Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio

We’re just getting started reporting on all of the new songs and artists we’re adding to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. Today’s mega-post follows yesterday’s exciting list of hot new numbers we’re featuring as part of our hand-picked 8,600-strong rotation.

Let’s get to today’s array of top-flight tunes.

Gleeson | Curse My Lucky Stars Whether or not it was their intention, the members of Austin, Texas band Gleeson have made their White Album. Here it is, a sparkling collection of songs varied in approach and tone that makes a case for melodic pop being the genre of the moment. Encompassing beautiful balladry, art-pop, rock and retro charm, Curse My Lucky Stars is a marvel.

It would be a disservice to listeners to touch on every joyous surprise within these grooves, so I’ll touch on just a few to whet your appetite. “Lollygagged” combines a Randy Newman-like arrangement with Paul McCartney melodicism for a superlative listening experience. “Troll Day,” this album’s first single, pushes electric guitar stabs with a new-waveish melodic attack, eventually settling on a old-fashioned rock motif. And the incredible, adventurous “Milton Bradley Bible” washes the proceedings with a Godley and Creme approach and enough musical ideas to get a hundred songs off the ground.

Real strings and horns, of which not enough can be said in these days of electronic impersonation, and the throw-everyone-off-course marching band anthem “The Gleeson Victory March,” plus these wonderful, imaginative songs, all add up to a listening experience that will likely be unequaled for the rest of this year. Unless it is, of course, but you need not worry: Gleeson will be here to catch your fall.

Within these grooves, unparalleled excellence abounds, and we’ve got nine examples of it playing in rotation: “What’s Going On,” “Troll Day,” “Lollygagged,” “With My Motive Gone,” “Something New,” “Monte Siesta,” “The Size of Empathy,” “Seasons,” and “Milton Bradley’s Bible.”

What an album!

– Alan Haber

Timmy Sean | “My Jaded Love” After a year’s worth of new recordings that lit up the sky in 2015, master musician Timmy Sean returns with the first of 25-plus new numbers in 2016–roughly half of last year’s output. Amazing. And, to use a well-worn baseball metaphor, this first song, a Hall and Oates seventies-styled slice of soulful pop, hits the proverbial it out of the park. Listen especially for a truly lovely bridge toward the end, the way that Timmy varies the lead vocal line as the song plays out, and a brief, wisp of an a cappella burst that, taken together, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man, as he was in 2015, is the musician to watch and listen to in 2016. Simply irresistible.

Family Values | Time Stands Still Small packages are filled with great things. In this case, Norway’s Family Values, working with producer Tom Dahl (Caddy), offers up an EP housing a quartet of ultra-catchy songs reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub and the Merrymakers. “Paris Syndrome,” “Take Some Time Now, Carolina,” “Time Stands Still,” and “Watch the Sunrise” are all top of the pops here at Pure Pop Radio. Wonderful.

7Horse | Livin’ in a Bitch of a World Rising from the ashes of Pure Pop Radio fave Dada, Joie Calio and Phil Leavitt now trade in a similar musical mindset. Their music is a mix of rock and roll and pop. The pair’s keen sense of melody and song structure are always placed center stage. Our playlist is now adorned with four songs from this album: “Two Stroke Machine,” “One Week,” “Drift,” and “She’s So Rock and Roll,” a beat-driven, guitar-fueled rave-up that could have been big on FM radio in the ’70s. Sweet.

Adam Walsh – “Wish You Were Here” Pure Pop Radio favorite Adam Walsh continues to turn out delectable takes on songs he loves; his version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” turns this tune into a folk-rock testament with Adam’s always-commanding voice up front where it belongs. We continue to be nothing less than knocked out by the quality of this man’s output.

The Looking | Lead Me to the Water Americana, yes, but wrapped in a country-pop wrapper and perfect for Pure Pop Radio. Led by Indiana-born Todd Carter, these songs are catchy numbers played with passion. Carter listened to Syd Barrett’s “Dark Globe,” Husker Du and the Circle Jerks and wound up embracing country music on the way to crafting this wonderful album. We’re playing six songs in rotation: “Not Your Friend”; “Clouds”; “You and Me”; “Bone to Pick,” an orchestrated gem; “Burning Doves,” and the title track. Great stuff.

Solarflairs | “Carnival” Elisabeth Eickhoff’s Memphis, Tennessee outfit Solarflairs returns to Pure Pop Radio just three weeks after we added the group’s “Spirit of Johnny” to our playlist. We’re happy to bring you this teriffic new song, an upbeat number with a great melody and spirit, as part of our rotation.

Hartley Mandel | “Brother of Mine” Co-written by Hartley and Klaatu’s Terry Draper, “Brother of Mine” is a nostalgic, personal song inspired by Hartley’s late brother. The song’s beautiful melody and Hartleys vocals carry the day. A lovely track, produced by Terry, who also plays the instruments, now in rotation.

That’s a wrap on today’s tour of some of the latest new songs and artists added to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. Still more coming tomorrow. Until then, why not click on one of the listen links below and hear some of the greatest melodic pop music in the world, spanning six decades of joy. Pure Pop Radio is the place to be!

Listen to Pure Pop Radio on the go using your Android or iOS devices! Download Our Mobile App.