In this day and age of a surfeit of music available on the internet and elsewhere, it's impossible to be comprehensive, no matter how detailed a niche you concentrate on. Or to translate it into simpler terms: I'm still finding great releases from 2007 that I missed during the year. It's almost getting to the point that I'm going to have to revise my top 125 list in a couple of months or so. The latest overlooked 2k7 gem is the self-titled debut full-length from Minneapolis' Charlz Newman.
In the tradition of Jethro Tull, Charlz Newman is a band with a person's name, rather than the other way around. Named after band leaders Mark Charles and Brian Neumann, Charlz Newman has crafted a power pop tour de force. From the opening Cheap Trick-style raveup "Craven Raven" to the loungy piano pop (a la Randy & The Bloody Lovelies) of "Lie Berry" to the Superdrag-style rock of "In The End" to the midtempo power pop of "Cheque Inn" and "True" to the antemic "Burn Your House Down", they pull it all off. They've caught the attention of the music biz as well, as they've opened for acts like Nickelback and Bon Jovi. But we won't hold that against them.
CD Baby | MySpace
