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

Atoms And Energy Price: $17.00 Artist: Daniel Wylie's Cosmic Rough Riders Description: Daniel Wylie has had a long and distinguished career in songwriting, whether with his band, Cosmic Rough Riders, or as a solo artist. Throughout he has stayed true to a classic approach with plenty of room for influences from the 1960’s onwards, but with room too for originality of thought in both music and lyrics. “Atoms And Energy” is confirmation that the fire still burns brightly. “Anyone familiar with Wylie’s previous work will know what to expect here – but with part of that expectation comes the knowledge that the songs won’t be routine and won’t be presented without emotive input or instrumental dexterity. The guitar playing is a strong feature of the record, and the lovely shimmering textures are a possible reflection of the cloud-strewn skies under which they were written.” – Arcana.FM “Scotland is generally considered by most intelligent folk as the second-best place on earth to produce sun-kissed jangle rock and pop after California, and most of them would point to Teenage Fanclub to prove their point. Many others might however suggest that Glasgow’s Daniel Wylie has an equal claim to be Scotland’s (indeed, the UK’s) premier exponent of Byrds/Neil Young/CSN&Y influenced sounds, going back to his debut with the Cosmic Rough Riders in the late 90’s. ‘Atoms And Energy’ cements this view with Wylie delivering a solid set of bittersweet songs replete with harmonies and flurries of guitars paying tribute to the heyday of the sunshine state while remaining attuned to this modern world.” – Americana-uk.com “Once again, Daniel Wylie has blessed us with a wonderful, heartfelt record that will make your heartstrings quiver with its beauty and sadness. Highly recommended!” – BigTakeover.com 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

Too Loud, Too Fast, Too Much 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

Songs To Dream Along To Price: $14.00 Artist: Ian M Bailey Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! During the summer of 2020 English singer songwriter Ian M Bailey (The Lost Doves) began work on a brand new co-writing project with Glasgow’s songsmith Daniel Wylie of Cosmic Rough Riders. Following the release of the Ian’s “Shots Of Sun” EP to critical acclaim, Ian and Daniel agreed to start work on a full-length album which would soon become “Songs To Dream Along To”. Recorded and produced at Ian’s home studio Small Space Studios, the album sits rich in melody and fine songwriting interwoven with Ian’s trademark 12-string Rickenbacker, adding its unmistakable jangle to the blend of bass, drums, keys, strings and harmonies. The songs are rooted in respectful inspiration of artists such as The Byrd’s, CSN, The Association, REM, The Moody Blues, The Bee Gees, America, Lennon & McCartney and The Jayhawks to name but a few, “Songs To Dream Along To” nods a head and hangs its coat proudly on the hooks and melodies of some of the greatest songwriting predecessors. The record has already gained high praise from some noteworthy people! “Thank you for sending me these tracks. I love them! I can definitely hear the Byrds/America influences in ‘Everything Will Be Alright’ and is there something of The Association in the sound of ‘Take It Or Leave It?” - Bob Harris “Bailey and Wylie have created a mini-soundtrack of not just sunshine on a cold grey day, but hope…and sometimes hope is all we need.” - Rocking Magpie “Each song has been written and treated to a highly melodic and sumptuous arrangement, exploring various influences from REM to CSN and The Jayhawks to the Byrds” - Northern Sky “The fruits of the Bailey/Wylie collaboration are tracks steeped in 60’s folk-rock and West Coast close harmony vibes” - Folking.com “Hitching a lift on Ventura Highway, Bailey positively glides along this sun blissed two-lane blacktop with joyous inspiration” – Paul Kerr/Blabber’n’Smoke.com GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Watching The Kid Come Back Price: $12.00 Artist: Robert Harrison Description: As frontman for Cotton Mather, Robert Harrison has been a fixture in Austin music since the late-90’s, when his famously 4-tracked record “Kontiki” made waves around the globe, being called by UNCUT Magazine- "music to smile yourself to death to". As the creative force behind Future Clouds and Radar, he was named Harp Magazine's "Debut Artist of the Year" in 2007. After a recent Cotton Mather reboot which yielded three full-length records and an EP, Harrison returns with his solo debut, “Watching the Kid Come Back”. Flanked by Austin luminaries Gary Newcombe, Betty Soo, Brad Fordham and Suzanna Choffel as well as long tome collaborators Whit Williams and Darin Murphy, Harrison leaves behind the familiar garage environs for a sound and style more suited to the Texas front porch -blending traditional instrumentation with his “classicist grasp of melody” (Magnet)- adding to what the Austin Chronicle has called a “seemingly endless collection of instant classics” . “Harrison lets each song stand, if not naked, then at least in its underwear, eschewing cleverness for direct expression. ‘Cool Water Blue Rain,’ for example, puts the Harrison spin on country music, with a lilting, strummy melody and an emotional forthrightness that befits a lyric like ‘Hold me up good daughter, dear son/Here comes the rain.’ The sparse ‘Sitting In The Sun’ sounds like it came straight off the back porch and into the studio, side-stepping ornamentation. ‘A Face In The Crowd’ sets its heartbroken libretto to a catchy melody, indulging in some old-fashioned power pop, while ‘Great Auk Stories’ goes folk rock with a tasteful, tuneful arrangement and some soulful singing on Harrison’s part. The title track is quite simply one of Harrison’s loveliest ballads, though it’s nearly equalled by his lush cover of Diana Ross & the Supremes’ ‘Someday We’ll Be Together.’ Rather than fill nooks and crannies with ear candy, Harrison lets the songs breathe, the air around each lick and vocal framing the tunes as much as backwards guitars and tape splices did in the ‘Kontiki’ days. By stripping back the arrangements to straightforward instrumentation, we’re reminded of just how damn good a songwriter he truly is.” – The Big Takeover EXCELLENT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

A Little More Price: $17.00 Artist: The Aerovons Description: The Aerovons recorded their masterpiece “Resurrection” in 1969 at Abbey Road. Beatles’ sound engineers Geoff Emerick, Alan Parsons and Norman Smith worked on the sessions. The album was produced by their prodigious 17-year-old leader Tom Hartman. Although two singles were released in 1969, “Resurrection” was first issued by RPM Records in 2003. This was when the music papers and newspapers went overboard for The Aerovons and learned their mind-blowing story and how they had hung out with The Beatles, went to the pub with The Hollies and met Jimi Hendrix at The Speakeasy. “It’s like hearing newly discovered Beatles tracks while walking down Carnaby Street wearing Ringo’s candy striped hipsters.” The Guardian asserted “They should have been as big as The Beatles.” Rolling Stone heaped acclaim on a “stunning album of bull’s-eye Beatle pop…with the soft-brush folk rock of ‘Rubber Soul’-gilded with the opulent psychedelia of ’67-’68 Fabs.” Now, in 2021, the Florida-dwelling Tom Hartman is back with his follow-up to “Resurrection”. A couple of decades here or there didn’t stop The Aerovons before, and they won’t now. Although the sensibility running through “A Little More” is that of a man who has lived life rather than that that of a wide-eyed teenager, there’s a sensation that time has blurred. Not that time has stood still, but that Tom still draws from what inspired him in the first place. The record even opens with a song written in 1969. The irresistible, McCartney-esque “Stopped!” has a sit-up-take-notice melody and the rolling rhythms of classic late 60’s pop. Title track is more than a reference to picking-up again. Also written in 1969, it’s another classic-in-waiting. A version was first heard on the flip side of Tom’s post-Aerovons single released in 1971 by the Bell label. Unavoidably, looking back at the experience of being in London and at Abbey Road with The Aerovons colors Tom’s new songs. “Swinging London” paints that picture, while “The Way Things Went Tonight” nods to “Resurrection”’s creamiest, most vocal-infused moments. The record also draws from Tom’s path though life after the magical adventures in London. In time, he became a songwriter in the world of advertising. “So Sorry” and “You & Me” draw from human relationships and emotions, while “Shades Of Blue” evokes memories of a particular place. Contrastingly, “Me And My Bomb” recalls one of the first steps towards adulthood. “A Little More” is “Resurrection”’s welcome follow-up. It’s more though. It’s about the whole of Tom Hartman’s life, and how he sees it as a kaleidoscopic journey. Not a resurrection then, but a seamless fusion of everything that makes him who he is today. GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Bridge and Tunnel Price: $14.00 Artist: The Junior League Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! “Bridge and Tunnel” is the eighth album by The Junior League, the name under which singer/songwriter/performer Joe Adragna works. Since the mid 00’s, Joe has travelled down the pop rock path, moving between pure power pop (such as 2006’s “Catchy” or 2009’s “Smile Shoot Smile”), harder pop rock (2019’s “Adventureland”) and everything in between. “Bridge and Tunnel” touches upon all these influences and more, from sunshine pop (“The Sunshine Saves Everyone” with its very Martin Newell-ish chord changes) to moody, ambient, tracks (“LIRR”, “Woodlawn Avenue”). Most of the record was recorded between the second half of 2020 and early 2021 at Joe’s home studio. Friends would make their contributions from their own studios. Although the pandemic did factor into this arrangement to some degree, this method was not out of the ordinary as Joe pretty much records that way all the time. “I’d already been writing songs about where I grew up, meaning New York and Long Island. Linda Pitmon’s picture, coupled with a suggestion by my friend Jay, pushed me to try to connect as many of the songs as possible to New York in some way. That said, I don’t think the songs are really about New York as much as they are perhaps about fitting in. New York was just a coalescing factor, I guess. But the main thing that runs through the record is “Where do we belong”? But to be honest, I don’t think about all that very much. I just write songs. It’s not ‘Tommy’ or something.” The record includes important contributions from Joe’s friend Scott McCaughey, in whose Minus 5 Joe serves as a member. “Scott is and has always been very, very good to me, and always brings out the best things in the songs,” Joe states. “He mixed quite a lot of the record, and added loads of keyboards, guitars and vocals and was really involved throughout the process. He is one of the most talented (and generous) people I have ever met.” Joe also received help from his pal Michael Giblin (Parallax Project/The Split Squad), who mixed three songs on the record and, as Joe points out, “served as a sounding board for a lot of these songs - extremely encouraging and helpful.” GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Past Perfect Tense Price: $14.00 Artist: The Raves Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL! The Raves are a power pop band based in Atlanta, Georgia and were most active in the 80’s. Originally formed in 1971 and called Nod, the band consisted of three Yoakum brothers and Ken Kennedy. Unusual for that time in the southern United States, they played original rock music in the vein of The Pretenders, Badfinger, Big Star, and other pop rock bands. In 1980 the group changed the name from Nod to The Raves. The group also had their own local public-access television program titled "Eh, Wot's This?, a mix of original comedy sketches and music videos that aired from 1980-82. An LP titled “The Color of Tears” was released on their own label later that year. The group disbanded in 1983. In 1992, a limited edition CD titled “Past Perfect Tense” combining tracks from “The Color Of Tears” along with newly recorded material from 1989, was released. The Raves’ music is power pop at its finest - with tight vocals, soaring and jangling guitars, powerful bass and a driving beat... but it's really the songwriting that sets them apart. The songs are instant classics and as immediate today as when they were recorded. “Unabashed power pop was their calling card, rooted in the likes of the Raspberries, but in practice more tangibly resembling Shoes, The Rubinoos, and a variety of their equally obscuro contemporaries on the Titan Records imprint (e.g. the Secrets and Arlis).” – WillfullyObscure.com “The Raves truly have a solid grasp of the style of music they play. Bulging at the seams with chirpy rhythms and sighing harmonies shaped of oohs, ahs and woo woo woos, ‘Past Perfect Tense’ would have pierced the airwaves from sea to shining sea had it been recorded a decade and a half earlier.” – Beverly Paterson “The Raves have the power pop style DOWN PAT! A road that’s plenty of fun to travel.” – John Borack Now in 2021, Kool Kat Musik brings you a fully-fleshed out, nicely packaged, remastered version of this classic power pop release! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none

Brighter Futures Price: $14.00 Artist: The Sails Description: RELEASE ON THE KOOL KAT MUSIK LABEL!! In March of 2021, we released “Bang!- Best Of The Sails 2006-2020” as both a set-up for “Brighter Futures” and to also introduce to newcomers/re-acquaint longtime fans the pop genius that is Michael Gagliano (The Sails). “Brighter Futures”, the Sails sixth album, contains 13 brand new, hook-filled Brit-Pop tracks! “I made 'Brighter Futures' in Holloway Road, London just like my fave record producer Joe Meek did in the 60’s. I tried to replicate his formula and his vibe when recording the songs for the album,” explains Michael. “The album demonstrates the growing maturity in Gagliano’s songs, and his uncanny ear for a killer melody. Opener ‘Crying Out Loud’ is a terrific way to announce the album’s arrival. Bold and brash, it stomps its way through 4 minutes and 7 seconds of guitar ecstasy. ‘Fly So High’ is a mid-paced monster, that is just so catchy. ‘Wild & Free’ is packed with jangly guitars and a melody to die for, Psych-pop at its very best. ‘Halfway Broken’ is a Sails classic - tender, memorable and one of those songs which just seems to catch the mood. I think, at times, we’ve all been a bit broken, this past fifteen months. MOJO Magazine called The Sails ‘the U.K’s best power pop act’ and, who am I to argue. They pump out guitar-led, echoey jewels of love and take you from Merseybeat to The La’s and back again. This album is a big fat slab of British power pop which wears its heart on its sleeve, and its influences proudly.” – TheAfterword.co.uk No argument here either!! We’re so pleased to help bring Michael’s music to the pop masses!! GREAT!! ... read more » Quantity in Basket: none