Following a stint as a jobbing songwriter and working with and/or supporting well-known singer songwriters Juliana Hatfield and Amanda Marshall, power pop performer Jim Boggia delivered a storming full-length debut in 2001. ‘Fidelity Is The Enemy’ takes in many moods during its old fashioned created- for-two-sides-of-vinyl-length forty two minutes. Every one of those moods is as fully realised as the previous, showing Boggia to not only be a strong songwriter, but an arranger of some confidence.
Tag Archives: power pop
THE PAUL & JOHN – The Inner Sunset
A band comprising two pop loving friends John Moreman and Paul Myers, the knowingly named The Paul and John bring some power pop gold on ‘Inner Sunset’, a collection of tunes written over a three year period. Fans of the rockier end of the genre will hear traces of many old favourites on this disc – Roger McGuinn, Alex Chilton, touches of Nick Lowe and even Soul Asylum…and, yes, a nod to them Beatles – but as with most acts ploughing a similar musical path, the homages are loving. Taking those influences and melding them with some great hooks, The Paul & John are almost guaranteed to please.
ABSENT FRIENDS: The Russians
Around the same time Mark Bacino released ‘Queens English’, over in Boston, singer-songwriter Scott Janovitz was working with his band The Russians. Their sole album ‘Crashing The Party’ was well received by the power pop community in 2010, but never followed up. What happened?
THE JEANIES – The Jeanies
Trading in 60s garage rock for the sounds of late 60s guitar-pop, The Jeanies are a band from Brooklyn featuring vocalist/guitarist Joey Farber, sometime member of Greasy Hearts. The ten numbers making up their debut full length represent a celebration of power pop’s golden age – songs brimming with innocence, chiming guitars and feelgood intents.
ROONI – Pilot EP
In 2011 Swedish singer songwriter Gustav Nilsson released his fifth EP, ‘Makeup On, Letdowns Off’, a collection of tunes which mixed power pop and indie in a way that marked a departure from his more rootsy beginnings. Not perfect by any means, the recording had spirit – and one track in particular, ‘Paper Cuts’, set Nilsson aside as an artist worth watching. Not too long after the release of ‘Makeup On’, Nilsson reappeared as frontman with retro pop/indie pop outfit Rooni [not to be confused with Taylor Locke’s defunct US band Rooney]. The band issued a couple of standalone tracks via their soundcloud account in 2012 – both of which showed promise – but it was the release of their song ‘Ambulance’ the following year which really hit the mark. ‘Ambulance’ is one of those tunes that once heard a few times really sticks; its blend of early 90s indie and a knowing wink to power pop of many years previously resulted in an almost perfect three minute earworm. The styles with which Nilsson had experimented on his last solo EP had finally blossomed into something marvellous.