Spins and Reviews | 02.09.17
by Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
We continue to add new and new-to-you songs and artists to the Pure Pop Radio playlist; here are just a few of the latest nuggets playing in rotation.
The April Family | What We Know Now (Big Radio Records, 2016)
In 1998, Australia’s Michael Carpenter was going by the unlikely moniker Stagefright and soon to release his first album, Baby, under his own name through the Not Lame Recording Company. Prior to that, a 20-song audition disc, OK.. What Now?, made the rounds, comprised of 18 originals and two covers. While some artists take a release or two or more to ramp up to their potential, this nascent collection signaled the arrival of a fully-formed explosion of talent, ready to go.
Whether recording under his own name or as a member of groups such as The Cuban Heels, Supahip, and Kings Rd., or paying homage to favorite songs and artists for the past 16 years on six volumes of his SOOP series (Songs of Other People), Carpenter has helped to make the world a better place in which to live, espousing peace and love through beautiful music.
The April Family’s What We Know Now, a typically strong selection of songs meshing pop and alternative country styles and tipping its collective hat to classic sounds from the past, is a basketful of soulful cheer, 11 songs composed and performed primarily by multi-instrumentalist Carpenter, vocalist Kylie Whitney, whose sterling 2014 solo album, Something About Ghosts, continues to play in rotation on Pure Pop Radio, and lead guitarist Casey Atkins. Based in Sydney, Australia, the three-strong group reaches out to the world with its engaging craft.
The mid-tempo, should-be radio hit “You’re Someone that I Never Knew” is a country-pop treat with echoes of the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones driving its mellifluous melody home alongside Whitney’s soulful lead vocal. “I’m Over You,” by equal turns sad and triumphant, paints an emotional sound picture topped by a gorgeous string arrangement, lovely harmonies, and an expressive guitar solo. “Patsy Cline Times Two,” certainly this year’s best and cleverest song title, may well be this album’s heart; resolutely country and classically structured, it draws images of dance floor two-stepping and practically demands replays.
Certainly, with Carpenter in the mix, this album will automatically be on listeners’ radar; with Whitney’s singular, expressive vocals and Atkins’ guitar work in tow, it becomes a big, important thing that should dominate the melodic pop and alternative country fields this year. What we know now is that the April Family’s position as a musical force to be reckoned with is well and truly secure. A terrific release.
Now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio: “Pages of Us,” “1943,” “You’re Just the Blues,” “I’m Over You,” “So Close, Not Far Enough Away,” “You’re Someone that I Never Knew,” “Patsy Cline Times Two,” “It Ain’t Me, It’s Always You,” and “Easy for You”
Where to Get It: Bandcamp
Michael Carpenter and Allan Caswell | “Life Like It’s a Train Wreck”
The follow-up to last September’s “Back When I Was Older,” which continues to play in rotation on our air, is another melodic feather in the caps of Michael Carpenter and legendary singer-songwriter Allan Caswell. “Life Like It’s a Train Wreck” is anything but; instead, it’s a searing, modern be-bop-a-lulaesque-by-way-of-Johnny-Cash rockabilly chestnut propelled by Michael’s tasty Roy Clark electric guitar licks and a dive-into-life-head-feet-hands-arms-and-pinkies-all-in look on life. Superb.
Now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio
Where to Get It: CD Baby
The Del Zorros | “So Much Love”
This gentle ode to love, peace and harmony is Monty and Stede’s latest gift to melodic pop lovers, just in time for Saint Valentine’s Day. A sweet marriage of Roy Orbison emotion and Byrdsian guitar picking, “So Much Love” is a call to arms at a time we all need to experience joy. Lovely.
Now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio
Where to Get It: CD Baby
After incorporating a variety of styles into a stream of releases spanning a nearly-20-year-long career, the Nines’ Steve Eggers has delivered perhaps his most heartfelt musical statement—a love letter to the classic song structures that populated the output of artists in the pre-1962 era and the more contemporary sounds that have influenced him.
Now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio: “And Suddenly,” “Beachfront in New York,” “Can’t Go Back to Ocean Town,” “Darling I Adore You,” “Escape from a Small Town,” “Everybody Knows Me,” “I Have Found You,” “I’m an Old Soul and You’re Old Fashioned,” and “Operator (Coming Home to You)”
Chris Murphy with Michael Carpenter | “Real Love” This absolutely gorgeous ballad recasting of John Lennon’s song, released in 1996 on the Beatles Anthology 2 as the second new group track after “Free as a Bird,” is one of this year’s major triumphs in melodic pop music. For one thing, the tempo has been slowed, allowing Murphy to lovingly communicate the depth of the emotional lyric. Murphy’s vocal may well be the best vocal performance of the year. His ability to hold a melody line’s final note in such an artful way, to sustain its resonance and maximize its impact on the listener, is something to behold.
Lisa Mychols | “I’ve Run All Out of Tears (To Cry Over You)” I had the great pleasure and distinct honor of premiering this lovely retro-charmer, the first single from the forthcoming labor of love, Dana Countryman’s Girlville! New Songs in the Style of Yesterday’s Hits, on November 10. The occasion was an exclusive interview with Dana on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, during which he talked publicly for the first time about this album, which I predict will be one of the most talked-about long players of 2017.
The Flat Five | It’s a World of Love and Hope From out Chicago way comes this group of harmony-centric harmony hounds. A supergroup of sorts due to the member’s affiliation with artists such as Neko Case and the New Pornographers, the Flat Five took a long road toward making this, their first album, playing a growing number of gigs during which they performed songs written by group member Scott Ligon’s brother Chris. Intent on getting a wide audience for Chris’s songs, they set about recording them. The result is a deliciously wondrous assortment of luscious pop dressed in a variety of comfortable musical clothing that runs the gamut from the Manhattan Transfer-meets-hep cat vibe of the delightful “Buglight” to the Paul McCartney retro-sway of “I Could Fall in Love with You” and the pretty back porch balladry of Roches-like “Bottom Buck.” Records like this one don’t come along every day, which makes It’s a World of Love and Hope pretty special.
Cult of Wedge | Loch Ness Monsters and Motherships This latest musical missive from UK parish Rowley Regis’s Pete Hackett notches a best-album-yet nod for its top-notch selection of catchy songs, all performed with gusto. Hackett’s obvious love of the pop form glistens on the half-dozen songs from this album now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio. Earworms all.
Carl Funk | Black Horizon Vanilla fans will be familiar with Carl Funk from his widescreen lead vocal on “The Angel of Swain’s Lane” from the group’s 2.0 album (also appearing here), sung, as I said in my October 15, 2014 review of the song, “with deep emotion and old world style.” Carl’s committed, soulful voice drives these songs, carved with (and yes, I am coining a new word) an Amerisoulfulcana blade which fit perfectly among the various pop colors in our on-air mix. Wonderful stuff.
yrtle Park’s Fishing Club | Benches
Michael Carpenter and Allan Caswell | “Back When I Was Older”
Michael Carpenter and the Cuban Heels | Ain’t Nothing Left to Say Country? Sure, there’s that, but moreover there are a dozen room-filling explosions of sound emblazoned with Carpenter’s trademark melodic touch. Witness the boom-boom-to-snare power of the catchy “One of these Days I’m Gonna Get Myself Right,” the easy intro-to-mid-tempo-pop punch of “Big in the City,” and the pumping, big guitars, big drums punch of “Black Chevy.” There really isn’t anything this Australian musical magician can’t do. Our playlist, and melodic pop music in general, benefit always from his mastery of the pop form.
Crash and the Crapenters | Set in Stone Pumping and thumping within just about the complete opposite spectrum of the Cuban Heels’ platter, the combo of three Carpenters–Chris, Michael, and Paul–congregate to bash out 15 smashing Chris and Michael originals (plus one Paul Weller cover). The breathless pace and let-it-all-hang-out attack is somewhat outside Pure Pop Radio’s usual purview, but the four-on-the-floor pop-rocker “Pray to Your Own God” and the upbeat, early Elvis Costello nod “Everything’s Coming My Way” fit perfectly. Yet another side of Michael’s musical palette, and a fun, assured debut for brother Chris.
Cloud Eleven | Garden of Obscure Delights: A Retrospective (1996-2015) Spanning a period of 19-years, from the infant waxings of Jiffipop to last year’s sterling Record Collection, this ace release showcases the many colors and moods contained in Rick Gallego’s paintbox. An astounding selection, highlights include the lovely, mid-tempo pop ballad “Flying” from 1996’s debut from Jiffipop, Demolicious, to the dreamy, luscious, melodic wonder “Ocean,” from 2006’s Sweet Happy Life. A trio of outtakes from 2015’s Record Collection, including a winning, atmospheric cover of the 1971 Fleetwood Mac single, “Dragonfly,” close out the top-flight program. Gallego is an artist that deserves, as he always has, to fly well above the radar. He can only fly higher from here.
Solarflairs | “Stereo Alley” Literally just in minutes ago from these Memphis power popsters that, the band says, don’t sound like a power pop band, this gently aggressive and lively guitars-driven number adds to the previous songs already on our playlist. Catchy as always.
Andy Reed | An Introduction to Andy Reed Andy Reed’s importance in the grand scheme of all things melodic pop can not be overstated; the proof is here in this peerless collection of songs spotlighting his innate talent. The pure pop pleasures of “World of Make Believe,” from 2011’s An American Underdog album, Always On the Run; the beautiful, melodic “Dreaming of the West Coast,” from last year’s Relay Vol. 1 EP, and the glorious, straight-ahead cover of Jay Ferguson’s “Thunder Island” from the vinyl release of 2013’s celebration of lite rock, Drink a Toast to Innocence, dazzle, but then so do all 11 tracks. A great introduction, available on vinyl and in digital form, to the joy of listening to Andy Reed.
Flossy | “Cloudy Brain” From Perth, Australia, songstress Lauren M. O’Hara and her sister Sinead pair up to produce this bluesy rocker balancing above a pop highwire. Deep, thumping bass, thrashing drums by Chris Winterburn, raging guitars, and committed vocals rule the grooves. Impossible to ignore, and you shouldn’t.
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 Monkees, the Posies, McPherson Grant, 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.
So here’s the scoop: We’ve been adding new music to the Pure Pop Radio playlist for the last couple of months–all sorts of melodic pop from new and heritage artists; songs with sent-from-heaven hooks and harmonies that are pretty much guaranteed to put a big smile on your face.
