This is wonderful! Stephen Lawrensons latest offering, his first on the "Kool Kat" label, really is something special.
From the very first few chords of opening track, "Your Karma," you know you are in for a real treat or 10 as is the case here, this album is beautifully immediate, no slow growers here within, this is one of the rare albums that grabs your interest from the word go and what is more it holds your interest!
Stephen makes quite a pop splash here on his 2013 Kool Kat debut! Playing every note on the record, he proudly wears his pop influences on his sleeve. 'Small White House" would pass for a Brian Wilson-penned song. His inner Jeff Lynne pops up on both 'Pale Yellow' and the 12-string laced 'Words To Say'." It's intelligent, well written, and completely catchy. Power pop, with loads of great hooks, melodies and harmonies. A masterful melange of 60's, 70's, and 80's guitar rock mixed and matched with no concern for the namecheck. That's how good this is. Five stars isn't enough. Six, maybe!" - MR Gomez --Mr. Gomez
"What do you think would happen if you threw The Goldbergs, The Beatles, Three Hour Tour, Teenage Fanclub (in their fuzzy period), Big Star, The Posies (circa 'Frosting On The Beater'), 'Pet Sounds' period Brian Wilson, and the Electric Light Orchestra into a giant pop blender? You'd get Stephen Lawrenson, that's what!" - Max Humphries --Max Humphries
I have to admit, that I didn't know much of Stephen's work until now and I certainly intend to look back at his back catalogue and see what I have missed, if it is anything as good as this album, then I have missed an awful lot!!!!!
Last year I featured Sam Page's EP "Waiting For Another Spring, which we all loved here at "ICM" and I am pleased to share the details of his new 10 track debut album.
The album has been released digitally so far on itunes, Spotify and other good download sites and the cd release will be available on March 29th.
This guitar driven pop/rock will sit very well with fans of Matthew Sweet, Weezer, Cake, Jack White, Dinosaur JR and Blur to name a few.
Sam Page is an independent singer/songwriter who creates guitar-driven pop/rock. In 2010, he began performing at open mics, learned to home-record, and made an EP (The Garage Band Files). Sam then formed a band in 2011 and did twenty gigs in southern California. In April 2012, he released a second EP (Waiting for Another Spring) that earned an encouraging amount of praise. Sam's first full albumBreach was released digitally in January 2013. In a past life, Sam scored a PhD in Philosophy and for five years was a full-time college professor. But then he needed a break from being rational. So he decided to pursue a music career . . .
This album is a real sparkler from start to finish, pleasently upbeat with plenty of guitar riffs and jangly guitars in abundance, if this fails to get you moving, then you must be dead!
Contact, befriend, follow, like, love and download the album at the following links:
Here is a really lovely video for the track "Riga In The Fall" by Gavin Guss, from his album "On High" which landed at number 5 in the Ice Cream Man 2012 year end list. Enjoy!
Last August I raved about "Surf School Dropouts" and they finished second in my year end list, which is no mean feat considering the copious amounts of great music I received last year, and to this day I am still playing the download on a regular basis. However, you can now own this superb, infectious piece of surf pop on vinyl, the ultimate format, since the band were, quite rightly, snapped up by one of my very favourite labels, "Sunny Day Records."
Surf School Dropouts are:
Andreas Jacobsen - vocals & keyboard/guitar/bass/drums, Christian Bendix - vocals & guitar/bass, Jari Nielsen - vocals, Martin Jensen - vocals.
As the name of the band suggests, these are sun soaked harmony, laden songs with catchy melodies that will warm you to the core, place a smile on your face and probably make you want to grab your board and head for the beach and soak up the surf.
Since 2009 Andreas, Christian, Jari and Martin have been on a mission to bring sunny sounds to the
frostbitten, Northern shores of Denmark. Based in Copenhagen, these guys may be far, far away from the
California sun and beach scenes they sing about. But they nevertheless channel their love of Brian Wilson
and infectious harmonies to great effect.
Above all, ‘Summer is a State of Mind’ is a celebration of the classic pop sound with 14 self-penned songs
featuring shared lead vocals by all four Dropouts and lots of catchy melodies.
Here is a rather charming EP that I wanted to share after stumbling across it on Bandcamp, 60's styled beautiful, dreamy pop in the vein of The Beach Boys, had they been blessed with a female voice of course!
I can't really tell you too much about the band, other than that they are a 4 piece from New Jersey, but I can tell you that you should download these three beautiful tracks and take a listen to the bands demos too which are every bit as beautiful!
The Twin Sets are back with their second EP, and once again, showing fine form with the extended play"Romance." I am never sure if a six track should be called an EP or a mini album, but what the hell, we get six tracks, not four and what great tracks they are too!
The last time I featured the band on the blog I was full of praise for their musical abilities, as I still very much am, but I criticised their tracks sung in English as being "quite nonsensical," it was a minor criticism but one the band obviously took to heart as they have certainly nailed the tracks in English on this offering, showing that they are a band that will strive to get it right and get it right, they have!
The Twin Sets are a band that will go far as they work towards getting everything right, from the driving Power Pop sounds to the perfection of the lyrics. Each and every one of the six tracks on "Romance" hit the mark.
So, this time around, do I have any positive criticism to share? Nope, nada, nothing at all, this record is brilliant, the future is looking extremely promising for this four piece from A Coruna in the north west of Spain and they are now sitting very comfortably besides my other favourite bands in the world of Power Pop and I am certainly looking forward to a long player from them in the not to distant future.
The Twin Sets are:
Denís Graña : Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Borja Fernández: Electric Guitar
Nacho: Bass Pablo Pita "Lito": Drums
Stream and buy The Twin Sets "Romance" EP here: Bandcamp
Contact, befriend, like and love The Twin Sets here: Facebook
Once again, the wonderful Interplanet Janet joins us for an album review, this time for the amazing debut album from Jay Gonzalez. Jay Gonzalez Mess of Happiness
You may or may not know Jay Gonzalez as the keyboard player from the band Drive-by Truckers. I would like to introduce you to his first album flying solo. But first, rewind to a couple months ago. I received the album not really sure what to expect since I hadn’t previously heard anything by the Drive-by Truckers. I was delighted because the songs were like the type my friends and I loved years ago. We would take refuge in them when our usual shoegaze, grunge and alt-rock got to be just too much. We would point out certain observant and amusing lyrics, laughing away our seemingly huge but-you-ain’t-seen-nothing-yet teenage troubles. Fun, clever, retro-pop, that back in the 70s and 80s might have been called “rock” because the songs contain a few guitar solos. I listened to Mess of Happiness carefully, smiled and thought Music used to be so fun. Why is my music collection so serious these days? This question hung over me like Beijing smog.
Let’s examine the album in more detail. I’m not going to list all Jay Gonzalez’s influences, but if you are interested, you can find them posted on jaygonzalez.com— the pop greats Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson feature. This is demonstrated in the quality of the songwriting with an added dose of humour and a dash of not-taking-oneself-too-seriously. Let me assure you though, that the unique and amusing nature of the album (which crosses over into the videos that are well worth a look) does not mean the listener has to sacrifice quality.
These are fine, well-crafted pop songs; well-sung and packed with personality. The random samples of sound that appear throughout, a child’s voice for example, only add to it’s charm. Some of the further influences I picked up on are Glen Campbell, ABBA, Wings and even the early 90s power-pop band, Jellyfish— but I’m not sure what Jay would say about that. It does go to show that this is a very eclectic bunch of songs and that a listen is essential.
It’s not easy to choose a few standout tracks because they all have something noteworthy about them, but I will start with the brilliantly-titled Turning Me On. Once upon a time, we made mixtapes. If after hearing this poptastic gem you do not have the immediate urge to put this on a mixtape for someone then there’s something wrong with you.
Also noteworthy is the punchy, peculiar and bass-heavy Skinny Little Fingers. It’s hard to place this song. Part of me feels it belongs nestled in an episode of Scooby-Do for it’s faux-scary murder mystery narrative. Also, if you are like me and enjoy compiling Halloween-themed mixtapes, this track would be perfect. I should add that Gonzalez gets a bumper pack of extra points from me for the insertion of “Teenage Fanclub” in the lyrics. If there is indeed such a thing as a Teenage Fanclub shiny mac, I want one and I want it now.
This is what I have decided. Mess of Happiness is an album that is needed in your record collection right now because it’s probably so unlike what is in your record collection right now. I admit I’ve been pretty big into deeply serious and tortured singer-songwriters who take you through their seemingly impossible quest for love and acceptance. I honestly have no intention of ditching them but there needs to be a balance. You need to hang out with a funny friend for a while, not just the friend with all the drama permanently attached. Interestingly, like the funny friend, you will find this album also has considerable depth under the surface. This is especially evident in it’s examination of relationships with friends and lovers. For example, in the tracks Short Leash, I Urge You and Louisa.
I’m pleased to have this album because it has forced me to realise the reason why my record collection has become so serious is because I have become so serious. The teenage me would regard this as a tragedy. All the more reason why, starting with Mess of Happiness, this should be the year for music to make you smile. Despite the mess.
Interplanet Janet
Contact, befriend, follow, like and love Jay Gonzalez here: Facebook
Visit Jay Gonzalez Official web site for more music and photos here: www.jaygonzalez.com
