Spins and Reviews | 05.08.17
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
TONIGHT: We kick off a two-week world radio premiere spin of two tracks from The Greek Theatre’s Kool Kat Musik CD debut, Broken Circle
We’ve added hundreds of new and new-to-you tracks to our playlist in the last few weeks. We’re excited to be bringing you the latest and greatest melodic pop music in the universe, 24-hours a day.
We’re also excited to exclusively be bringing you, for the next two weeks, the world radio premieres of two tracks from The Greek Theatre’s smashing, forthcoming first-time CD release of their album Broken Circle on Kool Kat Musik. Previously released on vinyl in a limited edition by Sugarbush Records, Broken Circle is a mind-tripping, mesmerizing melange of psychedelia and melodic substance.
Pure Pop Radio-friendly tracks “Stray Dog Blues” (with a hint of Van Dyke Parks seasoning) and “Lost Out at Sea” marry Pink Floydian ambiance with Harpers Bizarre shading. There is atmosphere to spare in these recordings; uniquely, they sound as though they could have been on any mid- to late-period Floyd album and, in an alternate world scenario, would have been welcome as bonus tracks on really any Harpers long player.
Listen for Swedish psych masters The Greek Theatre’s “Stray Dog Blues” and “Lost Out at Sea” playing exclusively on Pure Pop Radio for the next two weeks. Thanks go out to Kool Kat’s Ray Gianchetti for the opportunity to share these great tracks with the world on an exclusive basis.
From our old friend JoDee Purkypile comes a new song that the artist describes as “a sad waltz” that features “Revolver-era McCartney harmonies.” He warns that the recording “might rip your speakers.” To all of which we say “Nah,” although we do give the nod to at least the second pronouncement. Frankly, those Macca harmonies in the chorus absolutely slay us. Ditto for the very pop guitar solo. “Here for Love” is a triumph that you’ll want to hear over and over again. At least.
From Toronto, Canada comes Anna Horvath, who records under the name Merival and used to be in a band called First Rate People. Lovers is her first-rate, first-ever solo EP. We’d call her music first-rate folk with a pop edge; whatever you’d call it, you’d have to classify it as tasty. We’re playing three songs from Lovers: “Kickin’ You Out,” which charts a course for escape from a relationship that has slipped away; “Dream of Yourself,” a wisp of a tune and a vocal showcase atop a plunking banjo; and “Calendar,” a meeting of spare acoustic guitar figures and Merival’s plaintive voice. Think mid-period Joni Mitchell, if you need a reference point.
The band called Sweden and not the same-named country rolls in with a sizzling slice of power pop. “Just a Kid” blazes with lots of guitar fury, a catchy melody, and a children’s choir part that lifts the song’s spirits high. Thanks to Caddy’s Tom Dahl for bringing this one to our attention. It’s a good one.
Rock photographer and guitarist Mimi Boswell and her friends, a stately group of cohorts that includes the Doughboys’ Myke Scavone and Richard X. Heyman, enter our playlist with a tough-as-nails pop/rocker, exhibiting equal echoes of the Rolling Stones and the Rascals. “Torn to Pieces” was mixed and mastered to rocky perfection by Pure Pop Radio pal Kurt Reil at his House of Vibes studio.
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