I have the good fortune of being able to listen to the albums I review in a public forum. I can closely monitor my test subjects without them realizing that I am watching for a reaction to the music coming over the speakers. Is this because I am a sycophant who is incapable of forming […]
Power-pop tends to be one of those ambiguous terms in music that fetches all sorts of opinions. Purists like Michael Slawter tend to call out folks like Cheap Trick, Big Star and The Replacements as the poster children for the genre, and few would argue with this definition. In forming his latest pop project – […]
The advertising for Tim Lee’s new album No Discretion begins with the proclamation: “13 songs… 6 recording studios in 3 states… 16 musicians… 18 months… 1 finished product…” These are some impressive numbers, which lead the soon to be listener to believe that they hold a magnum opus in their hands. That this is an […]
With perhaps the exception of the Now That’s What I Call Music series of ‘various artists’ (V/A) compilations, you don’t usually see a lot of V/A material topping the charts. The latest offering from Paisley Pop entitled The Sensitive Guy’s Guide to Groovy Music probably won’t be topping the charts any time soon. Chart ratings […]
The mistake that I made before listening to Avoid Danger was that I only read the first few lines of the one-sheet for this album before I gave it a listen. The one-sheet states, “The Happiness Factor feature insanely catchy pop songs that seethe with energy and frustration.” Because of this, I half expected expected […]
