello to Welcome Pariah.

On my first listen to the band I was reminded a little of "Cast" but on subsequent listens I discovered many other influences, albeit subtle, but this band brings something else to the table, great tunes, excellent musicianship and well crafted lyrics. These guys are just what the British music scene needs right now (and many places beyond) this is a really refreshing and very tasty outfit and I can't wait to hear some more from them, welcome Welcome Pariah and enjoy!

Find more songs here: Soundcloud

Contact, befriend, follow, find more tunes (be sure to check out the excellent "Liberty Pill" on Youtube) like and love Welcome Pariah here: Facebook

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I discovered Paul Messis via a large selection of CDs sent to me by his label "State Records" last year and immediately his music resonated with me, full of chiming guitars and licks that could have come straight from the sixties garage scene.

I spent a large part of my youth seeking out 60's garage records and collecting the Rubbles, Pebbles, Texas Flashbacks etc records and I absolutely loved the bands I was discovering, I would guess that Paul was doing the same as he encompasses many of those sounds but in his own original way bringing the folk rock, psychedelic, punk and garage elements of the sixties together beautifully, this has to be one of my records of the year so far, I love it!

Stream and buy the album here: Bandcamp

Make sure to discover and submerge yourself in the sounds of Paul Messis' back catologue whilst there.

Paul has also started his own record company with a release by The Young Sinclairs being his first single release.

The aims of the label are to release a succession of cool 45s for many bands over time, whilst keeping true to our musical integrity and original aims

Find out more here: http://marketsquarerecordings.bandcamp.com

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Keeping with the sixties garage scene, here is another band that are currently getting plenty of air time in our "office." This band from Munich, Germany obviously share my passion and love for the sixties garage scene too and we also love them!

The Royal Flares are dedicated to the raw, wild, frantic and driving sound of 60s garage rock’n’roll as epitomized by the legendary „Back From The Grave“ series. Drumsticks flying through the room, the Farfisa organ grinding the sole off your shoes, the singer snarling and screaming out his anger, angst and longing, the bass like a heavy maelstrom underneath and guitars like rusty blades slashing through mountains of fuzz and twang.
„Tales Of Sound & Fury“ was recorded in an old building of the German Federal Railway, which makes for an authentic, almost archaic sound (the secret being high ceilings, like the studios in the sixties used to have them). It’s live, including the vocals, and it’s wild. This is not a clean and neat simulation of long gone garage punk greatness, this is the real thing. Forceful, massive like an old steam engine, rolling downhill!
„Bad Part Of Town“, the original already being a top-notch rocker- the Flares turn it into a downright „punk juggernaut“ as a US collector of sixties garage 45s has put it. Their rendition of the all-time garage favourite „Going All The Way“ is a blasting ’66 jangle ride on a ’77 punk engine. And another reputable expert of 60s garage rock’n’roll has only one word for their version of the hard-core garage anthem „Last Time Around“: „killer“!
Their original material doesn’t lack behind. If you think „Signifying Nothing“ with its biting blasts of fuzz is right off a Back From The Grave comp, you could be right, only that it’s the Royal Flares’ very own creation. „The Stalker“, another 60s punk smasher, has been described as „the Great Scots blended with the Ramones (Blitzkrieg Bop)“. With tunes like „This Is Why I“ the Royal Flares even prove to be competent on Beau Brummels territory and „Mavis“ is a beautifully haunting and moody 60s garage ballad.„Tales Of Sound & Fury“ is like a massive rock in a sea of plastic. It’s raw, it’s wild, it’s pulsating with the blood of original rock’n’roll. Welcome to the Stone Age!