New CDs

2 Price: $11.00 Artist: A Band Called Mithras Description: Bob Wilson and Dave Epperson (aka A Band Called Mithras) are back with their second, quirky offering of pop. Bob explains "I have always been a fan of pop, funk and late 60's, early 70's music. The Beatles, of course, are an obvious influence in the tunes." And that pretty much nails it. "This is intelligent pop, for people who know their pop history. This is counter-culture musicology, and the fact that it incorporates psychedelia, indie, power-pop, hip-hop, classic-rock, soul, and dance music into songs does defy easy category. But you won’t care. Rather, you’ll keep putting it back on. As well you should.” - Somewhere, Under The Radar "Opening with the strong hooks on 'Robot Clowns' and the slow swirling funk synth and bass acoustic of 'American Demon' are a great pair of songs with differing styles. However the band gets a little too quirky for it’s own good, 'Nobody’s Waiting' boasts contrasting guitar and synth arpeggios. Weird, funny Todd Rundgren-like raps on 'Gigo' and 'Aint No Hope For The Modern Man.' Occasionally beautiful passages like 'Cannonball' come up, and all is forgiven. Fans of Anton Barbeau and Adrian Belew (The Bears) will most likely embrace this album and love it." - Powerpopaholic.com "If you love the music from the late 60's early 70's you're going to love this. What a musical gem just waiting to be discovered in a sea of music." - KC Music Cafe "Every song is amazing. The guitars, the great vocal harmonies, the extreme energy in every song, the incredible talent of Wilson and Epperson, it is just pop perfection! You can hear the enthusiasm, passion, and fun the two are having when this record was made and can visualize them smiling and having a blast in the studio. The songs leap out of your speakers like they should be radio hits, they're that accessible, yet behind the catchy surface are challenging chord changes, exotic sounds, adventurous arrangements, and incredible chops. This has a little bit of harder edge at times that lets the power of the songs and performances ring through." - Max Humphries EXCELLENT!!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Make Me Over Price: $13.00 Artist: A Fragile Tomorrow Description: The Kelly Brothers; Brendan, (lead guitar) Sean (lead vocals/guitar) and Dominic (drums) plus friend Shaun Rhoades (bass) are the players that make up A Fragile Tomorrow. "The band is poised on the bleeding edge of power pop and the opening single, the album's title track, swirls with heavy riffs over a melodic chorus backed by harmonies and thickly textured rhythms. It’s the sound of a band that is restless and not going to play it safe. 'Tie Me Up' is a mid-tempo soul searching drama and Sean Kelly does a great job here. You also hear a some beautiful subtleties in the tight harmonies of 'One Of Two, Two of Three' and the sweet composition of 'Tell Me How To Feel' make these tracks big highlights. Various light psychedelic touches are in the lush ballad 'In My Mind' with its 12 string strum and orchestral majesty; reminded me a bit of 10cc or ELO. You hear numerous influences from REM to Cheap Trick on the layered 'Hit Parade' and 'Can’t You Hear Me.' The final track 'One Way Ticket' with guests Joan Baez and The Indigo Girls, is just mesmerizing as both a tribute and a re-make. This is a densely packed album that deserves multiple listens and its highly recommended." - Powerpopaholic.com EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Closer To A Ghost Price: $12.00 Artist: A View Of Earth From The Moon Description: A View of Earth from the Moon’s debut s an unashamed mashup of noisy 90’s Britpop, uninhibited garagey rudeness, and anthemic melodies that take the listener to a place where loudness is king. “I’m out there on my own with this one. I guess you could call it a solo record because this was the first time I did everything by myself. No live band in the studio, just me racking up countless hours of studio time, haha.” “Closer to a Ghost” is meant for an audience that likes loud and unapologetic rock ‘n’ roll. The album celebrates being “over the top” and many of Fickes’s influences are unmistakable. It’s “everything I’ve always wanted a record to be.” The twelve exciting tracks exhibit everything from blind irreverence to crippling obsession; from selfless love to complete emptiness; from boundless joy to unshakable regret. Singer/songwriter, Jonathan Fickes, is the sum of a farm town childhood spent listening to 60’s pop, a young adulthood playing folk music in New York City, and years spent in the vibrant Seattle indie rock scene with bands such as To the Sea and The Fraidies. “It’s not often that albums can evoke a strain of nostalgia while still presenting something new and re-listen worthy. A View of Earth from the Moon’s debut greets you like an old friend with the contradiction of new and familiar sounds. If ‘Closer to a Ghost’ conjures tones of 60’s Mod or 90’s Britpop, it may be due to Fickes’ love for Oasis and past of touring in a Beatles tribute band. ‘I Had to Go In to Come Back Out Again’ crashes open and continues to roll with heavy drum punches and attractive guitar rhythms, while ‘How I Lost You’ is a slow narrative with a morose breakup back story.” – The Big Takeover “A wonderfully evocative record from this Seattle combo that’s sometimes evocative of Teenage Fanclub, other times recalling early Posies, it’s all melodically stimulating with undercurrents of melancholy and mystery running through the proceedings. The glorious ‘Distance Runner’ is the highlight.” – John Borack/Goldmine Magazine GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

All Broken Up Price: $9.00 Artist: Aaron Fox Description: Aaron was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. After graduating high school, he escaped from the Chicago suburbs and attended Rock School (Berklee College of Music) in Boston. In his final year in Boston, he recorded this 2003 debut effort (sans T ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! Price: $15.00 Artist: Aaron Lee Tasjan Description: Aaron Lee Tasjan’s third album combines various influences, including the British invasion, space rock, folk, and sure, pop. His mix of The Beatles’ musicality, the natural melodies and vocal stylings of Tom Petty along with a touch of Marc Bolan’s glam creates its own niche. “His prior work was ripe with humor and a strong sense of melody, but it was limited by the kind of retrograde honky-tonk and classic-rock aping that one might expect from someone who played guitar for the latter-day New York Dolls. ‘Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!’ is no less indebted to previous eras, with plenty of nods to 60’s psych-rock and 70’s power pop. But those influences are passed through a bright, cosmic filter, resulting in a warm and luxurious wall of sound that’s as futurist as it is retro. With acoustic guitars and astral synths humming alongside his silky voice, there’s a timeless quality to the album that elevates its best songs from merely great to sublime.” – SlantMagazine.com “From the opening retro ‘Sunday Woman’ that could easily have appeared on either of Big Star’s first two releases, to the bouncy McCartney groove of ‘Now You Know’ and the shimmery, space-like guitars that drift through the strummy acoustics of ‘Don’t Overthink It,’ Tasjan combines disparate genres and creative instrumentation with a veteran’s poise and confidence. He even finds an early Kinks groove in the UK-styled ‘Dada Boise.’ While each of his sets is distinct, savvy song construction remains the benchmark. Like early Todd Rundgren, the choruses of Tasjan’s songs will leave you humming after the first spin. That’s especially true of the sing-along ‘Cartoon Music’ that bounces with frisky innocence.” – AmericanSongwriter.com EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Happy Endings Price: $13.00 Artist: Abandon Ship Description: LIMITED STOCK!! Born into a musical family, the five Lester brothers grew up playing instruments and singing harmony with their parents. In 2004, Nathan, Damian, and Gabriel Lester delivered a confident follow-up to their promising debut! Retaining their youthful vocal harmonies while delivering a more up-tempo effort than their debut, it’s chock full of layered guitars – not unlike early Brendan Benson and Dan Jones’ “One Man Submarine” (must be the water in Eugene, OR) which is still a fave around here! Posies-like at times too! "A complete blind listen...which is not at all unusual for me. There is something very exciting about hearing an album having never heard a single song...then being completely blown away by it. Which is what happened with this one. The Brendan Benson-like melodies, harmonies and songwriting stays strong and the guitar work is stunning! These siblings possess loads of talent, and it shows all over this album. This one is chock full of great tunes. Listen to it on a rainy day, a sunny day, in the morning or at night Abandon Ship create melodies and pop hooks that manage to suck the listener in early. Catchy, stick to ya kinds of tunes. Anyone who likes pop songs with lots of hooks, catchy melodies, and thoughtful chord changes, should buy this album right away and never stop enjoying it immensely." - Count Keef A grower! GREAT!!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Star Price: $15.00 Artist: Acme Rock Group Description: Acme Rock Group was formed in 1996 by guitarist-singer-songwriter-producer Erik Rex. Their 2001 debut combines elements of influential British guitar-based rock and roll bands like the Beatles, the Kinks, and the Who. "Indie pop fans have been heaping a large amount of justifiable praise on Rick Corcoran for his gem of a Beatles-inspired album, The Orgone Box. Save some of that same applause for 'Star'. Rex and his musical pals have released a dandy of a Beatlesque album that excels with their original power pop and psychedelic tunes. The disc opens strongly with three straight tracks that smack of 'Sgt. Pepper'’s era songs – the last of which, 'Floating,' even has a bit of a David Bowie sound to it. The slower tracks are reminiscent of 'Rubber Soul'. In fact, this is one of those rare discs where the songs blend seamlessly together, and has just helped pseudo-60s psych/pop take a big step forward!" - Amplifier Magazine Very reminiscent of Teenage Fan Club and Superstar. Features kool covers of Beatles/Peter & Gordon’s “World Without Love” and The Who’s “Odorono”. GREAT!!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

This Is Action City Price: $12.00 Artist: Action City Description: Action City came to be on December 27, 2019. Winston-Salem based musician, Michael Slawter was hosting a post-Christmas show at his guitar shop/venue Heyday Guitars. The drummer that evening was an old acquaintance from the Charlotte area, Shawn Lynch (Balderdash Ltd/The Eyebrows). At the end of the evening after everyone had left Shawn and Michael shared a beer and did some catching up. The subject of working together came up and a plan was hatched. Weeks later Michael and Shawn were face to face again with guitars in-hand working through new song ideas. Then the pandemic hit and the world shut down. Planned recording sessions were scrapped, so an alternate plan was hatched….let’s just do it ourselves. Software was downloaded and mics were borrowed. Weeks later, two songs were recorded. Over a series of weekends 2 songs were recorded each session. Before long they had accumulated 10 fully realized songs. On a whim LA-based engineer/producer Adam Lasus was contacted about mixing and quickly joined the fold, giving masterful direction and whipping the songs into a tizzy. Matt Tuttle in Winston-Salem mastered all 10 songs in quick order and gave Adam’s already keen mixing a more sonically dense feel. “Whenever I think of Winston-Salem, like many others I think of Mitch Easter and why not? The man literally saved us from the dressing up nonsense of the 80’s. Well! Michael Slawter is also a fine artist. The 10 songs here are a fine selection of guitar pop and all of its avenues. At times I'm reminded a lot of Chris Church, particularly on ‘In My Finest Hour’. When Action City rock, the certainly rock, especially on ‘Stay (Tiny Love Song)’ which has an 80’s Rush-like feel on the verse. Elsewhere the duo's versatility shines through across Surf (‘The Blame’), Power Pop (‘Beside Me’) and Psych Pop (‘The Lines You Blur’). The latter is a corking tune, top notch in fact. Very 60s, very jangly with a killer guitar solo, it ticks all the boxes. The record is a splendid listen. I can't wait for more.” – IDontHearASingle.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

More Action City Price: $12.00 Artist: Action City Description: Action City (Michael Slawter and Shawn Lynch) are back with the followup to their terrific 2021 “This Is Action City” debut! Recorded in the Fall of 2021 and Spring of 2022, the boys re-enlisted Adam Lasus and Matt Tuttle once again for mixing and mastering duties respectively. Hey, why mess with a winning formula, right? The result is another hook-filled, guitar-centric, no frills collection that rests quite comfortably in the garage pop category! “On their sophomore effort, Action City come out with an army of 6 + 12 string guitars and riffs a-blazin’ on another 10-song, 60’s’70’s-inspired hookfest that whizzes by in a flash. Some of the tracks (‘The Leaving Lights’ and ‘Canadys Girl’ are prime examples) have a very Richard Turgeon-ish vibe, which is certainly a good thing! You can add some Guided By Voices (their poppier, more accessible side) and Jeff Shelton (in any of his guises) in there too. While familiar pop-craft and melodic virtuosity occupies center stage, this latest batch of songs ride on colorful guitar flourishes, there are hooks and earworms aplenty within, representing another level of songwriting and performance from Slawyer and Lynch.” – Max Humphries GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Pop, Baby Price: $12.00 Artist: Adam Daniel Description: Talk about long overdue! Adam's followup (though he's been releasing some download-only demo tracks over the years) to his brilliant "Blue Pop" from 1999 is finally here! And it's a mashup of power pop shimmer and singer-songwriter heart. In case you're not aware of Adam Daniel, here's what a fan said about "Blue Pop" - "It is one of the best albums ever. At least in my humble opinion. I bought it back in 1999, when it came out, and have been loving it ever since. The album has only winners: 13 fantastic songs, melodic, with great arrangements and exceptionally well performed. The only negative thing I can say about it, is that there never was a follow-up (well, there is now!). This album should have made Adam a star; it didn't, but at least it did in my musical world." All Music Guide also praised "Blue Pop" - "This stands among the best guitar-pop albums of the '90s with swirling melodies, unforgettable hooks, and heartbreaking sincerity. With its release, Daniel establishes himself as another gifted, though commercially overlooked, songwriter in the vein of Tommy Keene and Marshall Crenshaw, with an energetic attack of punchy guitars and singalong harmonies that will leave any true pop fan reeling!" "Last year, I decided it might be nice to finally follow up 'Blue Pop' properly. So I bought Logic Studio and some plugins, souped up my MacBook Pro refurb with extra RAM, and set to work with a crazy intention: songwriting, arranging, producing, performing, recording, mixing, and mastering all by myself. Yes, I’m a control freak. 'Pop, Baby' is a mashup of Elton John piano, glam rock guitars, Beach Boys vocal stacks, and new wave synth candy. All my favorite things, " states Adam. Welcome back, Adam! This was well worth the wait! But please, don't make us wait another 14 years for a new album! So, if you don't know Adam, now's as good time as any to do so - you won't be disappointed! GREAT!!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none