A yearly rite of passage in the power pop community, the International Pop Overthrow 3-CD compilation is a tribute to the state of independent power pop, the artists themselves, and the man behind the curtain, David Bash. Every year, the IPO comp features great tracks from established artists and tracks off upcoming albums, but the real treat is making new discoveries of some of the lesser-known artists.
First of all, any compilation featuring tracks from arists that have been featured on this site like Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Private Jets, The Backroom, Leave, Wiretree, The Respectables, Peter Baldrachi, Kai Reiner, Steve Caraway, The Afternoons, Chris Brown, and The Tomorrows is worth it for that alone. And then you have the new tracks yet to be released. Plasticsoul's "Throwaway" is one of the best songs here, and has me salivating for his followup to 2005's brilliant Pictures from the Long Ago. Throw in great new tracks from The Vandalays and The Ringles as well, and it gets even better.
But it's the new discoveries that always make the IPO comps so much fun, and here are a few that are featured (you may find others that stand out for you):
Service Group. "I'm in Love" shows off their Knack-influenced, vaguely new-wavy (with a dose of Superdrag thrown in) style of power pop. It's off their 2007 release Principals of Electronic Circuitry, which you can check out at CD Baby, or on MySpace
The Generous Days. These Norwegian poppers offer up "Smile", a Beatlesque treat complete with the stacatto, "Getting Better"-like chords and recall fellow Scandinavian poppers Private Jets. MySpace
Pleasure Trip. Their "Without You" is a new track to IPO, but it's of a piece with their self-titled 2007 debut, a fine blend of power pop, Americana, and 60-styled roots pop.
Twenty Cent Crush. "Summer (You Know My Name)", the leadoff track of Disc 2, is a great confection of sunshiney 60s pop from a band comprised of advertising professionals. They've been around for quite a while, but haven't released much material, so this is your best place to get this fine track. MySpace
As always, the comp is on the Not Lame label, and you can get it from the source here.
