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

Homemade Price: $15.00 Artist: Andrew Gabbard Description: A musician whose influences span hard rock, psych, garage rock, and energetic pop, Andrew Gabbard has long been a force on the southwestern Ohio music scene. Working with Thee Shams, The Buffalo Killers, and currently as The Gabbard Brothers with his brother Zach, he is truly a prolific artist covering a wide range. The Buffalo Killers caught the attention of Dan Auerbach who produced their debut LP and Andrew is currently part of the touring band for The Black Keys. “Homemade” is a mix of hazy pop infused with alt-country vibes that feels part Neil Young, part Wilco, part Beatles and part Beach Boys all at the same time. “This sounds like what one might expect from a pandemic-recorded project: modest, mid-fi, bedroom pop. But Gabbard is no inspired amateur, but a mature musician who uses his years of experience to highlight a familiar if always appealing blend of craft and heart. Clearly inspired by pre-naturally skilled popsters like Harry Nilsson, Brian Wilson and, most obviously Emitt Rhodes, whose ‘Promises I’ve Made’ closes the record, Gabbard centers his songs around piano, vocal harmonies, and an eager sense of cautious optimism. ‘Grin Song,’ ‘Hot Poutine’ and the particularly inspired ‘Brand New Cut’ showcase a skilled craftsperson obsessed with finding the bright lights hiding under the past two years’ translucent clouds.” – The Big Takeover “The songs are all well crafted melodies, with Andrew playing all the instruments himself. The vocals on ‘Brand New Cut’ and ‘Promises I’ve Made’ have a hint of late Beatles’ John Lennon. The album is full of melancholic optimism about the last two years, shining through on tracks such as ‘Grin Song’, ‘Getting High’ and ‘Hot Poutine’. If you fancy a romp with some retro psychedelic sounds with a modern feel to them, this one’s for you.” – UrbanistaMagazine.uk “There are obvious influences such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, CSNY, Wilco, and The Flaming Lips but to me that`s what really drives this release. The album is a terrific blend of dreamy pop.” - MaximumVolumeMusic.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Andrew Taylor and The Harmonizers Price: $16.00 Description: This album is simply all manner of jangly power-pop wonderful, as Andrew (also of Dropkick and The Boys With The Perpetual Nervousness jangly hook heaven!) is joined by his Dropkick bandmate Ian Grier, his brother, Alastair Taylor and Ian Sloan, to cherry pick “a best of compilation” from the four lockdown sessions CDs that Taylor recorded between April and October 2020 (and all still available from Kool Kat) and re-invent them as a collective re-interpretation. “If you thought that all music recorded in the early half of 2020, was the maudlin obsessions of bedroom-pop teens who now finally had a reason not to leave their houses, or YouTube videos of the same people playing winsome versions of Oasis’ ‘Wonderful’, then this album is going to dispel such rationale. Thankfully, there is still everything Dropkick in the release, whilst at the same time encapsulating enough shifts in nuance to justify it not quite becoming their next album. Initially, fans of the world’s finest Scottish power-poppers (I only do this because I enjoy the e-mails from indignant Teenage Fanclub fans…although I genuinely believe Dropkick are on a par with them!) will love the Dropkickian beauty of tracks typified by ‘When I Don’t Understand’, ‘Not Running Out’ and the true stand out of the release, ‘Time to Pass’. Smooth, slightly fuzzy with the finest vocal delivery of the modern power-pop scene, you could listen to these tracks all day and still find new layers of beauty. The nuance shifts are just as stunning. Probably the most disparate to the usual sound is heard in the overt alt country/Americana of ‘Life Is Good’, ‘I’ll Never Win’ and ‘Still Playing Out’, which transports to the other side of the pond and into stunning The Jayhawks territory, whereas the dynamism and all bluster is reduced to a minimum on the mid album, soft rock, triple salvo, of ‘Everything’s Really The Same’, ‘Roundabout’ and ‘It’s About Time’. Finally a pandemic project where the time was used wisely and not just as a cathartic release for uncertainty !!!…” – JanglePopHub.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Greatest Hits Price: $14.00 Artist: Byron Rimes Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL!! Byron Rimes may be a name that’s new to everyone, but when you dig deeper, he’s a familiar face now trading under a new moniker. Longtime Kool Kat followers may recall the self-titled project by Beaulieu Porch that we brought to CD (now, sadly out of print) back in 2014. Well the gentleman behind that project was one Simon Berry….who now has magically and psychedelically transformed himself into Byron Rimes!! His “name” may have changed, but he still is a brilliant purveyor of modern psych pop! “It is splendid to have Simon Berry back. And, like hi work as Beaulieu Porch, you can expect some great psych pop, but even I didn't expect something as stunning as this. The genre demands melodic inventiveness, something that nods to the past whilst embracing the future. This is definitely that. A song like ‘Thorneywood Is Dark’ is mind blowing, so many layers yet haunting and at times it bursts into bouts of melody. ‘Venus Is Safe’ is more mainstream, very Orgone Box with a twist, Lennon-esque at times. In those two songs you hear the scope of Berry's imagination. ‘Somer Overdone’, initially an instrumental that is chillout like bursts into psych wonderment part way through. ‘Simeon’ is very Toytown. There are times when the album can be way out there, but every piece drags you back to the norm. The fascinating thing about Berry is that in all this magnificence, he can still write songs that are incredibly poppy. The best example is ‘The Carmelite Devine’, an absolute joy of a listen. But the aforementioned ‘Venus Is Safe’ and ‘Upon Being A Superstar’ are equally magnificent. I can't recommend this album any more highly. So many bemoan the lack of new Orgone Box material. So until Rick Corcoran gets new stuff out to the world, this is the closest you will get. Psych pop can be extraordinarily great when presented like this. The record’s title may be tongue in cheek, but it isn't far from the truth.” – IDontHearASingle.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Chime School Price: $13.00 Artist: Chime School Description: Chime School is the solo project of San Francisco based Andy Pastalaniec, who some may know from his work as the drummer for left field janglers, Odd Hope and Seablite. “Pastalaniec’s debut album takes a full detour from the aesthetic of the bands he’s associated with and moves into more traditional jangle-pop territories, whilst still providing the listener with an amazing sense of originality from the juxtaposition of all manner of retro sounds and production. Initially the superlative opener, ‘Wait Your Turn’ introduces the proclivity of the act to run The Byrds-style jangled riffs, through the omnipresent four track production technique, to provide a perfect level of ‘burnished’. It is a sound reminiscent to that of the Seeking Madras effect, but is further augmented in terms of ‘that something different’, by adding a sort of Oasis style Britpop muscularity to the jangle, which is further accentuated by tracks such as ‘Radical Leisure’ and ‘Gone To Fast’. However, the best and most typical of the album, is optimally represented by ‘Taking Time To Tell You’, ‘Dead Saturdays’, ‘Get A Bike’ and ‘It’s True’. Such tracks evoke comparisons to any number of the Ric Menck/Paul Chastain Bands (Choo Choo Train, The Springfields, Bag O Shells etc) by taking their incessant, guitar driven energy and imbuing it with layers of twelve string jangled riffs, that seem to tumble and cascade out and over each other, in ever constant swathes of jangle. It is a version of the genre not really heard since the early 90’s and is truly glorious to be re-acquainted with it. Chime School provides the most different sound we have heard this year within the jangle-pop genre, without ever threatening to move towards the obtuse/left field that so many shy away from.” – JanglePophub.com Talk about truth in advertising!! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Darling Please Price: $14.00 Artist: Chris Church Description: “Darling Please” was recorded eleven years ago and is now seeing full-scale release for the first time in a newly remastered version (courtesy of Nick Bertling and adorned with newly tracked backing vocals from Lindsay Murray of Gretchen's Wheel). The record sees the genre-hopping popper in a raw rock mode, with dominant Crazy Horse-style guitars topped with some of the most immediate and aching vocal performances in his catalog. The emotionally direct and often elegiac tone of “Darling Please” derived in large part from its origins: “I made the album in my basement studio,” explains Chris. “It was and is dedicated with love to my late great brother Mike Church, who'd passed not long prior to my decision to start this project. It was actually the first time I'd played all instruments on an entire album.” Opening with the rough, ready and stately “History” and diving directly into the “Satisfaction”-beat rocker “We're Going Downtown,” the album pays overt and indirect tribute to his brother (who'd played drums on most of Chris's earlier music) on a number of tracks. Gripping and emotive, “Darling Please” is a belated but essential addition to the Chris’s catalog. More than a relic, it's a rewardingly rough-hewn gem deserving of inspection and a sincere tribute to a musical and familial brother, and it stands among his very best. GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Presents P200 Price: $12.00 Artist: Cromm Fallon Description: Cromm Fallon's second album has escaped from the studio....it has been captured by Rum Bar Records!! A multi-instrumentalist, Cromm plies his trade with psych popsters The Laissez Fairs, among others. But he casts a much wider net when left to his own devices. "It’s an album of fuzzed out chaos and melodic mayhem - like breathing the air filled with modern drugs and getting a taste of the two stroke smoke of back seat cigarettes." - Tim Livingston/Radio Warfare “The record hones Fallon’s musical polyamory to a sharp point. ‘Breathe the Air’ and ‘Modern Drugs’ kick out the jams with straight garage rock, but psychedelic shimmers put ‘Closer Distance’ on a different plane. ‘Backseat Cigarettes’ pumps up the protopunk, while ‘Skerp’d Out’ goes for atmospheric soundtrack music. ‘Senorita Murder’ folds postpunk and moody balladry into an odd but potent piece of rock noir, while ‘Taste.’ adds bleeping synth and a butt-rock coda to an otherwise fuss-free slice of punk thrash. He roughs up power pop on ‘Hypocritical Mind,’ and adds his own spin to country rock on ‘2689.’ In short there’s not a lot that Fallon won’t suck into his universe, and thanks to his single-minded zeal and way with a tune, there’s nothing here that doesn’t work.” – The Big Takeover "Fallon serves up an impressive blend of ’60s style garage rock, ’70s punk and ’90s showgaze into a heady and addictive mix." - Uber Rock "More buttons have been pressed on this album...in the studio and in your twisted party time mind's eye. Influences have been drugged, beaten, and blended into new and bold textures...'60s garage, punk, shoegaze, bizarre noise, and even a mellow hashish escape coloured in orange, red, blue, and green. Rev this baby up and take it for a ride....but please be careful, OK?" - Doctor Von Doomkuff EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Ever Wonder Why You Get Out Of Bed? Price: $14.00 Artist: Daniel Meade Description: Glasgow songwriter Daniel Meade cut his teeth in the pubs, clubs and venues of Glasgow from a young age. From the half empty piano bars one night, to sharing stages with acts like the Kings Of Leon, The Fratellis, The Zutons, New York Dolls and Glasvegas the next, his early and formative musical experiences were varied, interesting and somewhat eclectic, and continue to be so to this day. His band The Ronelles released their debut (and only) album “Motel” in 2006. “It’s evident from the beginning, as the title song opens the album with a whistling wind behind Daniel Meade’s lonesome voice and strummed acoustic, before swelling into a grandiloquent mix of synths and fiery guitar, that he’s aiming high. He paints a dystopian picture, a wail of despair really which includes a litany of life’s losers and villains. His words and the delivery are quite reminiscent of Pete Townshend’s work circa ‘Who’s Next’. Townshend comes to mind again when ‘Sometime The Rain Don’t Get You Wet’ erupts into view with its guitar power chords. It’s a fine double whammy to open the album but thereafter Meade dials it down (slightly) and begins to roam, which is where the fun really begins. ‘By The Book’ comes across like Jerry Lee fronting Booker T & The M.G.s with its turbo charged guitar while ‘Watcha Doin’ To Me’ roots around in garage band exuberance, joining the dots between the Sir Douglas Quintet and the sneering punk ridden Costello & The Attractions. Meanwhile, planted at the piano, Meade rips through the exuberant rockabilly roustabout of ‘I’m Too Tired To Sing The Blues’. He dresses the song up with snatches of found sounds and radio excerpts but, at root, it’s a grand showcase for his exceptional keyboard skills, up until and including the final trill. There’s more roustabout piano (along with a soaring guitar solo) on the amped up vocal duet with Cara Rose on ‘Look No Further’ which simply rips along, just awaiting its turn to be picked up by some enterprising film director looking for the perfect song for his Scots road movie. There’s a loose limbed Stones cum Faces’ like rumble on ‘Now I Laugh’ but heading back into his roots, Meade offers the clap along strum of ‘The Choices That You Make’ which makes more sense of the Scots male psyche than any number of learned papers. Topping these however is the glistening ode which is ‘To The Lovers’, a glorious glitter ball swirl of sounds with a wonderful air of resignation in its refrain.” – Paul Kerr/Blabber ‘n’ Smoke ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Mania At The Talent Show Price: $12.00 Artist: David Brookings Description: Long ago, when David Brookings was an 11 year old in Richmond, VA making his debut live performance singing the first song he ever wrote, he probably never imagined that he’d be releasing a full length album in honor of the event. The terrific “Mania At The Talent Show” is David’s 9th album - and the first record done with longtime friend and co-producer Josh Scolaro since 2000’s “Sounds Off”. “If you’re like me, and you’re a sucker for jangly, character driven power pop songs, then you’re really gonna like ‘Mania At The Talent Show’ which is, in my opinion, his best. The mid-tempo ‘Hard Times’ leads things off. Thoughtful lyrics wrapped in an engaging melody and perfectly placed piano riffs make for an ideal start. The wordsmith in Brookings comes out in ‘One Of Us Is Crazy (The Other One Is Me)’. Not only is the chorus the payoff line, it’s also a monster hook and the album’s defining moment for me. It’s one of the better tracks of 2021. While ‘One of Us’ is an instant favorite, it is by no means the only highlight. ‘Kill Shot’ reminds me of Donovan’s ‘Sunshine Superman’ and the title track is a bouncy, story-song that’ll keep you engaged until the very end. With ‘Hide Your Crazy’ the singer/songwriter demonstrates a keen sense of humor – and provides us with some good advice, too. This record is another winner from a singer/songwriter who gets better and better with each successive release.” – PowerPopNews.com “David Brookings is a nice guy’s nice guy. And he makes smoking good records, with or without his Average Lookings band. Here, he strikes a minor key on many of the songs, exploring a more 70’s melodic soft rock vibe than previous, more rocking releases. The album kicks off with the acoustic guitar up front in the mix on the first three tracks, interposed between an eerie synth and timely pandemic-reflecting lyrics on ‘Hard Times,’ buoying up the beat during ‘Keep It Real,’ and casting a bright counterpoint to the otherwise somber feel of ‘Driving To Ojai.’ The end of the 70’s witnessed the singer/songwriter folk thing shapeshift into a more hooky soft rock direction – think Al Stewart or Gerry Rafferty – and tracks like ‘One Of Us Is Crazy (The Other One Is Me)’ and ‘Mystery Of Time’ take me there. There’s the more Hall and Oates feel lurking in the background to ‘Killshot’. He nails the cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Magnolia’ and does so without giving in to just doing a Petty impersonation (which is hard to avoid – the song is sooo Petty). But the undeniable show stopper for me here is the manic bubblegum of the title track.” – PopRockRecord.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

EST 81 Price: $13.00 Artist: Dogmatics Description: Twins Pete and Paul O’ Halloran and Jerry Lehane spent eight years together starting with the first grade at St. Matthews Catholic School in Dorchester, MA. Paul began a band with himself on bass and vocals called The Savage Beasties and a bit later one of the members moved to Thayer Street in the South End of Boston. Soon after, the brothers themselves moved to a loft on the same street and Paul wanted to continue what he started in The Beasties; he got together with both Jerry and brother Pete on guitar and vocals and the guys recruited their good friend Dan Shannon to play drums with the new group. They played their first and last gig as The Guttersnipes at their Thayer Street loft before quickly changing their name to The Dogmatics. When punk music first exploded in Boston during the late 1970’s and 1980’s, all major record labels had their main offices in NYC and kept their eyes and ears on what was happening on the local music scene in New England. The Dogmatics were playing garage punk before the genre even had a name and their sound was specific to the area and showcased their power, passion and pride. The Dogmatics "EST 81" (a collection formerly released in 1995 as “Dogmatics 1981-86”) is once again available on CD for cranking up to your heart’s content!! Stacked with 21 tracks of historic Boston Punk/Rock n' Roll, it includes the long out of print classic "X'mas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)” in audio format for the first time evah'! "This stuff is indeed timeless and sounds fresh out of the garage years later. 'Music that deserves to be heard indeed'. Be generous with the volume as these 'Dogs' go to 11! 'Their bark equals plenty of bite.'" – Boris Bodin/The Secret Weapon "When it comes to all the fabled punk rock scenes of ‘back in the day’, I'd probably take Boston over New York, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, or even L.A. My favorite Boston band, by far, would have to be The Dogmatics, who are pretty much the definitive Boston garage/punk band. They produced more legendary songs in a six-year period than most bands turn out in decades. ‘EST 81’ is a must-own for anyone who reads this blog or digs the kind of music I write about!" – FasterandLouder.com Features a rocked up cover of The Stones’ “Tell Me”! EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none