Holy moley!!! Even more NEW AT NOT LAME Updates!!!

Boy oh boy, is the summer music pouring in here at the office! Cjeck out these awesome new releases!!!

THE MOPTOPS - "Ground Floor Man"
The Moptops are like a power poppin version of Rockpile with more jangle and add some Smithereens while you’re at it! Just what the pop doctor needed to prescribe. Rickenbacker armies lined up on the front lines of harmonies and crisp early/mid-era Beatles Mersey, just listen below and revel in their overt influences. Yes, you'll hear echoes of Brinsley Schwarz, Dave Edmunds, Walter Clevenger and early The Rooks.
Swedish import and for Not Lamers around these parts in the 90s you'll remember Sweden's The Moptops, a jangle-up slice of pure pop heaven that we touted to the heavens. Nothing has been heard from them for over 10 years.

DERBY - "Posters Fade"
Welcome to one of the finest pop albums of 2008. Cynical, unbelieving? Listen at this link! Bouncy sing-a-long choruses, willowy melodies, caressing, swooning vocals, it`s just, simply, stunning. There`s so a graceful blending of influences in here. Think Sloan, Brendan Benson and The Shins.

CAPTAIN WILBERFORCE - "Everyone Loves A Villain"
Brendan Benson, Matthew Sweet, ELO, Starbelly, Velvet Crush, some Jellyfish, the pop-side of Radiohead`s "The Bends" and XTC all wrapped up a bit of glammy British swagger that only a band that was wells up when thinking about Marc Bolan`s loss on the music world.
The singer sounds a lot like Jon Brion, which will bring some comparisons to The Grays, which is happily appropriate, too. Chock full of raw and infectious slices of harmonic pop, it buzzes with crunching guitars and killer choruses. Bottom line, song after well-crafted song and melody after infectious melody that should be more than just casually appealing to the majority of folks out there! Classic Not Lame styled power pop.

THE GALAXIES - "Here We Go!"
Echoes of The Rembrandts(a lot!), Dwight Twilley, Adam Schmitt, Velvet Crush, The Records and many other power poppin’ faves on this site!

NESS - "You Can't Afford To Feel"
WHOA! Listen – below – NOW! Ness is a *really* cool bag of fresh tricks....they mix the best of progressive rock with plenty of power pop, glam, rock guitar stylings, that`s like glammy Enuff Z`Nuff and Cheap Trick playing mid-70`s Genesis and Queen, at the same time! Jellyfish influence is on a good portion of “You Can’t Afford To Feel”, too.

CLOVIS ROBLAINE - "Clovis Roblaine Story"
ONE OF POWER POP'S Top 120 Power Pop Albums of All Time - John M. Borack "Shake Some Action" Book!!! "One of the more obscure power pop albums of its time - and also one of the finest - The Clovis Roblaine Story filters power pop through the eyes (and ears) of a Midwestern Spector obsessive. The thrilling "Monster Love", "My Heart" and "Too Choked Up" are all classics of the genre." Reminds us of Squeeze, Marshall Crenshaw, Pilot, Milk ‘n Cookies, Buddy Holly and Nick Lowe and more!

EDWARD ROGERS - "You Haven't Been Where I Have Been"
Touches of The Byrds, Burt Bacharach, and Pernice Brothers(lots) scattered liberally throughout but this project is original in its own space. Some of the most haunting, evocative lyrics paired w/subtle orchestral-like pop arrangements and Roger`s reedy, breathy powerful vocals fill all available space. Guesting are Pete Kennedy (of the Kennedys) and Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken.

BALDWIN DRIVE - "Orange & Black"
Excellent guitar driven pop with lots of great sing-a-long choruses and a sense of the classic rock archetypes mining bits of Tom Petty/Traveling Wilburys, The Rembrants, Diesel Park West and a whole parade of bands ‘just in the tip of my lip’!
Great debut that features Stephen Butler from Smash Palace and another fave Fran Smith, Jr. (check out his CD on this site – he plays in the Hooters, too).
The result is a staggering collision of heart, brain and raw power rarely seen this side of the classic FM firmly entrenched in our collective unconscious. Baldwin Drive’s music stands as proof that the virtuosity, groove and songwriting smarts of classic rock`s heavy hitters can be more than imitated by our generation -- they can be -- and have been -- inherited.

SHAKE SOME ACTION - "Sunday Days Ahead"
A perfect hybrid of jangled-up pop delight that brings to mind not only the Groovies, but mid/late 80`s jangle faves like The La`s, Gigolo Aunts, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians and Matthew Sweet.

THE OFFBEAT - "The Offbeat"
Fans of The Fore CD that was recently trotted out here pay attention to The Offbeat! While there’s all kinds of songs here that remind us of early Beatles, naturally(see Song #2 below), it’s really The Zombies that strike as the primary reference point. There’s some added Beach Boys touches that get planted inside some of these songs – Listen to Song #1 for the best example of this – a song that sounds like an “Odessey & Oracle” out-take – THAT good. It has an vibe that eases itself into a comfortable pastoral vibe, with Bluntone-y ‘ba-ba-ba’ vocals and guitar and warm Beach Boys-esque harmonies.

FATHER BLOOPY - "Ginger, Baby"
Think early 70s Bowie, Lou Reed, Flaming Lips, Beck and lots and lots of Ray Davies, bless the boy! Self-described diehards and collectors of early 60s and 70s art-rock, Father Bloopy's first album pays homage to a variety of obvious influences, including The Kinks, Lou Reed, and ELO, but they add a unique flair and a modern twist to the mix that is edgy and invigorating.

STEPSONDAY - "Little Light"
What’s going on here is plenty healthy doses of Nada Surf, Jason Falkner, Ultimate Fakebook, Splitsville, Superdrag and The Drowners.