Album Reviews
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The Kennedys’ West is a Musical Journey Well Worth Taking
The Kennedys | West | 2015 | A review by Alan Haber The overarching theme of the Kennedys’ splendid new album, West, is traveling along purposeful roads. The booklet illustration depicts a rural road–one lane going west, the other east, while the album’s cover shows the couple in a field after the leaves on the… Continue reading
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Nick Piunti’s Beyond the Static: A Series of Keenly Observed Glimpses Set to a Pop and Roll Beat
Nick Piunti | Beyond the Static | Two Brains Recording Co. | 2015 | A review by Alan Haber It’s a whiff, or it’s a puff of smoke, or it’s just one of those things, but when the first song on Beyond the Static, Nick Piunti’s smashing followup to last year’s 13 in My Head… Continue reading
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Put Your Hands Together and Meet the Weeklings! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
The Weeklings | The Weeklings | Jem Recordings | 2015 | A review by Alan Haber Every red-blooded wannabe rock star gathers his or her tools accordingly: one floor-to-the-ceiling mirror; a tennis racket (real or imagined); hair aplenty (real or imagined); an audience (usually imagined); and a room-busting stereo system to provide the soundtrack to… Continue reading
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The Surfin’ Harmony King Rides the Waves: Matt Tyson’s Melodious Monuments to Good Time Music
by Alan Haber (See below for 35 songs that have been added to the Pure Pop Radio Playlist) The act of musicians paying tribute to a favorite artist’s art for the purposes of expressing adulation and exposing some other idea or sound to fans is not a new concept, but it is a great and… Continue reading
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Graham Alexander Dazzles With New Album, Repeat Deceiver
Graham Alexander | Repeat Deceiver | Victor Talking Machine Company | 2014 A review, by Alan Haber With his first, self-titled record in 2011, Graham Alexander hit the bricks as the real deal right out of the gate, swinging for the fences with his finely-honed pop sense, great songwriting and performing skills. To up the… Continue reading
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Curry Cuts Path to the ’80s for Retro-riffic British Invasion Compilation
(Win a copy of Here Comes the Reign Again: The Second British Invasion and a Reign t-shirt by filling in the form below. Be sure to type “Reign” in the Comments section. There is a quick turnaround on this contest: Entries must be received by tomorrow night, December 12, at midnight ET. The winner will… Continue reading
adam ant, alan haber, andrew curry, box-box store, chris collingwood, contest, curry cuts, daryl hall, fountains of wayne, here comes the reign again: the second british invasion, jim boggia, kim wilde, linus of hollywood, madness, paul young, pete donnelly, pure pop radio, review, streamlicensing, the corner laughers, the davenports, the dream academy, wham!, winterpills -
Reset2014: Bill Lloyd Revisits Landmark 1994 Album Set to Pop and Comes Up with a Revelatory Reinvention
Reset2014 Bill Lloyd 2014 A Review by Alan Haber Released in 1994 on East Side Digital, Set to Pop was an important record for Bill Lloyd. He had been successful in a partnership with Radney Foster as Foster and Lloyd, a duo that registered a considerable impact at country radio and a more-than-palpable fan base.… Continue reading
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Brandon Schott’s Verdugo Park EP: Talent, Heart, Soul and Pigeons
Brandon Schott | Verdugo Park EP | Golden State Music | 2014 A Review by Alan Haber (Win an autographed copy by filling out the form below) On this taster for his upcoming album, provisionally titled Crayons and Angels, Brandon Schott again refines and expands on themes he has explored on previous releases, most notably… Continue reading
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Dana Countryman’s Pop 2!: Sounds of the Seventies Come Alive in 2014!
Dana Countryman | Pop 2! The Exploding Musical Mind of Dana Countryman | Sterling Swan Records | 2014 A Review by Alan Haber (Put your name in the virtual hat for a chance to win one of nine autographed copies of Pop 2!. Click here for all of the details.) If I could turn back… Continue reading
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Dave Caruso’s Delicious Soft-Pop Stew Serves Up a Tantalizing Meal
Dave Caruso | Cardboard Vegas Roundabout | 2014 Dave Caruso | Elizabeth Parker | 2004 A Review by Alan Haber (We’re giving away nine copies of this great album, by the way. See the contest form at the end of this page for details.) God knows how these things happen, but they do, they really… Continue reading
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Recent Posts
- Adiós.
- Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, Spring 2021, Episode Three: The Legal Matters Talk Chapter, Verse and Chorus
- Well Foraged, Three Musicians Talk Chapter and Verse (and Chorus) Tomorrow on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation
- Found Foraging for Food in the Forest, Three Musicians Find Melody and Harmony Instead. In Conversation Has the Story
- New on Pure Pop Radio 4-14-21: Bill Lloyd Defines Power Pop With Curated Selection
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