Thursday, March 19, 2009

What new on the NOT LAME shelves??? Part Two

Here's some of the newest releases straight from the Boss's desk to your ears!

PhotobucketTHE JUNIOR LEAGUE - SMILE SHOOT SMILE
The sophomore album has been unearthed! The Junior League`s debut, CATCHY was, well, indeed that. SMILE SHOOT SMILE delivers more of the (thankful) same ,this time mixing in some classic rock elements with a few songs sounding like Marshall Crenshaw and Credence Clearwater Revival with a Beach Boys breakdown. Fans of Sloan, The Gripweeds, classic Lemonheads power pop, Big Star and bands that have been influenced by Buffalo Springfield but are making modern-day pop, the Junior League are happening for ya. It touches on all kinds of power popping stepping stones and creates a fresh, lively sound - JUST what we are all looking for. Very Highly Recommended!

PhotobucketJIM BASNIGHT - WE ROCKED AND ROLLED: THE FIRST 25 YEARS
A truly special 25-track release that covers all the very best years and trax from Jim Basnight`s music career. This collection starts off with 11 trax from the legendary the Moberlys, who were highly touted in Trouser Press back in the `heydays`. Classic late 70`s/early 80`s power pop going on here, driven by loud but always hook honed guitars. Think the Plimsouls, the Real Kids, the Scruffs and Titan Records, the Beat and early REM and Athens-based pop bands in the early 80`s.

From there it travels in the 80s incarnation of the Moberlys, whose material keeps up w/ the time and in the 90s we have four tracks from the Rockinghams, who released the album this material comes from on Not Lame Limited back at the end of that decade and then into his most recent excursions with the Jim Basnight Thing. The title song is also represented in its original form, a great demo track recorded at EMI studios in Los Angeles in 1986 by the Moberlys, which was also the final track on Jim Basnight and the Moberlys SEATTLE-NY-LA - a compilation that was released in France on the Pop the Balloon label in 2001. All six of the unique CDs of Jim`s career are well represented here. Catch up with a bonafide power pop legend here on this excellent, top quality compilation. Timeless always.

PhotobucketFOUR EYES - ANTHOLOGY 1977-1990
Another lost skinny tie, power popping band that so few have heard of but sure do merit attention now. Mark DeCerbo`s band Four Eyes has a rich, deep legacy - much of it captured here on this anthology of 22 songs, a very healthy sampling I have put below because I want to make sure you check this unknown treasure out. Like recent reissues like the Wigs and Doug Derek & the Hoax, even the most ardent power pop fan `back in the day` might not have heard of Four Eyes but if distribution of information had been different in the late 70s, we sure would have.

Well, sometimes these things take time and in 2009, that problem is rectified. Listen to the samples over at the home page and hear the sounds of Shoes, the Deal and Phil Seymour and the Romantics. As the band moves into the 80s, the embrace the indie rock sounds of the times (echoes of, say, the Rainmakers in some areas) with skill and good taste(anotherwords, they avoid the nasty gated drum sounds wisely). There is mention of Greg Kihn and Dane Conover of the obscure early 80s fave future-pop band, Trees, appearing on some of these tracks, too. Beginning To End, Four Eyes is a really wonderful find for many of you there. Listen for yourself right here, right now!

PhotobucketTHE PERMS - KEEPS YOU UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN
2009 from one of Canada`s brightest pop stars, the Perms return after a 3 year break. As (really) good as "Better Days" was with it leaving their previous work in the dust, KEEPS YOU UP WHEN YOU'RE DOWN shines above because of its consistency and renewed vigor to attack their songs with hard-pop edge. There`s a special, unique branding and merging of a lot of artists familiar w/ Not Lamers, like late 70`s/early 80`s Elvis Costello, Sloan, the Lolas and some PINKERTON-era Weezer. What separates the Perms from so many other pop bands is their careful artistry and arrangements, fusing that soulful horn sound alongside archetypal power pop melodies `n hooks. This baby is laced up and ready to glide along smooth ice of its special blend of harmony-laden power pop. Extremely Highly Recommended!

"The Perms are a timeless pop band, employing catchy melodies and tight songwriting above all else, and it`s something proven by the classic pop sounds of "Better Days" - an upbeat and joyful treat for the senses." - UK Music Search

PhotobucketTHE I LOVE MYSELFS - SHOW STOPPER
Well, we lost the Young Sportsmen, a big fave here at Not Lame, last year but from the ashes of that bands` demise, we have the I Love Myselfs, featuring head Sportsmen Ryan Maxwell and former Riffbroker guitarist Eric Olson. It is pure rock `n roll, like an angry version of the Flamin` Groovies and more melodic the Hives. We are talking brawn, dirty rawk, pop and cowbell. The I Love Myselfs are about blistering rock and roll reminiscent of Redd Kross, the Dead Boys, the Godfathers, Hoodoo Gurus, and Swinging Neckbreakers. The style ranges from heavy 70s guitar thunder to rootsy twang.

PhotobucketMARK AND THE SPIES - GIVE ME A LOOK
GERMANY ONLY import. Much as I loved their self-titled debut, I REALLY love GIVE ME A LOOK from Mark & the Spies, where they perfect form. Their main influences are the Beatles, Barry & the Remains, early the Who, Motown, Simon & Garfunkel, Link Wray, the Motions and the ZOMBIES, so you can imagine that most of their songs are filled with great melodies, heavenly harmonies and up-tempo beats. Great pop base inside their garage! This album is once again recorded by the legendary E.J. `I`ve got my mono working` Kloosterboer and filled with great jangling guitar-pop with a delicious sixties sauce. In times where the packaging, the number of different color pressings, the most limited circulation and the crappiest sound seems to be more important than the ability to write a great, simple and dead catchy tune, Mark & the Spies entered the studio again to prove all you self-appointed rock`n`roll experts wrong, with their awesome blend of pure crystalline 60`s pop and classic garage-beat.

Mark & The Spies enter the scene to prove all you self-appointed rock`n`roll experts wrong, with their awesome blend of pure crystalline 60`s pop and classic garage-beat Mersey-pop. This Dutch quintet plays music that is hard-tempered and expansive without ever seeming precious or compromised. Extremely Highly Recommended!

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