Activities Of Daily Living Price: $14.00 Artist: Aerial Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL!! Scotland’s Aerial has finally delivered their highly anticipated album after a decade-long hiatus. Following the success of their 2014 standout and top-ranked, “Why Don’t They Teach Heartbreak At School?, the band returns with the CD debut of “Activities of Daily Living”, their second release on the Kool Kat label. Once again, they’ve hit the mark, particularly resonating with fans of Teenage Fanclub and Fountains of Wayne, as Aerial continues to thrive in that musical sphere. “A delightful array of cleverly crafted earworms that showcases the band’s trademark wit and charm.” - Sweet Sweet Music “The songwriting duo of Colin Cummings and Mackie Mackintosh once again craft clever, off-kilter lyrics set to well-crafted power pop arrangements, particularly on energetic gems such as the title track, ‘An Encore And A Cover Song’ and ‘Bad Tattoo.’ ‘I Bet You Know Karate’ will have listeners clapping their hands instead of breaking boards.” - Broken Hearted Toy “The return of Aerial is something to be celebrated. They don't make records that often, this being the third in 23 years including their 2001 debut. ‘Why Don't They Teach Heartbreak At School’ was Goldmine's ‘2014 Album Of The Year’ and is an album that I continually play. Back with Duncan Cameron of Travis and Teenage Fanclub fame producing, this is essential Power Pop of the highest order and that is something that you get to say as often as you used to. Aerial also manage to straddle the genre. ‘Pixelated Youth’ is classic 90’s college Power Pop and may be my favourite here, but I'm also aware of how great the band are at slowing things down. ‘Run These Lights’ and ‘Silversand’ being the best examples. More important than anything is that Aerial have not lost their chops. I can think of no band better at what they do. There is also a general feeling that Brits don't take to this sort of Power Pop much. The interest since the album was announced proves that opinion is misguided. If you are good enough, people will come. The UK scene has become incredibly regional, but this can be an album to partially ignite the interest in the genre. Magnificent!” - I Don’t Hear A Single GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Caddy Price: $14.00 Artist: Caddy Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL! Pop fan favorite Caddy (Tomas Dahl) is back with his 5th outing as Caddy (4th on the Kool Kat label), and his first since his 2021 covers album “Detours And Dead Ends Vol. 1”. “Caddy” is his first album of new original songs since 2018‘s “Ten Times Four”! Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Tomas has been making music for nearly three decades as a member of bands like The Bittersweets, The Stanleys, The Yum Yums, The Terrifieds, Turbonegro and The Surfaholics. If you are familiar with some or all of those aforementioned bands, you know one thing is certain - you can pretty much be guaranteed lotsa loud and crunchy guitars! Tomas sheds some light on the new record “2023 was a difficult year personally where I lost both my parents and two good friends within 5 months. Therefore, I needed to record a much more energetic album with lots of guitars and a more punk edge, but still with the good melodies as the main focus. While the lyrics are much darker, they just may be the best I have ever written. The picture on the cover was taken by my late sister around 1983/84 in my room with my first drum kit surrounded by Kiss posters. I feel that these 10 songs on the album summarize 20 years of Caddy in a perfect way.” As promised, the loud and crunchy guitars adorn every track!! “Lolas-like at times!” - Max Humphries Definitely not for the timid/faint of heart! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Don't Stop Playing Guitar Price: $14.00 Artist: Colman Gota Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL! “Don't Stop Playing Guitar”, Spain’s Colman Gota’s fifth album (and Kool Kat label debut), was four years in the making. Working remotely with North Carolina-based producer John Pfiffner, at times it seemed it would never be completed. The 17 songs here feature lots of musicians, hours and hours put into it and a lot of ground covered. It’s an album made to last. Released in Europe on vinyl a couple of months ago, it’s already garnered rave reviews. “This is another hook laden record featuring Gota’s signature guitar work. Right out of the gate, screaming guitars straddle the edge before catapulting us through ‘Big In Taiwan’ and its catchy chorus. Ever jumped on a treadmill when its turned up too high? The ironically named ‘Always Late’ feels just that way – and it has a memorable melody. Things slow down (but just a bit) with the very catchy ‘Crack the Code’. Gota’s songs generally lean on a big, hooky guitar riff.” - Power Pop News “Reflects a subtler, more mature songwriter, one who's become terrifically adept at balancing raw fragility against willful defiance. The protagonists in a lot of the record’s tracks don't have a lot going for them; they're often grappling openly with feelings of loneliness and despair. They're still going, though, even if the only real goal is to take one more step, see one more day, play one more chord. That all probably makes the record sound like a downer of an album, but it really isn't. It is a really rich and colorful record that's invigoratingly uptempo on balance but blessed with varied and consistently interesting arrangements across the board. Gota's adenoidal vocals aren't what you'd necessarily think of when dreaming up ideal vehicles for rock anthems, but that only adds to the essential vulnerability that makes the album such a joy to listen to.” - JeffItoblog GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Phantom Idol Price: $14.00 Artist: Dream Phases Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL! Initially only available on vinyl, “Phantom Idol” is the Los Angeles psychedelic rock band Dream Phases’ third full length album (and Kool Kat label and CD debut). The group's sound has a focus on strong songwriting backed with Laurel Canyon folk textures, soulful rhythms and a layer of noise inspired by the band's more left-field influences. “Phantom Idol” is simultaneously more rocking and more acoustically layered than its predecessor, “New Distractions”, implementing krautrock, post-punk, and shoegaze influences. And it’s already gained fab reviews! “No one can accuse Dream Phases of false advertising. They play psychedelic-influenced rock that can indeed be dreamy and suffused with melodic harmonies, but they’re not afraid to startle you out of your reverie with buzzy guitar solos.” - Pure Honey Magazine “With the help of their new producers, none of their influences are at all obvious. ‘Turn Away’ may have a motorik riddim, but the fuzz guitar is pure post-80’s garage psych. The only post-punk I can detect is possibly a faint whiff of the Teardrop Explodes on the jaunty ‘Wake Up Time,’ some Television guitar tones, and the bass-driven intro to ‘Another Getaway.’ The only discernable shoegaze elements are expertly woven into the sound design as wispy layers of Ride’s ethereal space rock guitars and vocal harmonies on ‘Middle of the Room.’” - FastnBulbous “’Phantom Idol’ is primed to keep the flame of shoegaze, psychedelic, and indie rock burning bright, showcasing Dream Phases’ mastery and evolution over their two previous records.” - It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Up and Out Of It Price: $15.00 Artist: Nick Piunti and The Complicated Men Description: “I find tremendous joy in Nick’s work. It’s honest, it’s powerful, it’s melodic, and it’s authentic.” - Michael Des Barres/Little Steven’s Underground Garage Followers of Nick and his mates will find the new songs have the same catchy style, but the songwriting and music are even more mature and captivating. Warning: you will find earworms. Powerful! Nick lives EVERY one of these songs and performances. The main messages in the album are about persistence. Keep doing what you love and what you're good at. You never know when you're in your prime. Lyrically all of his songs are personal and either biographical or autobiographical in nature. Two songs on the album were written with guitarist Joe Daksiewicz. In both instances Joe had the music (chord progressions, riffs) and amassed the melody and lyrics. “I'm Ready” was the first song he brought to the band and Nick liked it because it had a totally different groove than usual. The song unfolded slower than normal and has a hypnotic quality to it. The other song "Mind Reader" is pure Piunti. The other Complicated Men band members are Jeff Hupp (bass), Kevin Darnall (keyboards) and Ron Vensko (drums). This is the third album with the TCM line-up, and arguably its finest. Guitars and the love of guitars definitely give this album its cohesiveness. This is the first album that Nick handed over all of the guitar solos to someone else as Joe joined the band after half of the prior album was recorded. “Joe Daksiewicz is such a great melodic player, and the interplay we have feels like we've been playing together for years,” Nick said. Most of the songs fall in that power pop category musically, but lyrically not typical in its innocence or typical cliched subject matter.” GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Not For Sale 1965-1975 Price: $17.00 Artist: Peach and Lee Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL!! You demanded it - you got it! Thanks to a persistent, collaborative effort with Tom Sorrells of Titan Records, we’re proud and thrilled to offer the CD debut of “Not For Sale 1965-1975” a 27 song collection previously only available on vinyl that was released in 2023. But not everyone still buys vinyl, right? That’s why we’re here! “Not For Sale” is the sum and story of a decade of work by two lifelong, childhood best friends, Arlis Peach and Larry Lee, who, growing up together in Iowa, got bitten hard by the rock-n-roll bug of the 50’s and by the mid 60’s were writing and recording their own music. They got signed to RCA Records in 1972, a single was released, but things never took off and the label dropped them. ‘Not For Sale’ is a genuine lost chapter in the history of pop music. Pure Pop with echoes of everything from the Everly brothers and The Beatles to The Byrds and Badfinger, with hints of The Hollies, The Turtles, The Zombies and The Kinks to name a few. It is a one of a kind 58 year old anomaly that was slated to NEVER happen...until now! “This is truly a lost power pop treasure. They follow in the footsteps of The Beatles and The Hollies, evident in the opener, ‘Long Way to Go,’ with churning guitars and solid harmonies. The comparisons to Badfinger are stunning here, especially on the title track, ‘It’s Up To You,’ ‘No Way Baby’ and ‘Do It Again,’ including handclaps and its infectious lead guitar. A more basic, echoing early Beatles sound is clear on ‘Never Made the Grade’ and ‘Down.’ The catchy, simple lead in ‘Paradise’ recalls the Hollies. ‘Help Yourself’ and ‘Don’t Be Looking My Way’ are very much in the Emmit Rhodes mold. The band rocks harder (bordering on glam) on ‘You Ain’t Got Me Running’ and ‘The Other Night.’ The dramatic ballads ‘Can’t Let Go’ and ‘Love Is On Our Side’ are solid standouts. You wonder why these guys never made it big, but we finally have them 50 years later.” - Powerpopaholic The result is a treasure trove of unreleased pop perfection, restored and mastered from the original tapes and available for the first time! Other points of reference not mentioned above? Dwight Twilley(with Phil Seymour) and Big Star!!! Another piece of power pop history has been uncovered and preserved! GREAT!!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Spiritual Age Price: $14.00 Artist: Telejet Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL!! A HUGE thanks to David Bash for hipping us to the brilliant Telejet! Friends Gene Hughes and James Ansara, looking for an original handle, came up with the name Telejet in a word-jam experiment. After 3 digital-only studio albums and several line-up changes, Gene continues to write, produce songs and create music videos from their Queen Street West studio in Toronto. Telejet songs will appeal to people who love very melodic classic or progressive pop. “I haven’t heard too many releases as good as ‘Spiritual Age’ in a long time. Gene Hughes has his fingers firmly on the pulse of tantalizing chord changes, and Partridge-esque (Andy, not Keith) melodies and lyrics. ‘She Speaks Her Mind could have been a long lost The Dukes Of Stratosphear track, ‘Indian Summer’ the same for ‘Nonesuch’; in fact, just about anything on the record rings true with XTC! If you love classic Beatle-esque and harmony pop, orchestral pop, or prog pop, and a bit of everything in between (and let’s face it, who reading this doesn’t?), then you will LOVE Telejet! This is a band that pop fans all over the world NEED to know about! I’m so appreciative that Kool Kat Musik had the good taste and persistence to finally get this album released on physical format!” – David Bash Don’t sell yourself short David, you were a big part of making this happen by (gently) leaning on Gene! It took a while, but it was well-worth it! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

The Direct Records Story Volume One Price: $18.00 Artist: Various Artists Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL! The Direct Hits’ Colin Swan provides the backdrop to this new series - “The thing to remember when listening to this CD is, we had very little equipment, cheap guitars, a low noise threshold in both Geno Buckmaster and my council flat bedrooms, and to be honest, a lack of real musical ability, but that’s the charm of it! However, what I think we did have was some good tunes. Somebody must have liked what we were doing, as we sold hundreds and hundreds of these homemade DIY cassettes. Consequently if you’re expecting an audio delight, that’s not what’s on offer here! These tracks are culled from between 1982 and 1984, of which there still remains ‘hundreds’ of unreleased tracks. What you hear on ‘Volume One’ is a host of people in their early/mid 20’s fighting against what was mainstream in the charts at the time. Sheer enthusiasm, a ‘this-is-the-only-way-to-do-it ‘, DIY approach to produce something that only a small amount of like-minded people dug. I did some ‘ghosting’ on some of the vocals, usually only because the band in question asked me to, or weren’t confident enough to do it themselves, but not very often. We had a bunch of people who lived in South London who came along and helped out, some disappeared, some are still friends today and some I just can’t remember! But it was always about the feel. Geno had his demo studio at home in Battersea, I had mine in Tooting. The plan was to write songs as we always did, and those that weren’t deemed suitable for The Direct Hits would then be given to different singers or bands to record versions of. We did release covers as well, if we thought they were really good covers. This compilation, although not technically brilliant, is made for all the people who bought the cassettes using the old fashioned pre-internet, pre-download, pre-Paypal methods to buy the music they wanted. Many of these tapes went to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Moscow, even Israel and far flung corners of Europe, particularly Germany, which is how we ended up touring there. I often wonder how many of these tapes are still intact in someone’s attic or basement! We approached Kool Kat Musik to work on this re-issue program mainly because label head Ray Gianchetti was a fan club member back in the 80’s, so it was a no brainer to work with someone who not only knew the history of the label, but who now runs the premier, highly respected pop label and mailorder company dealing the hard-to-find-but-special music that would be otherwise dead and buried.” Direct Records actively released material from 1982 till around 1987, and although the label didn’t release cassettes after that, the studio was moved from Tooting to Love Lane London with a much improved set up and sound and continued to produce recordings by various artists. Some of these found their way onto now out-of-print Direct Records compilation CD's that were only available through the fan club. There are some familiar names other than The Direct Hits, Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster. A pre-Mood Six Phil Ward did a batch of solo recordings for the label. But the rest here are well worth discovering! “The Direct Hits fan club, along with The Freshies fan club, were two of the best in terms of bang-for-your buck. I have 30 DHFC fan club-only cassettes from that time period. I was thrilled and honored when Colin reached out to me to release the ‘Direct Records Story’ series of CDs. Thinking back to the 80’s, who would have guessed that today I’d be helping document the Direct Records story!” - Ray Gianchetti In the end, it’s all about the music though, isn’t it? Of course, GREAT!!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

International Pop Overthrow Volume 25 (3CD) Price: $22.00 Artist: Various Artists Description: IPO CEO David Bash has curated another 69 track, 3CD edition of this long-running series. And, like all previous volumes, there are a lot of artists that will be new to even the most read pop fans. Along with Kool Kat artists Armchair Oracles, The Parlophonics, Robin Schell, Your Academy, The Bishop’s Daredevil Stunt Club, Dave Cope & The Sass andTelejet, these artists also appear: Used, Cassie23, The Braymores, The Bings, Shine, Van Duren & Good Question, Andras Jones, Fernando Perdomo, The Pozers, Noise Detectors Inc, Mr. Bruce Gordon, Captain Storm, Jeremy, Mark Malibu & The Wasagas, Sue Hedges, Dixon, Athanor, The On And Ons, Curtis Suburban, Circles, Fox Paloma, Eric Crugnale, The Cowsills, Bruce Moody, Ransom and The Subset, Mansfield, Marc Valentine, The Stoke Barehills Town Band, Popdudes, The Love Gamblers, Jody & The Jerms, Vegas With Randolph, Leisure McCorkle, Michael Colhane, Jose Estragos, Blake Jones & The Trike Shop, Karen Zanes, The Jerrys, The Flower Machine, The Maureens, KC Bowman, Danny Wilkerson and Lannie Flowers with Orbis Max, Michael Roberts, Speedfossil, Ex-Norwegian, Matt Purcell & The Temponauts, Street Duo, Iron City Houserockers, Status Foe, Glowbox, Kereosene Stars, Tara Van, Petrified Max, Barry Knoedl, Harrison Clock, The Arcadeans, The Dirty Reeds, The Seagulls, The Studio 68!, The Dreambots And The Deep Drags! So set aside a few hours, pour a cold one (or more) and prepare to dig in! “As is the norm, David Bash assembled a stunning and diverse array of talent that span the traditional definitions of pop, with a keen eye on rock & roll.” - LA Weekly EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Big New Life Price: $14.00 Artist: Vinyl Kings Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT LABEL! There are good bands and there are good people. Sometimes we get both. The Vinyl Kings, a top-shelf band of veteran songwriters, players and producers - who first played together as a long-ago Nashville-based cover band named the Del Beatles - are such a band, as evidenced by both the artistry and message of their third and, perhaps final album ”Big New Life”. Jim Photoglo, Harry Stinson, Larry Lee, Josh Leo and Michael Rhodes have individually produced, written songs for, played on recordings by, or toured with such artists as Bob Dylan, Elton John, Neil Young, Carole King, Sting, Shania Twain, Vince Gill, Steve Winwood, Tina Turner, Mark Knopfler, Dan Fogelberg, Glenn Frey and more! Their first album, 02’s “A Little Trip” - their nod to The Beatles, who inspired each of the band members to pursue a life in music, received rave reviews and developed somewhat of a cult following. After all, it's a little hard to buy the concept of an album of Beatles-esque music, but Beatles fans who found it loved it, intensely. "The genius of the record is that they managed to create an album of original tunes echoing the evolving sound and feel of the Beatles - neither impression, nor caricature, but a pure, loving homage." - Dale McCurry The “Big New Life” journey began in January 2023 when they released “Smoke Rings for Renee” (written by Photoglo) on the occasion of the passing of Leo’s wife. Though separation and loss are stimuli for this collection (Rhodes played on these songs as a founding member until the day he died), it emerges as a story of survival, a celebration of triumph, stunningly sustained through 11 compositions of gratitude, perseverance, and joy. GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none