CD of the Day, 1/31/11: Secret Powers-What Every Rose Grower Should Know

Usually I post a review after I've listened to an album over a period of a couple of weeks. However, I was so stoked to see Secret Powers was out with a new album that I decided to experiment and live-tweet a review on Twitter while listening to it for the first time. So here are my initial reactions to their fourth album in four years (the verbatim tweets):

* Holy crap, Secret Powers is out with another album (4th in 4 yrs). First 3 were classics, and digging the first track

* It's called "Generation Ship", sounds like a demented outtake from ELO's Time. Maybe I'll just live-tweet my first listen to the album.

* Next up is "Tarantula", a rollicking 2:16 tune about being afraid of them. It's so catchy I almost want to find a tarantula to sing it to.

* "What Every Rose Grower Should Know", the title track, follows. With most bands this would be a metaphor. Not with these guys.

* Track #4 is "Candy". Straight-up power pop, melodic if unremarkable. Still might be the best song on a lot of other bands' albums.

* Next is "The Desert". I knew these Montana boys had a quasi-Morricone Western in them, complete with Jew's harp and portentous whistling.

* "Crocodile" follows. Unlike "Tarantula", this is not a literal title. Instead, it's a pleasing mid-tempo love song.

* Next track: "I'll Be Home". Solid, if unspectacular, followed by "It Should Have Been Me", a classic SP-sounding track w/fun piano backing.

* "Queen of Bizarre" not as bizarre as its title or some of their other stuff, but another quality tune.

* "In The Way" a decent track, "Blue Thing" is classic Schmed, and closer "My Idea" returns to the ELO motif a la Side 3 of Out of the Blue.

* All in all, sounds like a top 10 contender (albeit a bit front-loaded). Thanks for putting up with my first ever live-tweet album review.

Depending on how many Twitter followers I lose, I might do this again in the future for a disc I'm eagerly anticipating and/or surprised to discover. Here are the usual links:

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Two for Thursday, 4/22/10

Secret Powers-Lies and Fairy Tales. If someone told me back in the late summer of 2008 that a new power pop band would emerge and have three great discs out by the spring of 2010, I'd be skeptical. But damned if Shmedley & crew are back with their third disc in about 18 months that's a must-listen. For those unfamiliar, Secret Powers is led by Ryan "Shmedly" Maynes and they serve up high-grade Jellyfish/ELO-influenced pop. Lies and Fairy Tales is no exception. "Orange Trees" was the best track on their previous release, and here things stay in the citrus family with the leadoff track "Tangerine", a hooky number that closes with a "na na na na" refrain and is downright infectious. The hits just keep on coming: "I'm So in Love" is a bouncy Beatlesque bit, "Riding the Shark" (as opposed to jumping it, which these guys are far from doing) is a manic rocker that doesn't quit, while the trippy piano-based "Cows" is udderly delightful. And don't overlook "Opening Band", a wry look at the music biz. I look forward to their next disc, and glad I probably won't have to wait too long. (By the way, they've finally embraced digital distribution, so I can embed from Lala and give you an iTunes link. Now they just need to get the first two available that way.)

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Knit Delicate-Fulton Hill. As anyone who's read this blog for more than a little while knows, I'm a sucker for bands that can mix power pop and alt-country. And this band from Wisconsin sure knows how to weave a pop tune with a slight twang, as they follow up Pressed, their debut and one of 2007's more overlooked gems. Sounding like the Gary Louris-led version of The Jayhawks mixed in with a little Rich McCulley, they even mix in a little Big Star on the opener "Really Shouldn't Say Those Things" and the brilliant "When I See You". Other standouts include "Love is Not Democracy" and the pop sheen of "Had a Chance", in which they channel America. And they love punny references as much as I do, otherwise they wouldn't have a track called "Spin Cycle" on the disc.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Two for Tuesday (Special Monday Night Edition).

The Brilliant Inventions-Have You Changed. This Atlanta duo, comprised of singer-songwriters Josh Lamkin and Eliot Bronson, may have the folk-pop album of the year on their hands. These guys can harmonize with anyone, and have the tunes to go with the harmonies. Fans of Straw Dogs, The Karg Brothers, and The Jayhawks will love this disc. There are plenty of highlights here: the opener "Isn't it Worth it", which sums up their sound in one song; the title track, and its "oh-oh"s in the chorus; "There Goes My Heart", possibly the best track on the album, one which throws some piano and pop beats into the mix; the Rembrandts-esque "Could've Been You", and the shimmering pop of "What About Jennifer". A brilliant invention indeed.

CD Baby | MySpace | iTunes

Secret Powers-Secret Powers and the Electric Family Choir. Last year, this Montana band had one of 2008's left-field pleasant surprises with Explorers of the Polar Eclipse, a kind of ELO/Jellyfish/Bleu melange that made my top 100 but in retrospect should have placed higher. They haven't wasted any time getting out the followup, and the Electric Family Choir is a trippier version of the debut, as the Dharma Initiative-like photo on the cover would indicate. The most brilliant thing here is "Orange Trees", which I can only describe as what The Move might have sounded like if Jeff Lynne was writing songs then like he did while in ELO. Frontman Ryan "Shmedly" Maynes has an agreeably gruff vocal style that makes their stuff sound like the cult classics they could become, but he gives way to another band member (unidentified by the liner notes) on the waltz-like "By the Sea", which quotes the Beatles' "Michelle". Other standouts include the baroque Jackdaw4-like pop of "Lazy Men"; "Misery", a Lynne-like ballad that would make Bleu jealous; and the 80 seconds or so of "Treat Your Mother Nice", which could have fit into Side 2 of Abbey Road without anyone noticing. If these guys want to put out one of these every year, I certainly have no objection. (Actually, I do have an objection: they're apparently so retro that you can't get their music digitally, on iTunes or elsewhere. If they really wanted to be purists, they should have released this vinyl-only.)

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