[engl] Powerpop Pearls!

[engl] Second Album from Brad Marino (The Connection, New Trocaderos, Rydells).

[engl] BUZZSAWS is the debut album by BROWER, the solo project of Nat Brower, resident of Ridgewood Queens and erstwhile NANCY and METALLEG compatriot, already championing the spirits and sounds of our most cherished Punk and Rock musical varietals the world over. After last spring’s Little Big EP (DIG007), BROWER is back, and the fire behind that ass is simply inextinguishable! Enter BUZZSAWS – a glam’d-out glitter-bomb of fuzz guitars and giant vocal melodies within the Venn diagram of Bolan, Bowie and Brett (Smiley). Like Little Big, each song is jammed full of sugarcoated harmonies, laser-beam licks and unearthly hooks. Unlike LITTLE BIG, BROWER shows his teeth on BUZZSAWS – and they’re gnarly, thanks to all the sugarcoated harmonies – with several dbs of gain and big city grit added to the mix. From the first crack! of the snare on “Real Girl”, the album opener, a barrage of big guitars and bonafied boogie – missing even in this year’s finer Rock’n’roll offerings – takes hold for a satisfying spin the whole way thru. Loyal glam-o-philes will clap their feet and stomp their hands to “Hacksaw” and “U N Him”, two of BROWER’s heaviest headbangers to date, pulling together the swagger of T. Rex or Iron Virgin with the whirring guitars and sneering ‘tude of Hubble Bubble. While “My Father’s Name Was Cat” – a storybook ode to our animal ancestors and dads who look like Cat Stevens – offers a psychedelic respite compliments of tripped-out, blissed-out synth layers; “Better Days” showcases BROWER’s tender side – in full display on LITTLE BIG – replete with dulcet sitar strums. AMANAZ covers closeout each side of the album, for two Zam Rock heavies re-interpreted as indispensible power pop bangers, epitomizing the eclectic Rock’n’roll DNA evolving in the BROWER petri dish. Recorded and performed entirely by the BROWER boy himself, Nat has somehow captured the over-produced gleam of the glam era from his bedroom home studio. In the flesh, Nat has recruited the perfect band (featuring members of DIRTY FENCES and VELVETEEN RABBIT) to get the BROWER show on the road, heralding the coming year, THE YEAR OF THE BUZZSAWS…

[engl] You surely know that Japan is crazy for Powerpop in any direction, they just LOVE it, the Bubblegum or 70ties blended, the rocking and rolling type, the kind of that make your hearts explode (sic!).... and of course there are hundreds of powerpop bands there - and MOST of them are actually pretty good, but few stand out, and THE CHOOSERS are definitely in the Top 3.

[engl] We are always excited about our new releases but this one is pretty pretty special. Oh-my-god-I- cannot-believe-it special. One of our all-time favorite bands is releasing a record on our label. Boom! Early in the 90ties as I dived into our little punkrock microcosm I found their ZU?CKER album and I immediately knew that this is a special band for me, too sugary for the punks, too rocknroll for the poppunks haha, to weird for the now emerging grunge scene, but still, my little pocketband I told everyone about. And with Glitterhouse Germany running the Sub Pop Europe business, all of their records were available and not expensive. I never saw them live, although I had tickets to their show in Innsbruck, Austria, when they were touring with Pearl Jam, but as fate would have it, their van broke down the day before in Milano, Italy. Goddamnit! “Trouser Press” once said the FASTBACKS were “always good but never trendy”, now THAT sounds like a perfect fit to Bachelor Records. This live show from 1986 (!!!) captures HOW GOOD they were, how fun their shows must have been and how much fun they had on stage. After Kurt Bloch himself remastered this show for a CD release, we thought this has to be pressed on vinyl of course too! And here you have this whole show (with the exception of the first two songs, the CD version has the audience recording of it, but it is not on the LP, which features the whole multitrack recordings)

[engl] Definitive vinyl edition of this lost album from the Bosstown Sound scene. Front Page Review rubbed shoulders with bands like Eden's Children, Beacon Street Union and Strawberry Alarm Clock. With legendary producer Alan Lorber behind the controls, they recorded in 1968 a whole album for MGM which was never released at the time. ''Mystic Soldiers'' is a prime example of late 60s US psychedelic rock, featuring a young Steve Cataldo (Saint Steven, Nervous Eaters) on songwriting / vocals. All the right ingredients are featured here: wah- fuzz guitars, organ, phasing, effects? Master tape sound, two bonus tracks, new cover design with unseen band photo, insert with detailed liner notes by Jeremy Cargill (Got Kinda Lost / Ugly Things) telling the story of the band for the first time.

[engl] Josephine is a singer/songwriter and shapeshifting drag yenta from New York. Her debut album “Music is Easy” is her grand opening statement. With Josh Hahn producing and Nat Brower providing rhythm, the trio make a warm & glittering hi-fi sound with a soulful glam pop style. Call it ‘soulgum’ or just call it ‘easy’...

[engl] Reissue of the 2010 release on Sing Sing Records, NYC, USA. This is the first album of PROTEX, recorded in 1979-1980 for a release on Polydor records, but the record never came out because the label was interested in the next big thing, after punk rock.... The guys from Sing Sing Records unearthed this masterpiece and put it out in 2010, it was sold out and OOP soon afterwards. So nearly 10 years after you have the possibility to buy this classic for a normal price. The Bachelor Records release of "Strange Obsessions" is not only a simple repress, we managed to improve the sound and speed, thanks to Eric Brady, PLUS the artwork was changed a bit too!

[engl] Red Star press release, late-January 1978, by Miriam Linna: “A three day engagement at Boston’s Rat club (Jan. 20, 21, 22) kicked off the release of The Real Kids’ premier LP for Red Star Records. The club was packed to capacity despite the two-odd feet of snow and ice which had closed several of the city’s main thoroughfares during the week. Sunday, Red Star and The Real Kids celebrated the official release of RS-2 with friends, fans and members of the press with a party at a local bowling lane, with beer and pizza to boot. Everyone was a real kid (for the afternoon at least) as boots got traded in for bowling shoes and rock & rollers hit the pins to the tune of piped-in recordings of the Kids’ favorite records, past and present, including their own slice of vinyl history, of course. The highlight of the weekend came that evening with a live broadcast on WCOZ-FM, one of New England’s top FM stations. Featured on the live show were several tracks from the new LP, entitled simply, THE REAL KIDS.” And THIS here is that night. Imagine that the Real Kids have somehow drunkenly stumbled from the bowling alley over to the Rat. Then imagine that a hammered band could pull off a set like this. Yes. The Real Kids were just THAT DAMN HOT. Gatefold LP plus 2-sided inner sleeve.

[engl] Oh yasss! More unissued stuff, way more pix and stories of Boston finest Rock & Roll band. Essential? We’d leave this decision up to you, but definitely a must for ye Real Kids fans out there! Twenty-four previously unissued REAL KIDS cuts - kicks off with 10 crude rehearsals from April/May 1976, of which 6 were never re-recorded in a studio setting - plus 14 live cuts from 1976-1977 chosen as best from a stack of 31 cuts. 21 originals and 3 cover songs all housed in a double gatefold LP plus inner sleeve crammed with photos, zine clippings and liner notes. the MUSIC? ripping, absolutely ripping ROCK and ROLL music.

[engl] Eight previously unissued proto-punk godheaded rippers from the pre-Real Kids combo THE KIDS recorded on Nov 10 1974 - plus four previously unissued REAL KIDS demos from Spring 1977, recorded by DJ Oedipus at WTBS radio station with 1 mic suspended above the band! Gatefold LP plus 32-page 12” x 12” (30.5cm x 30.5cm) booklet inside crammed with tonsa liner notes (28,000+ words not counting the text of the press clippings) built mostly upon Dave Laing of Dog Meat Records’ mucho-extensive March 1995 inteview whilst key band members Billy Borgioli and Alpo were alive, NEVER SEEN photos, flyers, press-clippings, info, etc on John Felice’s days with The Modern Lovers, his combos The Children’s Rock & Roll Band, The Kids, and the Real Kids!! There was a young Boston lad named John Felice who took it upon himself to say “F.U.” to the current dull-ass folkie/prog/Top 40 crap and blast forth with HIS?OWN fucking vision and, most important, POP?SONGWRITING?MASTERY of Groovies/ Stones/ Kinks/ Stooges/ VU/ Dolls-influenced rip-roar. In 1970 at age 15 John Felice formed the Modern Lovers with next door neighbor Jonathan Richman. At age 16 John Felice formed his own side band, which Jonathan Richman named The Children’s R&R?Band because Felice was in 10th grade and drummer Paul Murphy was in 9th grade and lead singer Ricky Carmel was in 6th grade. A band consisting of teenagers covering the unissued Velvets’ “Foggy Notion” was certainly an oddity in the age of Zep/singer-songwriter folkie pap. Felice departed the Modern Lovers in January 1973 to concentrate on The Children’s R&R Band, who soon became The Kids. Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan quit the NY?Dolls in the midst of a disastrous tour, returned to NY, formed the Heartbreakers with Richard Hell, and phoned Felice to come audition, with Felice spending a harrowing/heroin Memorial Day weekend 1975 rehearsing for 3 days, with Felice wisely heading back to Boston. In early 1976 THE REAL?KIDS formed and started wailing the hell outta Boston, and would become labelmates at Red Star Records with Suicide. Just upon the verge of exploding into the Big Time, the Real Kids imploded along with Red Star. The booklet goes full-depth into all these years and circumstances. The MUSIC? Ripping, absolutely ripping ROCK and ROLL music.

[engl] Oh yasss! More unissued stuff, way more pix and stories of Boston finest Rock & Roll band. Essential? We’d leave this decision up to you, but definitely a must for ye Real Kids fans out there! Twenty-four previously unissued REAL KIDS cuts - 23 live cuts from 1977-1978 chosen as best from a stack of 44 cuts, plus 1 crude rehearsal from April/May 1976. 19 originals and 5 cover songs housed in a double gatefold LP plus inner sleeve crammed with photos, zine clippings and liner notes. Extra liner notes by longtime Boston music scribe BILL TUPPER and Worcester radio’s LB WORM. the MUSIC ripping, absolutely ripping ROCK and ROLL music.

[engl] Powerpop Pearls!

[engl] Untouchable early ’80s Power Pop from Milwaukee, WI. They only released one 45 during their existence (and reissued by Bachelor Archives), but it stands up as one of the top tier Power Pop singles of all time. This collection plays like a long lost album or maybe even a collection of classic, lost 45s. Timeless, perfect pop songs that echo the Raspberries as much as they do Brill Building hits. Almost every number sounds like it could have, should have been a hit single.This release is a new and improved issue of the collection that Sing Sing Records released in 2014. The LP comes with a 12"x36" double-sided insert with photos, liner notes, etc. and a replica of the original Shivvers bumper sticker.

[engl] Classic Powerpop from 1980! KILLER!!

[engl] New album by Tommy Ray, once the front man in the band The Cry! Now solo artist who has spent his lock down time recording. The album was recorded and mixed by Ray mostly on his mac. "Street mix" because it is so stripped down. Just enough production to get the point across. No shiny whistles or bells.

[engl] Can you smell what The Whiffs are cookin? Hint: it’s not Phish, Meatloaf or a String Cheese Incident. Nope – Kansas City’s prodigal sons of power pop are sticking to what they know on Another Whiff, their debut full-length for Dig! Records. Since 2017’s Take A Whiff EP, the band has been busy allowing their auditory aromas to ripen with the addition of Joey Rubbish (of The Rubs) for a fuller, more robust sonic bouquet. While the band can still get it up for Stiff Records – their pop-centric punk remains in full force – the album takes detours down lonelier roads in broken-hearted ballads from the heartland. No rocks left unturned on a journey forged by pioneers like Chilton and later Westerberg, the looming legacy of Petty and the cosmic country harmonies of The Byrds before them. In a year’s span, The Whiffs took their time recording, on and off, in their makeshift basement practice space: Electric Babyland. This pace and environs allowed the new lineup to coalesce, and get tour-tight on the road with La Luz, Bad Sports and Patsy’s Rats. The result is a unique album that is at once sprawling in direction and precise in execution, with all the sonic stank you’d expect from sweaty beer plied basement sessions. Out of the gate, “Shakin All Over” will register to all of the senses, like you’re squatting in the corner of the basement, imbibing with the band and absorbing every hit from Jake’s C&C kit (note the frivolous plug for Jake’s drum company). After untold nights into the wee hours of the morning, 14 tracks emerged as Another Whiff. Expertly recorded by Joey, mixed by Vince Lawhon and mastered by Jordan Richardson; the final package sounds like the sum of its parts, and all the beers in between. Another Whiff shirks a sell-by date and trends de jour, in favor of honest guitar driven, vocally infectious love songs for the ages. Timeless tunes and the triple-threat of Rory, Zach and Joey’s vocals set The Whiffs apart from their peers. Three distinct songwriters with their own personal flavors, delivering three-part harmonies for a unique rotation of upbeat punk belters (“Now I Know”), achy ballads (“She”) and triumphant tearjerkers (“How Could You”) that our troubled troubadours dispense like a Greatest Hits Factory for the last half-century of all of our all-time favorites.