Wisconsin’s Normal Fox bill themselves as sounding like “the best summer you ever had”. The music doesn’t always instantly have a summery feel, but there are times throughout their 2013 EP release ‘The Boy Who Couldn’t Change Anything’ where the four musicians sound like they’re having a fantastic time playing music – and that in itself is probably enough to justify such claims, no matter how you’d personally choose to soundtrack your own (hopefully) sun-filled vacation time. On the surface, they sound like just another alt-rock/emo band, but as these five songs clearly demonstrate, at least one member of the band has broader musical interests than first appears.
Tag Archives: power pop
THE RIZZOS – Worse Things
At the beginning of 2015, Brooklyn’s The Rizzos released their debut EP ‘No Parents, No Rules’. Far from perfect, it showed a great promise for the future and was worth checking out for ‘Vomit Kiss’, a punky number that showed the energy within the band in a brattish and youthful manner. That glimpsed promise comes really through on this seven track cassette – issued just six months later – where The Rizzos really hit their mark consistently, blending their garage rock roots with some serious early sixties bubblegum vibes and some classy power pop.
KURT BAKER – Play It Cool
Kurt Baker’s first full length release ‘Brand New Beat’ was an instant power pop classic. Despite all of the tunes being appropriated from the catalogues of Joe Jackson, Nick Lowe and The Cars, Baker’s abilities for penning a great chorus along with his insistence on bringing a party spirit ensured his enthusiasm and talents shone through almost every moment of every track. A companion disc comprising ten session leftovers – ‘Brand New B-Sides’ – was worth the price of admission for his take on Nick Lowe’s ‘So It Goes’ and an ode to actress Emma Stone (the appropriately titled ‘Emma Stone’) alone.
TRAVEL LANES – Let’s Begin To Start Again
From Philadephia, Travel Lanes is an independent band who credit themselves as power pop with alternative leanings. Those who approach their work expecting their brand of pop to share much in common with the usual touchstones will feel short changed immediately. There are power pop elements within their core sound, but they have far more of a country tinged influence. Instead of paying homage to ELO’s ‘Out of The Blue’, bits of the Wings catalogue or the more modern sounds of Fountains of Wayne, Travel Lane throw a curveball – some of the material here owes far more to very early John Hiatt records like ‘Hanging Around The Observatory’ than any of the usual suspects.
THE NEW TROCADEROS – Thrills & Chills
The first half of 2015 represented a very busy time for the collected members of The New Trocaderos. In power pop circles, it seemed as you couldn’t move very far at all without seeing one of the band pop up somewhere. Vocalist Brad Marino and guitarist/vocalist Geoff Palmer released a full-length album by their “other” band The Connection; bassist/vocalist Kurt Baker played a whole bunch of live shows and released his first live LP, while previous New Trocs singles and EPs were gathered together as ‘Frenzy In The Hips’ – a full length release of unmissable quality. Among all that, chief New Trocs songwriter Mike Chaney was beavering behind the scenes, shaping up a new batch of songs. The resultant collection, ‘Thrills & Chills’ – the first “proper” full-length from the Trocs – is a belter; it’s songs are a small step up from previous works and provide a welcome addition to any power pop/retro pop record collection.