For garage rock fans, New Hampshire’s The Connection are a band that needs no introduction. For everybody else, here’s the skinny: they’re much loved by Little Steven Van Zandt and get regular play on his Underground Garage radio show and they count Andrew Loog Oldham among their many fans. That seal of approval should be enough for the curious to take a listen, but more than that, these are musicians with a pedigree. The hardest working gang in the state, The Connection features Brad Marino (also of the New Trocaderos), Geoff Palmer, Craig Sala and Kris “Fingers” Rodgers (all of whom have served time as members of the Kurt Baker Band and Wimpy and the Madallions). Their music is retro, but often much friendlier on the ear than so many garage rock outfits, since they’re often keen to mix in a hefty dose of power pop, and on ‘Labor of Love’ – their second full-length – they’ve got choruses and musical hooks aplenty…
Tag Archives: power pop
DOT DASH – Earthquakes & Tidal Waves
Although the name might not necessarily be familiar, Washington DC’s Dot Dash is a band with an impressive musical pedigree. Vocalist Terry Banks was previously a member of St. Christopher and worked with Julie Ocean; with the latter, he also worked alongside future Dot Dash bassist Hunter Bennett. Drummer Danny Ingram was previously a member of hardcore punks Youth Brigade and Sweredriver, while guitarist Steve Hansgren served key roles within Minor Threat and Government Issue.
LAZY LIONS – When Dreaming Lets You Down
Lazy Lions is a project bringing together the talents of four musicians whom, in their own words, “have been around the block enough” to have an extensive musical CV. Frontman Jim Allen has had a prior career as a singer/songwriter; bassist Anne Marie Stehn was previously a member of Antigone Rising; drummer Sean McMorris has recorded his own material in addition to being a seasoned session guy (most notably for Television’s Richard Lloyd), while guitarist Robert Sorkin previously held a place within the Monterey Symphony. Unsurprisingly, with his song writing skills and big vocal presence, it’s often Allen who appears to be firmly in the driving seat. The band’s preferred sound borrows heavily from 70s power pop and a few later Elvis Costello devotees, but essentially what we have with ‘When Dreaming Lets You Down’ is an adult pop/rock affair that almost seems timeless. There’s a loudness to some of the material that occasionally belies the Lions’ latter-day rechanneling of these older sounds as opposed to this being a 1984 recording, but in terms of songs, these could have been written by anyone at any time.
THE RAVYNS – History Repeats Itself
The Ravyns were a power pop band from Baltimore arguably best known for their single ‘Raised on the Radio’ featured in the Cameron Crowe written movie Fast Times At Ridgemont High in 1982. A full album was released a year later, but further success eluded the band. Following their split, frontman Kyf Brewer achieved further cult success as a member of hard rock troupe Company of Wolves before venturing on to a hugely overlooked solo career.
SCOTT JANOVITZ – Fall In EP
Scott Janovitz will be familiar to some retro-pop aficionados as the mastermind behind The Russians – the mysterious indie/power pop band who left us a sole full length album ‘Crashing The Party’ in 2011. Although a rather melancholy listen in some places, it’s collection of songs were very well crafted, with sounds borrowing from the sixties, eighties and nineties in almost equal measure. The years passed, but nothing more materialised from either Janovitz or The Russians, leading some listeners to wonder what could have been…