Pure Pop Radio’s Springtime New Music Explosion, Day Two: Jump into the Poole!

March 22, 2016May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

Day two of Pure Pop Radio’s Springtime New Music Explosion (and thank you for joining us, melodic popsters!) kicks off with the explosive new album from the Dowling Poole, this time comprising not only Willie Dowling and Jon Poole, but also Givvi Flynn.

Let’s get started, shall we?

The Dowling Poole | One Hyde Park We’ve long been huge fans of Willie Dowling’s work with Jackdaw 4, which slid upon their disbanding into the Dowling Poole, which found Willie hooking up with Jon Poole from Cardiacs and the Wildhearts. The duo is now a trio, with third member status being bestowed on vocalist Givvi Flynn.

One Hyde Park, the sterling follow-up to the Dowling Poole’s Bleak Strategies, is a clear winner and a virtual tour de force and, if that weren’t enough, it’s an album influenced by sounds from across the pop landscape that doesn’t actually sound like its influences. In other words, it sounds like the Dowling Poole, which is a very good thing.

Three songs stand out especially amongst the dozen on offer. “Willing to Change,” about trying to adopt a positive outlook in the face of so much negativity, is a poppy number with wonderfully-realized moving parts from within which a lovely melody and charmingly rich background harmonies thrive. In the title song, an imagined scenario finds a real London address in the Knightsbridge section of London that caters to the extremely, positively well-to-do getting its comeuppance. Art-pop conventions make for a gripping musical experience. And in the scorching, upbeat, Poole-sung “Fight, Fight, Fight,” the always-endearing pop convention–“ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba”–is actually the prize one gets for fighting for what’s right. Genius.

We’re playing the aforementioned three songs in rotation, plus three more: “Vox Pops,” which incorporates a very Partridge Family-sounding keyboard line and a very Brian May-sounding guitar solo; “Hope and Glory,” an upbeat pop song; and “Bring Back the Glow,” a smooth, rolling ’70s number.

We welcome back the Dowling Poole and, without question, look forward to album number three, hopefully coming not that very long from now to a stereo system near you.

The Sonic Executive Sessions | “Welcome to the Circus” It’s quite possible that this is the only song being written about today that needs no commentary whatsoever. Another just-about-perfect song from the great Christian Phillips, “Welcome to the Circus” is stocked full of Christian’s gorgeous trademark harmony stacks. Oh, and the melody is pretty spectacular. We look forward to the next album of wonders from the Sonic Executive Sessions. Until then, we have this golden nugget, which makes us, and you, about the luckiest people on the planet.

Maxi Dunn | “Apple Blossom” and “Full Circle” Liverpool’s own Maxi Dunn will soon release her new album, Operation Bubble. We’ve added two songs that will appear there–the beautiful, majestic ballad “Apple Blossom,” and the upbeat, toe-tapping pop-rocker “Full Circle.” Operation Bubble promises to be a big winner. We can’t wait.

Alice Bierhorst | The Beacon Produced with great care and compassion by the supremely talented Greta Gertler Gold and her husband Adam D. Gold, known collectively as the Universal Thump, The Beacon is the welcome arrival of a truly lovely album by a truly talented artist. Alice’s pretty songs and her tender, expressive vocals, which recall such titans as Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell and Carole King, are wonderful constructs. Whether delivering a tender ballad (“Better Angels”) or an upbeat pop tune (“Airborne”), Alice is tops of the pops.

We’re playing four songs in rotation: “Our Work is Never Done,” “Better Angels,” “Airborne,” and “Forever You Go.” Top points for the live strings and horns, and the included lyrics. The trifold digipak is particularly welcome. And thanks, Alice, for the lovely music…and the wonderful feather. ♥

Paperhearts | “Laurel Hill” and “A Girl Like That” Here’s a real treat: two songs from a band new to our ears. The pure popper “Laurel Hill” was recorded this past January and produced by Pure Pop Radio favorite Andy Bopp, whose new album we reviewed (read: raved about) and added songs from yesterday; the energetic “A Girl Like That,” with a hint of Byrdsian honey, was produced by the group’s bass player Jim Grice. Both songs were written by Mike Smith and will be featured on Paperhearts’ forthcoming album, Candygram. Something to look forward to, for sure. Thanks to Trax on Wax’s Gary Gebler for turning this group onto us.

Deep Six | “No I Haven’t a Clue” and “Heading for a Fall” Another group new to our ears, Heavy Soul Records’ Deep Six is composed of musicians from ’80s mod bands the Threads, the Upper Fifth, and Makin’ Time. “No I Haven’t a Clue” is a pure pop stomper with a great melody and, as you might expect, a great hook. “Heading for a Fall” comes to us in demo form; it’s a catchy upbeat tune you might expect to hear around the campfire, if you’re so inclined. Great stuff, and a four-song EP will be on its way in June.

The Carousels | “Lord Speed My Hurricane” and “Like a Loaded Gun” Look no further than the Byrds and like-minded artists for at least a few of the influences on this band whose home is the distillery town of Keith in northeast Scotland, where Chivas Regal whiskey hangs its bottles. Melody fans will savor these songs which constitute the two sides of a new single. Joyous.

Gillian Nicola | “Oh Marie” From Hamilton, Ontario, Canada comes Gillian Nicola, a classically-trained vocalist whose “Oh Marie” is a taster track from her forthcoming EP, No Place to Call. The mid-tempo song is a melodic triumph; Gillian’s commanding vocal takes center stage with an affecting performance. We think you’ll be as enthralled with this song and performer as we are. Now playing in rotation.

Loop Line | Wakes “Luke lives in Phoenix,” we find out by perusing Loop Line’s Bandcamp page.”Paul lives in Minneapolis. We make music together with the help of the Internet.” And with that information in our pocket, we play Loop Line’s music and we like what we hear. “Nothing About You” and “Parts Unknown” are terrific, upbeat pop songs with solid hooks, and what more could you realistically want?

Samantha Tieger | “I’m in Love” Cincinnati, Ohio’s own Samantha Tieger turns in a catchy pop song with an affecting vocal and a really nice melody. This one would sound pretty good on the radio–hey, we can do something about that! We’re eager to hear more from this singer-songwriter who scribes musically in English, Spanish, and French. Now playing.

Don Dixon and Dave Caruso | New Pure Pop Radio IDs Pure Pop Radio favorites Don and Dave work their vocal magic (separately) for our humble station, turning in new IDs that are sure to please. Magic? Indeed.

* * * * *

Day two of Pure Pop Radio’s Springtime New Music Explosion is in the books. Time for day three of our festivities, kicking off tomorrow. See you then. While you wait, why not click on one of the listen links below and hear the above-mentioned new adds to our playlist and more than 8,500 other handpicked songs. Pure Pop Radio is taking care of your melodic pop needs!

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New Music? We’ve Got Some!

February 10, 2016May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ Leave a comment

Nearly three and a half years and more than 8,300 songs after flipping the switch on Pure Pop Radio, we’re still in the trenches, bringing you new music that exemplifies the art of melodic pop music.

Today, we bring you a list of three outstanding artists and their latest and archival releases that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the unique mix of melody and harmony that melodic pop music brings to your ears is one of the greatest gifts that you could ever unwrap and enjoy.

Eytan Mirsky | Funny Money We’re only about a month and a half into 2016 and already we’ve reviewed and added tracks from two truly outstanding albums: Terry Draper’s Searching and Emitt Rhodes’ Rainbow Ends. We now add another platter to this list of top-notch long players: Eytan Mirsky’s fantastic Funny Money.

Eytan has written a dozen pop classics, all driven by his strong, emotive vocals and a high grade of musicanship, most of it performed by Jon Gordon. We were blown away by everything on offer here, from the rocking title song, a frank look at a partner who isn’t what she appears to be (“Your love is nothing but a game of let’s pretend/What good is money I can’t save and I can’t spend?”) to “Watching ‘Dawson’s Creek,'” the tender examination of a lost union still bound by the love of an old TV show (“And now I’m watching ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and thinking of you/Oh, I hope that Katie Holmes is happy now/And I hope that you are too”).

Funny Money scores on every level, providing a fun listen from first song to last. And a laugh, even as Eytan makes a good point about positivity in one’s life, as in this album’s final number, “Good Hair Day”: “Good hair days, they don’t come often/You gotta make ’em work for you/You gotta get down to it and do everything/That you always wanted to do.” Which Eytan has done on this fantastic album, another of the best of this young year.

We’re playing every track in rotation, from those mentioned above to “I’m Gonna Fight It,” “My Dog Likes Your Dog,” “You Got It Made,” “I Saw Something in You,” “It’s a Jungle Out There,” “You Gave Me Sugar,” and “I Don’t Wanna Fall.” Awesome through and through.

Don Dixon | I Lived in the Time of Organ Grinders Inspiration comes from all quarters. In the case of the great Don Dixon and his new EP, it comes from a childhood memory set at a street fair and starring an organ grinder and his Capuchin monkey, collecting tips from the enthralled onlookers.

These are blues songs, says the artist, who sings them with his trademark, soulful delivery, but we hear them differently. We’re confident they’re nothing less than Dixon songs, which is a very good thing. We’ve added four numbers to our playlist: “Everyday Laugh,” a percussively frank assessment of a life that maybe ends with a revenge-filled stinger: “I had a dream that you were dead/I woke up to a glorious last laugh”; “Sweet Dynamite,” in which the narrator just can not win ’em all (“I got a tap without a keg/Will somebody stop and buy me a beer?”); “Searching for Art,” about the eternal search for the creator’s magical spark (“I’m searching for art/Everyday I confess/In a state of euphoria or state of duress”); and “S.O.F.S.O.L,” a look at the essence of love and deep attraction (“I’ll be all right, with the stars above/On this ship of fools on this lucky sea of love”).

I Lived in the Time of Organ Grinders is another triumph for the man named Dixon. We’re honored to be able to continue to play his music for a universe full of waiting ears.

Daisy House | Daisy House and Beaus and Arrows We just added Daisy House’s latest album, Western Man, a week ago, and now we’re adding songs from the duo’s first two releases because that is what you do when the music and the harmonies and the sheer wonderfulness of it all call out to you.

Doug Hammond and his daughter Tatiana were first heard from with a self-titled release in early 2013. Offering beautifully rendered songscapes driven by strong vocals and entrancing melodies, the duo announced itself as vital right from the start. We’re playing five great songs: “Crushed by a Flower,” “Ready to Go,” “Two Sisters,” “This Bottle’s Red,” and Statue Maker,” a lovely run of poetic freedom set to a beautiful melody.

From Daisy House’s second album, Beaus and Arrows, perhaps a bit more of a stylistically diverse collection, we’re spinning the upbeat folk-popper “In Between Girl”; the rustic, beat-driven “Plague Song”; the playful, nostalgic “Time to Make Up For,” all about a reunited couple (“When you’re gone away from me boy for even an hour/I’m ’bout ready to flee this ivory tower”); and two more still: “The Woman from Walkern” and “Why Do You Dive So Deep in Beauty.”

As you can tell, we’re big Daisy House fans. We expect that you will be, too.

That’s it for today. We’ll have more new songs and artists for you tomorrow. While you wait, why not click on one of the listen links below to hear our 24-hour-a-day mix of the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today?

Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the original 24-hour Internet radio station playing the greatest melodic pop music from the ’60s to today. From the Beatles to the Spongetones, the Nines, Kurt Baker, the Connection and the New Trocaderos, we play the hits and a whole lot more. Tune in by clicking on one of the listen links below.

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

Get Yer Newly-Added Tunes! Get Yer Newly-Added Tunes Here! Pure Pop Radio is Hummin’ with Cool, Newly-Added Tunes!

July 9, 2014May 17, 2021 ~ Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio ~ 2 Comments

We’ve added more than 300 songs to the Pure Pop Radio playlist in the past week and a half. Can we hear you all take a deep breath, let it out and shout “Wow!” That’s right: More than 300 songs have been added to the playlist, and we’re not done yet! Since a week ago Monday, we’ve been spotlighting some of the artists and songs that now call Pure Pop Radio their radio home. We’re itchin’ to tell you about some more goodies that are currently spinning in rotation on our air, so let’s get crackin’!

Marti Jones – You’re Not the Bossa Me. We enjoy a bit of bossa nova every now and then, but we admit we don’t know a whole lot about it. We’re eager to learn, though, so we zipped on over to Wikipedia, where we found out that bossa nova is a “lyrical fusion of samba and jazz” that dates back to the 1950’s and 1960’s. Marti Jones, her husband Don Dixon, their friend and artist in her own right Kelley Ryan, along with instrumentalist and writer Paul Cebar and percussionist Jim Brock combined their considerable talents to produce a dozen poppy bossa nova gems. We think you’ll fall instantly in love with them. The songs, written by Ryan, Dixon, Bill DeMain, Cebar and others, are brought to life with Jones’s magical voice. Jones has never sounded better. Produced by Ryan and Dixon, this is a slam dunk for a place on this year’s best-of lists. It’s pop music for discerning listeners, which, of course, means you and you and you, too. We love these songs so much that we’ve added them all to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. Some of our favorites: the beautiful “Orphan on the Beach ;” Heart and Bone,” a terrific pop song; and “A Man from the Past,” a great light pop tune. We think you’ll dig them all.

Ed Woltil – Paper Boats, A Reverie in Thirteen Acts. Ed Woltil, of course, is a member of the fine band the Ditchflowers. Ed’s solo album, a masterful collection of carefully considered and expertly delivered deeply-felt songs, is one of those records that stays with you after a single listen. Ed has done all of the heaviest lifting here: he wrote, performed, mixed and did some of the recording work along with Steve Connelly and Brian Merrill (also a Ditchflower). He also designed the lovely packaging which, in this day and age of instant downloads, grants him eternal sainthood. But it’s the music that matters most of all, and if you’re looking for great music, you’ve come to the right place. We are so in love with this record that we added the whole thing to the Pure Pop Radio playlist: “Algebra,” “Random Access Memory,” “Hiding in Plain Sight,” “If Somebody Loved Me,” “Someone Else’s Life,” “Illinois Sunset,” “The One and Only Anderson,” “Open,” “The Shortest Distance (Between Two Hearts),” “One in a Row,” “Foul Weather Friends,” “Boys,” and “Dance With Me One More Time.” A hall-of-fame-worthy release if ever there was one.

Billy J. Kramer – I Won the Fight. Old pro Billy J. Kramer, round about 50 years on from scoring on the charts with songs from John Lennon and Paul McCartney, is still in the music game, and on the basis of this wonderful new album, he should stay in the ring and keep turning out hit after hit after hit. Make no mistake, though: Kramer has his eye on the contemporary prize. While there is a certain retro charm to these songs, they were cut for a contemporary audience, who should greet them with open ears. We loved I Won the Fight so much that we added six songs to the Pure Pop Radio playlist, including “You Can’t Live on Memories,” Lennon-McCartney’s “I’m in Love”, “Sunsets of Santa Fe,” “You’re Right I’m Wrong,” and two versions of the very cool “To Liverpool With Love.”

Also added to the Pure Pop Radio playlist:

* Bubble Gum Orchestra – Beyond Time. We’re big fans of the Bubble Gum Orchestra. Adding songs from this latest BGO album was a no-brainer for us. If you’re new to BGO, and you’re a fan of the Electric Light Orchestra, you’ll be in heaven. The rest of you…well, you already know how good BGO is. We’d already added the first single, “ELO Forever”; we’ve added five more tunes, including “Return 2 4 Ever,” “Earth Below Me,” “I’m Coming Back Home,” “The World’s About to End,” and “Destination Home.” BGO is keeping the spirit and sound of ELO alive. Great job all around.

* The Paul and John – Inner Sunset. Musician and author Paul Myers has joined up with the Orange Peels’ John Moremen to produce an album full of great songs that you will want to revisit as soon as they’re done playing. We’ve added six songs to the Pure Pop Radio playlist: “Everything Comes Together,” “Hungry Little Monkey,” “Inner Sunset,” “Brickland,” “Can’t Be Too Careful,” and “Inner Sundown.”

* The Burgerheads – The Burgerheads. We go back through the mists of time to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s for some spectacularly catchy songs from a band that counted Klaatu’s Dee Long as guitarist, vocalist and keyboard player. We’re thrilled to add yet more music associated with Dee to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. We’ve got five great tunes now spinning in rotation: “On Her Own,” “New Summertime,” “Time,” “Jump and Dance,” and “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”

* Sunrise Highway – Windows. From this collection of strong, rock-flavored power pop and melodic pop tunes, we’ve added five addictive numbers: “Windows,” “Peter Pan,” “Foreverland,” “Big Mouth,” and “Sleeping City.” All melodic, full of deeply-felt hooks and widescreen vocal harmonies. Perfect for Pure Pop Radio and you.

That’s all for today, Pure Poppers. More to come tomorrow and Friday. Tune in to Pure Pop Radio all day and all of the night. We’re your original 24-hour-a-day melodic pop radio station on the Internet. Tune in by clicking on one of the handy listening links below.