-
Reviews: 1.31.19: Tim Jackson’s Pure Pop Debut is Right on Time
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio Tim Jackson | Better Late than Never (2018) The thing you need to understand about Tim Jackson, whose debut album is one of the finest first musical volleys in recent memory, is that his record collection is likely pretty similar to the one that has overtaken your living… Continue reading
-
Reviews: 1.22.19: The Details’ Majestic Album, To Charles Dickens and Back
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio The Details To Charles Dickens and Back (2018) The way you get there begins here: a crash of glass and a high-pitched whistle and an orchestra tuning up and the audience settling in; the comforting strum of an acoustic guitar atop singular bass notes; water waving; a high-pitched… Continue reading
-
Reviews: 1.11.19: The April Family Pops the Cork on “Champagne”
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio The April Family “Champagne” (2018)“Boys are mean and girls let you down,” Kylie Whitney testifies from her heart in the April Family’s catchy, foot-stomping new single “Champagne,” the trailer for the trio’s highly-anticipated upcoming album House of Cards. Love, as it happens, can scale the higher highs but… Continue reading
-
I Love that Album! #3: Klaatu’s Sir Army Suit (1978)
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio “We all rose to the challenge,” Terry Draper says about “Calling Occupants (Of Interplanetary Craft),” Klaatu’s momentous signature song that opened the band’s debut album, 3:47 E.S.T., but he might as well have been referring to Sir Army Suit, the Canadian trio’s triumphant third album, released in August… Continue reading
-
New on Pure Pop Radio 7.25.18: The Quite Grand Debut of the Grand Leve
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio Spins and Reviews | 7.25.18 The Grand Levé | The Grand Levé (2018) The music reviewer’s job, the same as it ever was, is to paint a picture with words that convince you that an album either isn’t worth a scintilla of your time (which, of course, we… Continue reading
-
New on Pure Pop Radio 4.19.18: Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Where Did You Go To”
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio Spins and Reviews | 4.19.18 Gilbert O’Sullivan | “Where Did You Go To” | Gilbert O’Sullivan, 2018 All it takes is a song, not necessarily new but often so, to bring me back to my youth, back to my days listening to records in my bedroom, one after… Continue reading
-
I Love that Song! #16: “Your Smiling Face” by James Taylor
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio It’s just five or maybe six notes ascending and pounded out to merge into traffic at the start, a way of getting to what amounts to a chorus of a sort, except it’s more a verse, really, and there really isn’t a chorus to speak of in this… Continue reading
-
New on Pure Pop Radio 4.3.18: Secret Friend’s The Divorce Album
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio Spins and Reviews | 4.3.18 Secret Friend | The Divorce Album (2018) This third Secret Friend album, whose vibe falls somewhere between 2013’s Linus of Hollywood-produced Time Machine and 2015’s sound expansive Sleeper, could well be the ultimate breakup record, but with a pop twist. In any case,… Continue reading
-
New on Pure Pop Radio 1.16.18: XTC’s Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers Return as TC&I
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio Spins and Reviews | 1.16.18 TC&I | Great Aspirations (2017) On this delightful, ruminative and playfully earnest four-song EP, Colin Moulding, clever, melodic bassist, singer and warmhearted songwriter, ex of XTC, continues his earthy exploration of human exploits and foibles, joined by equally ex-XTC drummer and brother-in-arms Terry… Continue reading
-
Pure Pop Radio’s Hall of Fame Inducts Fountains of Wayne’s Utopia Parkway (Atlantic, 1999)
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio What Is It? Pure Pop Radio’s Hall of Fame celebrates unparalleled work in the field of melodic pop music. All kinds of melodic pop are eligible for induction, from soft-pop to power-pop and all points in-between. Country-pop, bubblegum, art-pop and the like are welcome. Singles, EPs, and albums… Continue reading
About Me
This site is an archive presentation. Thanks for visiting.
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