WONDERMINTS - MIND IF WE MAKE LOVE TO YOU

“During 2000-2001, Wondermints cemented their already direct '60s influences by serving as the backing band for Brian Wilson's solo tours, documented on the concert albums Live at the Roxy Theater and Pet Sounds Live. Upon returning, they went into the studio and recorded Mind If We Make Love to You, a record that ably displays some steady gains in musicianship and expertise from playing some of the best pop music of all time in front of audiences all over the world. As on previous records, the band sparkles simply by playing up their influences instead of hiding them. Surprisingly, though, the Beach Boys inspiration apparently came from their early-'70s phase instead of their classic '60s era; "Ride," with backing vocals from Wilson himself, is immediately obvious, featuring a soulful vocal from the Carl Wilson playbook (first bluesy as on "The Trader," later heavenly as on "God Only Knows") and a progression of short "feels" instead of the usual verse-chorus-verse format.
Elsewhere, Wondermints again call on spirits of the past -- from the Association (for "Out of Mind," on which Curt Boettcher must surely be smiling) to the Zombies ("Shine on Me") to even the Grateful Dead ("Time Has You") -- but any hint of a stale sound is saved by gorgeous hooks, clean production, and an over-all beautiful construction. Occasionally the similarities are to fellow latter-day pop savants like Jason Falkner or even the Ocean Blue, but Wondermints ably display all they've learned during their nearly endless summer of touring with the golden boy of '60s pop.” (From AllMusicGuide).

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VEGAS WITH RANDOLPH - ABOVE THE BLUE REVIEW

Vegas with Randolph are:  John Ratts, Eric Kern, Dave Purol, Dan Aylestock, and Brock Harris.

The first question that came to me when I received this album for review was, "Who is Randolph then?" None of the band members are called Randolph!  Of course, after a few seconds of looking at the cover, I soon forgot about Randolph anyway!

The band have been compared to bands such as Fountains of Wayne, Fastball, Sloan and suchlike and on the album opener "The Better Part," you could also add Luna to that list too, a song with searing guitars and some brilliant catchy vocal arrangements that would entice any listener to track two and beyond without any hesitation.

 

The albums title track "Above the blue" starts off with a keyboard riff reminiscent of something The Beatles would have come up with and then goes off somewhere completely different with more great guitar hooks, and powerful vocals, in fact this 20 track album delivers cracking power pop from start to finish, I am playing the album now for the umpteenth time and I don't see that abating anytime soon, well, only to take it to the car as this album would also make for excellent driving music.

 

The album is nearly all up tempo, unabridged power pop, save for a couple power pop ballads, if that is the right description for them?

In conclusion, this is an album of well crafted, catchy tunes, great vocal arrangements, a nod and a wink to some of our heroes in the world of power pop and certainly a band to keep your eye on and ears open to.  Of course with every upside to a band there has to be a downside and in Vegas With Randolph's case, the downside is you need to buy 2 cds, one for the home and one for the car, thank God for MP3s eh!

You can contact "Vegas with Randolph" here: FACEBOOK MYSPACE

You can purchase "Above the Blue" on AMAZON CDBABY or you can buy a great package that includes a CD + a T-Shirt  + a digital download of the album with bonus tracks (this sorts out the car and home copies) - for a special low price! Includes immediate download of 20-track album in your choice of MP3 320, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire on the bands FACEBOOK page.

Vegas With Randolph T-Shirt design which is worth the package price alone!

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The Greenberry Woods - Big Money Item

 

The Greenberry Woods' instrumentation and yearning vocal style tend to the emotionally manipulative, heart-on-sleeve side, but lyrics often rise above the vacuous boy-girl stuff that defines the genre. "Love Songs" surveys the cliched landscape with a sly, knowing eye while working completely within the musical formula. At 18 tracks, most hovering under the three-minute mark, Big Money Item serves up a dizzying over-abundance of sugary riches. While some selections remain lightweight trifles, enough substantial moments overflow the cone to coat the listener in captivating sticky goo. "Invisible Threads" combines sudden gear shifts with a phased, baroque pop underpinning. There's the stately soft-psych of "Parachute," and a dew-eyed tip of the hat to Crowded House balladry in "For You." "Nervous" pumps up the fuzz for some garage-y power-pop while "Go Without You" breaks into Bay City Roller handclaps. "Oh Janine"'s soaring chorus recalls both The Beach Boys and Eric Carmen's Raspberries. Even at its most superficial and derivative and unapologetically nerdy, Big Money Item is just so chock full of fatal hooks that...well...life almost starts to feel that fresh and innocent again.

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Grass-Show - Something Smells Good in Stinksville

Grass Show (often written Grass~Show®) were a Britpop-inspired indie band from Sweden, active in the mid to late 1990s. They released one album in the United Kingdom, Something Smells Good In Stinkville, in 1997, with three singles, "1962", "Freak Show" and "Out Of The Void". The album contains a cover version of the Ace of Base song, "All That She Wants".
The artwork for their releases was notable as it often portrayed imagery of 1950s American families, which were juxtaposed with surreal and absurd elements. For example, the sleeves for the "1962" single has images of families cooking trainers.

Never mind the title. Grass-Show's debut album Something Smells Good in Stinkville is an infectious fusion of stylish Brit-pop, quirky new wave, punchy '70s power-pop and breezy Euro-pop. The band's strength is their melodic sensibilities, and while their clever lyrics can come across as smug, the light, frothy hooks and melodies are positively effervescent.

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THE BRILLIANT CORNERS _ SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME

With trumpets blaring and guitars jangling, the Brilliant Corners sound like they're ready to party on Somebody Up There Likes Me. Pop music doesn't need studio gloss to craft toe-tapping hooks, and the Brilliant Corners glide through 12 songs on Somebody Up There Likes Me with infectious enthusiasm and hummable melodies. The title track and "Your Feet Never Touch the Ground" are exhilarating, driven by propulsive guitars and jubilant horns. Bristling with youthful exuberance, "Teenage" and "Friday Saturday Sunday Monday" each clock in a little over two minutes, and their brevity makes them even more addictive.

Like Aztec Camera and the Smiths, the Brilliant Corners are able to decorate sad tales with deceptively upbeat new wave rhythms. The Brilliant Corners a lament a girl's passing in "She's Dead," but the music sounds more like a celebration than a wake. On the LP's most powerful song, "Never a Young Girl," vocalist David Woodward sings of a woman whom he was once in love with when he was a child, but now old age has taken its toll on her looks. "The cracks on the ceiling match the cracks on her face," Woodward laments as the band adopts the Smiths' slower, moodier moments, an uncharacteristic yet welcome respite from the Brilliant Corners' usual bursts of energy. Like almost everything else on the album, it's brilliant.
[From allmusic]

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BUFFALO TOM - SLEEPY EYED

Put Sleepy Eyed in your CD player, hit play, and prepare to be amazed -- "Tangerine," the lead-off cut, signals the brief but welcome return of "Dinosaur Jr." with two-and-three-quarters minutes of charging neo-grunge guitars and galloping drums, the likes of which you haven't heard from this band since Birdbrain. But, of course, Buffalo Tom sound a lot tighter, stronger, and more confident when they dig into the big shaggy dog rock than they did five years previous, and while they never get quite as rollicking as "Tangerine" again onSleepy Eyed, cut for cut it's a far more direct and straightforward rock album than anything they'd managed since their creative breakthrough on Let Me Come Over. To some listeners,Sleepy Eyed might sound like a regression, moving back into noisy power trio mode after the more polished surfaces and intricate arrangements of Let Me Come Over and Big Red Letter Day, but play Sleepy Eyed back to back with Birdbrain and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the differences. Sleepy Eyed decisively proves Buffalo Tom write better hooks and better melodies, write smarter lyrics, and even rock harder than when they were still trying to find their way out from under J. Mascis' shadow, and they sound like they're having a great time just turning up the amps and letting rip, especially Bill Janovitz, whose rock-dude guitar outros are a hoot (and this is one band who I cannot begrudge for enjoying themselves every once in a while). On Sleepy Eyed, Buffalo Tom go back to the old neighborhood and show everybody how much bigger and stronger they've become -- it's sorta like a high school reunion, but louder and a lot more fun.

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GIGOLO AUNTS - THE ONE BEFORE THE LAST

 

As one of the best-ever U.S. alternative pop acts to fall into obscurity, the Gigolo Aunts somehow found a large following in Spain, of all places -- hence this Spain-only set of rare and unreleased material, released via that country's Bittersweet Records in 2000. Warming overseas fans' hearts with a fine cover of Nacha Pop's "The Girl from Yesterday," this odds'n'sods album is nearly as good as such well-plotted Aunts affairs as 1994's Flippin' Out and 1999's Minor Chords and Major Themes. From the piano-laden pulse of "Kay and Michael" to hard chargers like "The Shift to Superoverdrive" and "To Whoever," the songwriting axis of Dave Gibbs and Steve Hurley is on the money. But The One Before the Last's parting shot, an acoustic winner called "The Sun Will Rise Again" (with a feel akin to Minor Chords and Major Themes' "Everyone Can Fly"), is among the finest in the group's canon. ~ John D. Luerssen, Rovi

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