pure pop radio’s new music explosion – Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio

Welcome to Day Two of Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Explosion, or, as it’s also known, Another Day in the Life of the Ever-Growing Playlist!

We’ve already added hundreds of new songs to Internet radio’s biggest, deepest and most varied collection of melodic pop songs, and we’re not done. We will, in fact, be adding even more tunes over the coming weeks. We’ve got lots of surprises in store, so keep checking back for the latest rundown.

Let’s put the spotlight on some of the latest and greatest songs and artists to be added to our playlist. Today’s gallery? Glad you asked. Here we go:

Maxi Dunn | “Perfect Sorrow” We literally just got this song in last night. A quick spin, and another spin after that, and we were moved to get this on the air right away. We’ve loved Maxi’s music so much (her last album was a hit on the air) and we’re always thrilled to hear something new from her. The first fruit of her recent recording labors is this fantastic song and production, an imaginative burst of creativity that has more than a bit of Kate Bush in its DNA. Add in a great melody and vocal interplay that is really quite impressive and you’ve got another classic from one of pop music’s brightest stars. It’s now playing in rotation. You’re going to love it.

Vegas with Randolph | “The Girl Holding Out for Me.” The first song from our local, Washington D.C. musical cousins’ upcoming album is a typically catchy, power popping number blessed with an intoxicating melody, superior musicianship (loud guitars, plugged-into-the-wall drums and other really cool stuff), sumptuous harmonies and that certain something that always makes Vegas with Randolph’s songs pop. We’re thrilled to have this tune in rotation. Tune in for it and keep an ear out while listening to Pure Pop Radio for lots of other songs from Vegas with Randolph’s ever-growing catalog.

Dana Countryman | Pop 2! The Exploding Musical Mind of Dana Countryman Even if we weren’t in love with the sweet pop sounds of the early 1970s–even if our hearts weren’t married to such classic, melodic songs as Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes),” the Partridge Family’s “I Think I Love You,” and Gallery’s “Nice to Be with You”–we would be in love, love, love with Dana Countryman’s music. If 2014 were 1972, all would be right with the world. All is right with Dana’s wonderful, just-released album. We’ve added seven songs to our playlist: “Baby, I’ll Be Your Star,” “The Summer I Turned Seventeen,” “Good Radio Day,” “And Suddenly, Love Just Happened,” “Just Look into My Eyes,” “How to Make It In Hollywood,” and “You’re My Heart and Soul.” They’re now spinning in rotation, and Pure Pop Radio sounds all the better for it.

Mothboxer | Sand and the Rain This British band, led by the wonderful songwriter and performer Dave Ody, continues to amaze with pop songs crafted with care, heart and a boatload of talent. This fourth long-player–Mothboxer’s best yet–is overflowing with great songs. We liked them so much that we decided to add all of them to the playlist. And they are: “One and Only,” “Looking Out for Summer,” “In the Morning,” “We’re All Out of Our Minds,” “Everything’s Changed,” “Stop,” “Sand and the Rain,” “Take Me Down,” “On Your Side,” and “All that I Want.” One of the best releases of 2014, for sure. [Bonus: We’ve also added terrific covers of two songs that Mothboxer has recorded. They’ve put their considerable stamp on two classic pop songs: Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows” and Tears for Fears’ “Head Over Heels.” Beautiful.]

Vanilla | “The Angel of Swain’s Lane” The sixth song from Vanilla’s upcoming, musically diverse album 2.0 (one song a month (give or take) will be released until the record is complete) is, according to head flavor Jayson Jarmon, “a 19th-Century style waltz about a famously overgrown, haunted cemetery in London. Nice early autumn Halloween fare.” And this being mid-October, well, pretty timely. Sung with deep emotion and old world style by Carl Funk, the song’s first verse sets the stage: “The Angel of Swain’s Lane is calling me again/She shines through the railings/And sycamores wailing/ A figure of pity and pain/The Angel is crying again.” Short and sweet and full of three-dimensional atmosphere, this is quite unlike anything you’ve heard in pop music this year. Or years, even. Truly outstanding all around, and now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio.

The Difficult Stranger | “Fall in Love with You” Direct from Cebu City in the Philippines comes this quite accomplished three-piece band fronted by the talented Michael Anthony Curran, who wrote and sings this classically-styled slice of power pop. Melodically rich and quite singalongable, we think you’ll look forward to this band’s next release. We know we will.

Nick Piunti | “Time Machine” Nick Piunti, who just this past May released a great pop album called 13 in My Head, has already released a new song destined for his next album, which he decrees will not be called 14 in My Head. Sort of an anti-walking-down-memory-lane song, “Time Machine” is a humdinger of an upbeat power pop number with loud guitars, an awesome riff, great harmonies and an intoxicating melody. Now playing in rotation, this is another great song from a great talent.

Michael Oliver and the Sacred Band | “Sabina” This song, which we reviewed here on the Pure Pop Radio website, is “an expertly crafted, lovely, mid-tempo ballad–a heartstring tugger about loss, about sensory memory, about love, about life.” That’s what we said in our review. We also said this: “Michael says the song is about a cat or life. Yes and yes.” All of these words are still true. Slated to appear on Michael’s upcoming album, now being recorded, “Sabina” is one of those must-hear songs…meaning you must hear it one thousand times. It’s that good. Listen for it playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio.

Grahame Steinberg | “Mr. Pitchfork” A bonus track associated with the third collaboration between pop music stalwarts David Grahame and Lane Steinberg, “Mr. Pitchfork” is a relatively short, catchy song about the perils of getting involved with the Devil. Don’t, would be the operative suggestion. A cool little number.

The Bobbleheads | Make Yourself Happy On the group’s website, it is stated that the Bobbleheads “have been delighting audiences with their songs of playful yet adult elementary-school infused pop.” We rather think that this is pop music for all ages–music that is fun to listen to and enjoy. But, go on, bring the kids along. We’ve added to the playlist five lively songs from the band’s latest album: “Prove Yourself,” “Mean Girls,” “Get That,” “Turn the Radio On (The Perfect Song),” and “Sofa.” They’re pretty cool, even for adult elementary school.

Secret Friend | Sleeper | “Orbital” Coming up on two years ago, Steven Fox released a gorgeous collection of melodic pop songs on a most wonderful album called Time Machine. The first song from Secret Friend’s early 2015 album, Sleeper, is a quite different beast, about as 360-degree a turn as you might think possible. A seductive arrangement, anchored in a sea of electronic instrumentation a la OMD, gives way to a Pink Floydian sad, yet hopeful, piano riff, a serene melody and a deftly-played acoustic guitar. It’s not really pop, per se, but it’s awfully intriguing and quite memorable and anything from Steven Fox is a must-listen in our book. Different? Yes. Pure Pop Radio worthy? Definitely. And it’s now playing in rotation.

That’s it for day two of Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Explosion. And we’re just getting started! Tune in to this site tomorrow for more adds to our playlist. And thanks, as always, for listening!

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Click on the image to listen to Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio through players like iTunes — Click on the image to listen to Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio through players like iTunes

It’s time to get Pure Pop Radio’s New Music Explosion off to a rousing start! Stand back, folks… here we go…

Kaboom! The music’s everywhere…as it should be! We’ve added hundreds of songs to the Pure Pop Radio playlist, and we’d like to introduce you to them. So, with that in mind, just about every day from now through November we’re going to list a healthy number of tunes new to our air. Let’s get it all off and running, shall we? Here are some of the exciting tunes that, as of today, are new to our humble station:

Jamie Hoover | “Honest Work” and “There’s a Place” We’ve been playing Jamie Hoover’s fantastic music on the various versions of Pure Pop Radio for 18 glorious years. So, as you might imagine, when we get word that melodic pop music’s true Renaissance Man is ready to release a new album, we are so there. Jamie is about to release a new collection entitled Jamie Two-Ever and, in advance of that eventuality, we’ve got two songs from it to spin for you in rotation. “Honest Work” is a playful, typically catchy song from Jamie and his Spongetones pal Pat Walters; “There’s a Place” is a tender, emotionally-charged version of the Beatles’ classic. You’ll love them both.

Michael Carpenter | “Too Late” and “I’ve Been Lovin’ You” Pop music auteur Michael Carpenter’s first new release in a very long time is a genius pairing of tunes that help to define power pop in the fall of 2014. We go way back with Michael to 1998, when he was trading by the name Stagefright. We’ve played songs from all of Michael’s releases over the years. We’re thrilled to be able to bring you one of the great thrills of this wonderful pop music year. Welcome back, Michael.

A Band Called Mithras | Genero In a year full of great musical discoveries and exciting music from established artists comes two surprising, head-spinning examples of how to do it. “Monkeyman” is dance pop with a decidedly ’60s mod flavor; “Pretty Cherry Custard” marries a light dance groove with elements of ’60s psych and lovely harmonies. Both songs are aces high and bode well for what’s to come from this great band in the future.

The Del Zorros | Summer Fields A mix of influences as far and wide as the Everly Brothers and the Smothers Brothers (the folk side) helps shape the recordings of these twin brothers who make their home in North Carolina. Their light pop sound is perfect for Pure Pop Radio. We think you’ll fall in love with the nine numbers we’ve chosen from their latest album, Summer Fields, and added to the Pure Pop Radio playlist. The songs you’ll hear are “Heading North,” “Lanesville Rag,” “My Old Hometown,” “On the Pond,” “Our Little World,” “Some Days,” “Summer Fields,” “Sweet Dreams,” and “Til I See You Again.”

Dermot | Drink Some Water Dermot’s previous collection, 2013’s Pilot, was released under the name Michael Dermot. Now, the name is shorter but just as sweet and the upbeat pop songs are just as wonderful on this glorious EP. We’re now playing all five songs in rotation: “If We Had Never Met,” “I am a Map,” “This Moment,” “Wade,” and “Heaven Help Me (Water Song).”

Robin Gibb | 50 St. Catherine’s Drive This wonderful, posthumous collection is a warm and fitting tribute to one of pop music’s greatest, most heartfelt voices. Don’t be surprised if tears well up in your eyes while listening to any of the eight songs we’ve added to the Pure Pop Radio rotation: “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Alan Freeman Days,” “Wherever You Go,” “I am the World,” “Anniversary,” “Sorry,” “All We Have is Now,” and “Sydney.” A truly special album and highly recommended to all.

Star Collector | Collected Stars: Live, Demo and Unreleased 1997-1999 The songs of Joe Giddings’ great band from the late ’90s were favorite spins on the early, weekly Pure Pop Radio shows on WEBR. We were sad to say goodbye to the band’s extremely catchy brand of melodic power pop, always featuring great vocals and deep, three-dimensional harmonies. We were thrilled to hear about this just-released collection of new-to-all-of-us tracks and we are just as thrilled to bring you six sterling examples of the greatness that was Star Collector. Now playing in rotation are “Desperate (I’d Do Anything),” “Pet Rock,” “King,” “Lost and Lonesome,” “Already There,” and “Angels Cry.” This great album is now available on Keith Klingensmith’s vital Futureman Records label.

Esa Linna and Milla Maria | “Tonight” Finland’s own Esa Linna, along with Milla Maria, recorded an acoustic version of the Raspberries’ iconic song “Tonight” for Zero Hour Records’ just-released Power Pop Unplugged, Vol. One. There is much more to come on Pure Pop Radio from this compilation, but for now enjoy this wonderful take on one of Eric Carmen’s greatest tunes, a classic power pop nugget.

Sproutless | “Hannah, Are You Out There (Zodiac Mix)” Scott McPherson, from the much-loved band Liar’ s Club, came up with the genius idea to record two Prefab Sprout tribute albums, about which we’ve written previously on this site. This song, originally part of the Insights from Retrospect album, has been reborn as, for lack of a better term, a dance mix (because we have to call it something), but it’s really just a clever, fun re-imagining of a great song. And, boy howdy, does it sound Sprout-esque. It’s now playing in rotation on Pure Pop Radio.

Identical Suns | “The Turn” This 10-minute epic exhibits all the colors of the musical rainbow…and then some. A dazzling array of stylistic turns and instrumentation almost demands headphone listening, but we’re pretty sure Todd Stanton and crew will say it’s okay to listen with your speakers. A wide range of influences has gone into this opus–there’s more than a dab of Abbey Road-era Beatles here–but ultimately this is the result of a lifetime of listening to the right records. We’re proud to be spinning this tune in rotation on Pure Pop Radio.

That’s it for today. Pretty cool, huh? More is coming tomorrow–every day this week and throughout the coming weeks, in fact, so stay tuned to the Pure Pop Radio website and Pure Pop Radio for the latest adds to our ever-growing playlist. Thanks for reading…and listening!

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Tag: pure pop radio’s new music explosion

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