Lest we forget that the three golden rules of pop are hooks, hooks, and hooks, the 101 are here to remind us, and remind us, and remind us. It’s not just that the guitar-driven power pop melodies are spare and infectious, nor that the emo-laden lyrics are repeated with mantra-like efficiency, it’s that the combination feels like a head-bobbing security blanket that we can wrap ourselves around all summer long.
Phil Krauth
From the Teen Beat website: “Phil is Teen Beat’s Leonard Cohen.” Lloyd Cole is my Leonard Cohen (he’s my Bob Dylan as well, for that matter). Who’s yours?
Ballboy
In honor (or honour) of the final Star Wars installment, the wonderful Scottish band Ballboy have posted a home-recorded power pop gem called “Light Saber” which closes each line with that walkie-talkie static that used to make it so fun to play stormtroopers (“there she is, set for stun…shhk”). When not giving in to good side of The Force, Ballboy’s approach to songwriting can be summed up by the chorus to “The Art of Kissing”: “A little despair will go a long, long way.” And does it ever…
Bunky
A playful, boy/girl pop duo from San Diego backed by members of area scene stars: Pinback, Black Heart Procession, Rocket From the Crypt, and Castanets. This is a band who, in the album credits, refers to drums as “boomkadittles” and bass and guitar as “thunderstick” and “lightenin’ stick” respectively. Not sticklers for spelling, but sticklers for something much more important: making music that makes you laugh and dance and in the case of the ending of “Yes/No,” check outside your windows for UFOs.
Rilo Kiley
I’d love to find newer and better-quality Rilo Kiley MP3s on the Internet, but I guess these will have to do. (I know there’s a downloadable track on the Barsuk website, but it sounds like it was recorded on one of those little microphones they used to have on boomboxes.) The stellar voice of Jenny Lewis sounds like summer to my ears, especially on “With Arms Outstretched,” a big old smile of a song that features both clapping hands and a rag-tag chorus. I’ll mess around with my favorite line from the song to thank Katherine for cluing me in to Rilo Kiley and wish her well in Chicago: I hope your days by the lake don’t go too fast.
The Lovekevins
There nothing quite like blindly buying an album at the local record store and finding something you just love. Trust me, I’ve bought some real junk over the years (Betty Boo circa 1990, anyone?) in that pursuit. But I’ve found some really good stuff. Sometimes it’s the album cover (Jessamine), sometimes it’s the record label (Henry’s Dress), sometimes it’s just a good vibe (Super 5 Thor). Even today, in the new millenium, that still happens with the world wide web. I stumbled across a real gem of band, the Lovekevins, on the online store Delicious Goldfish Records. Fantastic Swedish pop that soars and bounces and captivates and I just have to go listen to “Stop Being Perfect” again right now.
His Name Is Alive
Summer’s here, kids, and you know what that means: farmer tans, frozen custard, and a free downloadable EP from His Name Is Alive. The ever eclectic and prolific Warren Defever has been so busy he must have forgot that he put out an LP of the same name less than a month ago. However, it was a limited (like, 50 total) pressing so it’s unlikely to cause too much confusion. As for the EP, it’s not going to be around forever either, so jump on it. I’m posting a link to the buoyant title track and a classic soul side from 2001’s Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth. The rest of the goods can be found on the band’s site, inlcuding the hilariously complex backstory for “Summer Bird.” (Thanks for the tip, Monahan!)
Afraid of Stairs
There are actually two kinds of stair-related ‘phobias: bathmophobia (fear of stairs or steep slopes) and climacophobia (fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs). Perhaps unable to choose between the two, this Swedish duo simply went with Afraid of Stairs. This track is a couple years old, but it’s all I’ve got. I’d go up or down any number of stairs to get them to put out another single as dreamy — and hopefully not as brief — as this. (Discovered via Jason’s Attack of the Swedes mix.)
Nineteenseventyeight
Looks like these guys are going to turn into a country rock outfit called South of ’78, so enjoy the noisy guitars and drum crashes while you can.
Math and Physics Club
It already feels like summer. When it gets this hot this early, there’s really nothing you can do but lounge around and listen to pop music and pine about “Weekends Away,” like the Math and Physics Club.