Strange Tide Price: $15.00 Artist: ANC4 Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! WOW!! Of course we love it (and please pardon the hype), but even if “Strange Tide”, ANC4’s second release wasn’t on Kool Kat we’d still rate as a Top 5 (or maybe even #1) “Best Power Pop Record Of 2021” – it’s that brilliant! The band delivers impeccably well crafted songs written by the songwriting duo of Roger Arvidson and Tomas Nilsson with the backing of a superb rhythm section made up of Janne Borgh on bass and Niclas Österberg on drums. “’Strange Tide’ is a 10/10 rated affair. The Swedish summer normally ends in August but this album will lengthen it to Christmas. It’s brimming with melodic songs, jangly guitars and lovely vocals. All 16 tracks have potential to be singles. ‘Being Nice’ is this year’s best power pop track. Roger Arvidson and Tomas Nilsson …. We salute you.” – Per Dahlqvist “It is not often you find a band that is consistent in the quality of their releases but ANC4 have proved they have the knack to pen and play a plethora of tip top pop. Album opener ‘Struck Gold’ is almost like an epiphany as every track on this album is gold and you will feel like you have won the musical lottery. You want jangle, you want harmonies, you want melodies and more hooks than Ikea’ curtain department, along with well crafted lyrics, then look no further than ANC4, this Swedish quartet has all you want and all you need.” Wayne Ford/The Ice Cream Man We could gush more, but have a listen…you will be pleased! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

New Morning Howl Price: $12.00 Artist: Brent Windler Description: Brent Windler’s power pop-tinged melodies summon the restrained beauty of his native Midwest. A fixture in the Kansas City music scene, his Pacific harmonies, and intricate vocal and instrumental structures capture the polite malaise of Americana as it is lived in the mid-sized cities of the heartland. Brent also performs with Sons Of Great Dane, a five-piece Kansas City-based rock band with No Depression alt-country influences For more than a decade, he has explored this terrain that has grown into a more expansive identity that perfectly captures both the sticky sameness of a Midwestern evening and his own embrace of a sound that is uniquely his own. “New Morning Howl”, Brent’s first-ever solo album, is an old friend joining you cross-country. As he narrates the tender sameness of the landscape, his arrangements and harmonies reveal hidden depths. His talent and the joy of this record lies in his abilities in casting the familiar in a sound that is lush, layered and new. Brent explains “I really love records where you can ride the ebb and flow, so I really wanted to create a record that you can get lost in, and one you can also be in the moment with. If there are any themes for this record, I would say it was more about the mood than a defined outline or lyrical theme.” “Windler’s inspiration stems from the Great Wide Open of the Midwest, but don’t be fooled: the intricate vocal and instrumental structures of his songs create a vivid and lush landscape. Over the last two decades, he has carefully honed in his sound, making it both distinctly Midwestern and uniquely his; the layers of harmonies and pop-rock-inspired instrumentals create a deceptively familiar fusion of sounds and styles. Capturing the underlying melancholy of the cities that lived in the Americana heartland, harmonies and dreamy-rock guitar come together as the backbone of the song ‘Around The Bend’. Drawing on a gloomy kind of nostalgia, the song would serve as the perfect soundtrack to returning to your hometown. Beneath the lyrics, the harmonies and swirling guitars providing the backdrop are almost hypnotic; his thoughtful writing showcases his dedication to his craft, evoking new emotions at every turn.” – MusicMecca.org GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1 Price: $14.00 Artist: Caddy Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! Caddy is the brainchild of Norway’s Tomas Dahl. His latest offering (and third release on the Kool Kat label), “Detours and Dead Ends Vol. 1”, is a collection of late 70’s, early 80’s power pop and new wave covers. Tomas explains how he made it a sport finding the best, yet most obscure tracks - “I’ve spent many many MANY hours digging and searching. I loved it. It became a big part of the project. How can I find even more underground and unknown songs?” He truly uncovered some great gems, and then covered them to perfection – injecting a fresh, new perspective that results in him truly owning the songs! And, as a bonus, he gives you an excuse to dive into a Youtube rabbit hole looking for the originals. Track listing: “Walking On The Roof” (Sgt. Arms, 1982), “Heart of Stone” (SVT, 1981), “If I Call Your Name” (Junior Campbell, 1971), “Best Thing I Ever Did” (The Invaders, 1979), “Cost of Love” (The Cretones, 1980), “Violent Days” (Screaming Sneakers, 1982), “Not The Way It Seems” (Gary Charlson,1978), “Don't Wait Till Tomorrow” (Robin Lane & The Chartbusters, 1980), “Mark My Words” (Chrissy, 1980) and “No Money” (The Freshies,1980) “I am a Caddy fanatic. Tomas Dahl has a knack of making music that turns every mood to chirpy. I know when people hear the words covers album, they run for the hills, I know I do. It fills me with dread the way this lockdown has brought out the words ‘acoustic set.’ But wait! It really depends on the songs and thankfully there are no Beatles related covers here. I love The Beatles, but you know, other bands are available. The fact is that many of the songs here will not be familiar to most away from the die-hard pop rock fans, who are probably listening to Badfinger or Raspberries on rotation. Bar a magnificent cover of Junior Campbell's ‘If I Call Your Name’, all choices are from the end of the 70's/start of the 80's golden New Wave guitar pop period. All 10 songs have been given maximum Power Pop and it works. I'm not sure that ‘Detours and Dead Ends’ should even be classified as a cover album, it has been Caddied (sic) up so much to make it their own. This is a superb feel good album, a pleasure to listen to and one to explore. You'll learn something about artists you didn't know of and be reminded that Tom Dahl is a major talent.” – IDontHearASingle.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Pop Scrapbook Price: $10.00 Artist: Dana Countryman Description: Quickly following 2020’s “Come Into My Studio” comes “Pop Scrapbook”! Each year Dana Countryman writes and produces his particular brand of original retro pop written style of music of the 60’s and 70’s. On “Pop Scrapbook”, in addition to the musical dedication to a trademark sounds of 60’s and 70’s, Dana has added a few more new styles to a song writing bag of tricks, penning new tunes in the styles of jazz country and even progressive rock. Special musical muical guests include Probyn Gregory of the Brian Wilson Band, Nick Frater, Scott McPherson and Dee Long and Terry Draper from Klaatu. “Dana's music reminds me of listening to the AM radio on a sunny summer beach afternoon back in 1975. Easy, breezy, sweet days tinged with light, well-timed cool breezes that reminds me of a simpler joy-filled time from my happy music past.” – Bruce Brodeen/Pop Geek Heaven “If you love music from a different time, when America wasn't hiding behind mask from a pandemic, this is for you. If you feel that we are in a time when sadly civil rights, race wars and the work of suffragettes makes it seem like we are still in the dark ages, and if you long for more innocent, wholesome days, and pick up this album. It's fun, well- written, well-performed American adult contemporary music that is the perfect antidote to a hectic workday when you need to unwind.” – Nadja Dee/Hop On Power Pop GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Thank You Price: $14.00 Artist: Diamond Hands Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! If you are familiar with the recent solo outings by Jon Flynn (“Citrus”) and Joel Tyler Wall (“Green Wave”), then (as Diamond Hands) the slight shift in musical direction/treatment they’ve taken on “Thank You”, their fourth long player, won’t come as a total surprise to you. The record was written over Spring/Summer 2020 and recorded December 2020 through February 2021 at Joel’s Green Door Studios. Joel explains “Jon and I enjoyed working close together during the pandemic and making something positive out of a ‘not so positive’ time. I feel like experimenting with our sound and visuals was really freeing. I was working with another project at the time and a lot of keyboards were left around the studio. We had a bit of a kitchen sink aesthetic while working on the tracks, if there was an instrument around, we plugged it in and used it and then put an effect on it. For the first time we decided not to add lots of backing vocals and focused on just our two voices together, most of the time it's just one of us singing melody and one on harmony.” Jon adds “We intentionally tried to scale it back a bit, did everything ourselves (except for mixing) and didn't bring in any string or piano players like we have in the past. We experimented with some new sounds and styles mostly from vintage keyboards and synths while trying to expand on the existing Diamond Hands sound. There are songs that could've worked on our last album and then there are some that wouldn't have fit on any of the others. There's a heavy Neil Young/Crazy Horse type track called ‘Ziggy’ which is different for us. One of my favorites is an ‘island’ song called ‘Out Of My Head’ that transports you to paradise on a beach.” The (familiar) cover is based on the classic plastic takeout bags and is a “Thank You” to everyone who's been there with the band over the years. And “Thank You” Jon and Joel for the great music you continue to produce!! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Origin Story Price: $13.00 Artist: Dolour Description: During Dolourʼs original decade (1997-2007), the band was a breeding ground for great Seattle bands that followed. At various times youʼd find future members of Fleet Foxes, Portugal. The Man, The Divorce, Vendetta Red, The Prom and United State of Electronica on stage or in the studio with Shane Tutmarc. By the time Shane called it a day with Dolour, the whole landscape of the local music scene had been reshaped by his fresh take on intricately-layered melodic indie pop. In late 2019, Shane announced he was returning to Dolour for at least one more album. By the time “The Royal We” was released in June 2020 the world was in the midst of lockdowns. Suddenly Shane had all the time in the world to devote to more projects. The follow-up “Televangelist” was was written right on the heels of “The Royal We” and released in April 2021. 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Dolour’s debut LP - and to commemorate this milestone Shane returned to the 4 original-era albums to “renew his vows” with some of his favorite early songs. And once he got going the project took on a life of its own, with many of the songs taking new twists and turns along the way. Shane started recording “Origin Story” right on the heels of finishing “Televangelist” - still in the middle of lockdown without live music options, so it gave him a chance to dig into these songs and get ready for performing them live again in the, hopefully, near future. He also sequenced the songs to feel like the ultimate early Dolour setlist. “Origin Story” features 15 vintage Dolour songs re-recorded and re-imagined from scratch. “I had a lot of fun tearing these songs apart and rebuilding them. I’m really excited to hear what longtime fans think of these new versions and for new fans to discover these songs for the first time. This is my ‘Origin Story’.” xo Shane GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Too Loud, Too Fast, Too Soon Price: $14.00 Artist: Doublepluspop Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! Over the past 17+ months, many artists have used pandemic time to get creative and crank out an album. Others used this time to revisit projects that they’d previously abandoned. Thankfully, Doublepluspop revisited a project that was supposed to be their debut album, a collection of tracks that has been sitting in a vault since 2002. Wanting to create a power pop band, frontman Paul Averitt formed Doublepluspop sometime between the late 90’s/early 00’s. Along with Jon Lenzer on guitar, Mike Bowman on bass and Neil Saunders on drums, they cut tracks in various studios, including a rehearsal space owned by Salim Nourallah. The band would split soon afterwards, the results seemingly never to be heard. In March 2020, Paul received a “cryptic” text message from audio engineer Coy Green, who had worked with Doublepluspop during their early days. The message contained a picture of two ADAT tapes and read, “I wonder what I’m going to be doing tonight.” Later that evening, Green sent another message stating that he was able to successfully transfer 12 Doublepluspop tracks to a format he could mix digitally. Green felt nostalgic mixing and mastering the project, stating doing so brought him joy. “It just blew my mind,” Paul explains. “I was like 12 songs? What are you talking about?’ I had no idea that we had done all that. None of us remembered this.” This collection of “rescued” songs make up Doublepluspop’s debut album “Too Loud, To Fast, Too Soon"” which we’re thrilled to release on CD! Consisting of hook-filled melodies whose music references include smatterings of Matthew Sweet/Weezer/Brit Pop influences throughout, which of course means lots of guitars making this another essential piece of power pop history rescued from possible oblivion that would have certainly made year-end “Best Of” lists if had been released back then! Includes a terrific take on Todd Rundgren’s “Couldn’t I Just Tell You”!! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Don’t Follow Where They Lead Price: $14.00 Artist: Ed Ryan Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! On his fourth Kool Kat label release, Ed Ryan once again demonstrates his trademark unmistakable sound, but at the same time, puts the accents slightly differently on each record. “My introduction to Ed Ryan was 2017’s ‘Furious Mind’, where his songwriting diversity and guitar prowess immediately struck me. ‘Don’t Follow Where They Lead’ is another collection of guitar driven gems. ‘Anytown’ gets this jangle-fest off to a great start. A short instrumental leads to the title track, an interesting departure from the norm with as slow tempo slows and more thoughtful mood - a melodic gem with a wonderful arrangement. The little details, piano, horns – all serve to make a terrific song even better. With a monster hook of a chorus and wonderful guitars, the hard rockin’ ‘Hollow Man’ is worth the price of admission alone on a record that’s sure to impress the power pop enthusiast and continues his run of impressive, guitar driven albums.” – PowerPopNews.com “This time around you will hear short instrumental songs and heavy rockers. They are just accents, and the high quality of the songs, to which we have become so accustomed, is assured throughout. Ed still sings like Sting’s brother; his guitar solos are sharp and hard, his melodies are pure and straightforward, and his lyrics dig a little deeper.” – SweetSweetMusicBlog.com “’Don’t Follow Where They Lead’ is not just a timely caution given our recent political winds but another celebration of melody, in a variety of fun jaunty styles. Opener ‘Anytown’ sets the tone with jangly guitars and hooky descending bass lines. Or there’s the choppy rhythm guitar and those distinctive early 80s vocals driving ‘Biggest Fan.’ Another fun pop rocker is ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming,’ could be easily a missing deep cut from a cool 1979 guitar band. The obvious ‘should-be hit’ for me is the sneaky earworm, ‘Everyone Wonders.’ I love how the song shifts intensity and attack, while offering striking changes in structure and melody. Beyond the expected poppy rock and roll Ryan shakes things up tempo and style-wise on the mellow John Waite-ish title track or with the hepcat shuffle defining ‘Fish in the Sea.’ The album also includes a few delightful slower numbers like ‘What’s True’ and ‘So Far Away’, all resulting in another winner from Ed Ryan.” – PopRockRecord.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Miracle Price: $14.00 Artist: Francis Lung Description: “Miracle” is Francis Lung’s second solo full-length. The Manchester, UK-based singer-songwriter recorded it in a studio in rural Wales early last year. And in a sense this ruralness permeates throughout the album itself. It represents a period of introspection for Lung, where he reflects on struggles with mental health, substance (ab)use and relationships, which largely contributed to his decision to give up alcohol. Yet, encapsulated within this fragile shell of introspection lies a set of compositions which breathe with joyful energy. The album is cathartic in nature, as Lung finds an alternative to his inner demons through marrying the cinematic, dreamlike quality of his earlier music, both solo and as a member of WU LYF, with a classy style of pop songwriting. “Slick, professionally crafted tunes, with a familiar melodic approach to the lo-fi indie pop format. There’s theatrical, bounding piano and jangly guitar repeats on ‘Say So’, whilst ‘Miracle’ draws heavily on the gymnastic guitar chord sequences from early Mac Demarco, and Days-era Real Estate.” – LoudandQuiet.com “’Bad Hair Day’ brims with class. It chucks in just about every trick in the pop songwriting book: alternating dynamics, half-time sections, layered build-ups, guitar solos… you name it. But every element fuses together so harmoniously; it’s clean, calculated and compact in equal measure. By the following track ‘Blondes Have More Fun’, the listener is ushered to a more intimate side of Lung’s psyche, which follows suit in the album’s title track. Shifts in mood ebb and flow throughout. These are enhanced by a series of evocative, often eerie musical interludes which act as emotional, or aesthetic bridges between songs and complement the reflective tone of the record. The depth of the album’s musical arrangements – which features Lung on six different instruments throughout – provides textures which delicately differ in character from one another while also further emboldening its various musical interludes. ‘Comedown (Again)’ dwells somewhat further into the realms of struggle and self- pity, wallowing with lament through its crawling tempo, minimalistic arrangement and woe-worthy strings. Glimmers of light do seep through though. ‘Want 2 Want U’ and ‘The Let Down’ still tackle serious topics, but their gloominess is ephemeral among Lung’s boldly spirited arrangements. In all, ‘Miracle’ delves the depths of human introspection with a tangibly cathartic gleam, imbued with an essence of that wondrous beauty that only miracles can possess.” – ClashMusic.com EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Charts & Graphs Price: $13.00 Artist: Geoff Palmer Description: For those not in the know just yet because you have been living under a rock for the past 20 years, Geoff Palmer’s first claim to fame was pop-punk band The Guts, with which he released some strong albums. He then went on to play on The Queers’ “Everything’s OK” and “Punk Rock Confidential” records before teaming up with Brad Marino in The Connection to create power pop bliss. Still not quite busy enough, Palmer released a solo album “Pulling Out All The Stops” in 2019, which found him… well, pulling out all the stops on what was the perfect union between pop punk and power pop. “Charts & Graphs”, Geoff’s second solo album is stacked with 10 killer tunes ranging from punk rock to power pop and even some indie rock. His knack for writing catchy melodies is spot on. There really is something for everyone here. “This might be the best thing coming from New England since The Cars!” – Mrs. Palmer/Geoff’s mom “This record sounds so ridiculously accomplished, catchy and strong from beginning to end. From previously released singles ‘Many More Drugs’ and ‘This Monkey’ to the poppy title track and the twang-heavy ‘Jammed Up’, Palmer is relentless in his quest to write only the catchiest and slickest of melodies. Not sure if there is an award for feel good album of the year, but if there is then ‘Charts & Graphs’ has my vote.” – PunkRockTheory.com “’Pulling Out All The Stops’ is a modern day pop punk classic. Given the acclaim he received for the record and his ability to write insanely catchy tunes with self-deprecating and funny lyrics, I’d expected Palmer to take a similar approach with ‘Charts & Graphs’. But no, here we see him expanding his sound, trying out new directions and instruments (pedal steel, organ, harmonica), and writing songs that are a bit longer. Before you get worried, Palmer definitely pulls it off with the help of a strong supporting cast including Zack Sprague, Dave Strong, Kris Rodgers, Perry Leenhouts and many others. The main difference is that whereas ‘Pulling Out All The Stops’ had that instant sugar rush, ‘Charts & Graphs’ is winning me over one song at a time – probably more healthy in the long run.” – AddToWantList.com Includes a cool cover of Tom Petty’s “The Apartment Song”! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none