Pop That Goes Crunch!

Seven Decades Of Melodic Rock & Roll

Archive for the tag “Andy Reed”

29 Aug 2016

We’re Giving Away 3 Copies Of Nick Piunti’s New Release!

piuntiNick Piunti is on a roll.

His 2013 release, 13 In My Head was one of the best long-players of 2013. The title track landed at No. 3 on our list of the best songs of 2013. His 2015 release, Beyond The Static was our third favorite long-player of last year.

Piunti’s 2016 long-player, Trust Your Instincts, hits the retail outlets on September 9. It may be his best effort yet: ten tracks featuring his increasingly sharp and incisive writing, tough and shiny guitar riffing, and the best damned vocals in the entire rockin’ pop world. Even better, Piunti is expertly assisted by some of our other faves: Donny Brown on drums, percussion and backing vocals; Andy Reed on bass and synth; and Ryan Allen on guitars, backing vocals and percussion. In reality, this is classic rock ‘n’ roll with big hooks and expert production. It is also a candidate for album of the year.

Even much better, you can win a free copy of the CD! That’s right, we are giving away three copies of Trust Your Instincts, courtesy of the fine folks at JEM Records.

Here is what you need to do:

Send an e-mail to popgoescrunch@gmail.com by 3:00 p.m. Pacific time on September 8, and answer two questions.

1. Why do you like Nick’s music?

2. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Be creative. The best three submissions win. We’ll announce the winners on the morning of September 9.

In the meantime, you can stream the first two tracks from Trust Your Instincts, in full.

Here’s the title track, in all of its Power Pop glory:

 

And, on “One Hit Wonder,” Piunti pens a tale of a music industry shooting star that nevertheless has universal applicability:

 

Enough chit chat for now. Get e-mailing!

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21 Aug 2014

The Big Show #7: Going Themeless

The Big Show #7The next several installments of The Big Show are “themeless.” They simply present 20 hand-selected rockin’ pop songs (new, old and in-between) for your music discovery and distinct listening pleasure.

Show #7 kicks off with an alternate and slightly more rocking version of one of favorite songs by The Grip Weeds — “Rainy Day #3” — “pre-titled” as “Rainy Day #1 & 2.”

New music checks in with a wonderful track by the reconstituted Cleaners From Venus and a rather fun song by newcomer Joe Sullivan, whose long-player (produced and engineered by the great Andy Reed) can be purchased for a mere seven clams from Futureman Records.

Show #7 also includes Teenage Fanclub and the Pernice Brothers doing songs that rank among my favorites by two of the Greatest Bands of All-Time: “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From” and “The Weakest Shade Of Blue,” respectively. The festivities conclude with The Zombies doing one of the Greatest Records Ever Made, “This Will Be Our Year.” Superlatives abound.

So, give it a listen, and tune in frequently to the main mix at Pop That Goes Crunch radio, streaming 24/7.

The complete tracklist appears below the embed.

 

Tracklist:

1.  The Grip Weeds, “Rainy Day #1 and 2”

2.  20/20, “Yellow Pills”

3.  Grant Lee Buffalo, “The Shining Hour”

4.  The Cleaners From Venus, “Cling To Me”

5.  Ballard, “I Know That You’re Watching Me”

6.  The Who, “So Sad About Us”

7.  And The Professors, “Turn Of The Century Recycling Blues”

8.  The Sharp Things, “Flowers For My Girl”

9.  Husker Du, “Could You Be The One”

10. Redd Kross, “Sick Love”

11. Velvet Crush, “Time Wraps Around You”

12. The Jayhawks, “Waiting For The Sun”

13. The Byrds, “Its All Over Now, Baby Blue”

14. Joe Sullivan, “Rock Star Boyfriend”

15. The Maureens, “Outta Sight”

16. Pernice Brothers, “Weakest Shade Of Blue”

17. Teenage Fanclub, “Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From”

18. The Green Tambourine Band, “I’m Free”

19. The Orange Peels, “Grey Holiday”

20. The Zombies, “This Will Be Our Year”

 

 

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23 May 2014
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The Legal Matters Deliver Perfect Harmony

The Legal Matters

Some albums grab you immediately and refuse to let go. You wake up, and one of its songs is in your mind. You’re at work, and another one is seemingly in your ear. You’re making dinner, and yet another one is bouncing around relentlessly in your head. And so on, and so on and so on.

The self-titled debut by The Legal Matters is one of those records. The Legal Matters is a “rockin’ pop project containing equal parts Chris Richards, Andy Reed and Keith Klingensmith,” each of whom has been discussed many times previously on these pages. Given that life’s too short to write about bad music (or even mediocre music, for that matter), it is hardly surprising that I would at least “like” this “rocking’ pop” effort.

That, however, is quite an understatement. The whole of this combination is greater than the sum of its three “equal parts.” The Legal Matters is the best long-player I have heard so far this year. It is hard to imagine anything coming out in the second-half of the year to eclipse it.

The opening track, “Rite Of Spring,” sets the tone for the album in its first few seconds. A simple keyboard riff over strummed guitars bathes the revelry about the perfect girl in undeniable warmth and sweetness. You can feel the sunshine on your skin by the time the million-dollar three-part harmonies kick in at about the one-minute mark:

Gorgeous harmonies are all over this record. Richards, Reed and Klingensmith are superb singers on their own. This record makes the case, though, that they should be singing together until they can sing no more. Check out, in particular, how the harmonies sung during the chorus add a sense of hope to the longing that otherwise characterizes “Have You Changed Your Mind?”

Indeed, several songs on the album adroitly play the bitter against the sweet. “So Long Sunny Days” hides its own sense of longing and melancholy in three-minutes of absolutely perfect melodies. “Mary Anne” is probably the prettiest song about a life full of regret that you will hear this year.

None of this means that the Legal Matters can’t “rock” when they want. But they do it without trying to beat you over the head. “The Legend Of Walter Wright” — a man who was “remarkably clean and mildly polite” — may be the best song in the collection. It will have you reflexively increasing the volume on the car stereo whenever it comes on as you drive around town:

 

Delivering “only” ten songs over thirty-five minutes, The Legal Matters recalls a time when the space limitations of vinyl meant that truly great artists only waxed their best ideas. There is no fluff here, and not a moment of time is wasted from start to finish.

So, run, don’t walk, to wherever you go to buy the finest music, and get The Legal Matters as soon as you can.

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09 Mar 2014

New Music Sunday: Almost Spring Edition

The Legal Matters

I’ve recently added a bunch of additional tracks to Pop That Goes Crunch radio, both new and old. Here is some of the best “new” music added over the past week, kicking off with a bit of Springtime:

The Legal Matters, “Rite Of Spring”: The Legal Matters is a “rockin’ pop project containing equal parts Chris Richards, Andy Reed and Keith Klingensmith,” each of whom is well-represented on this site and on the radio station. “Rite Of Spring” is our first taste of a long-player scheduled for a summer release. You need go no further than this to hear the best vocal harmonies of the year, set amid jangly guitars, subtle keyboards and some way cool jingle bells:

The JAC, “Love Dumb”: Joe Algeri and crew deliver a bit of perfectly propulsive Power Pop ahead of an upcoming LP. This one will have you singing along before completing your first listen:

The Sunchymes, “Mr. Buckstone”: “Checking The Weather” from 2012’s Let Your Free Flag Fly is quite a popular track on the radio station. This new slice of West Coast Pop wraps a tale of fib-telling boor in a rather pretty package, resplendent with shiny harmonies, “ba-ba-bas” and sweet mellotron flourishes:

The Zags, “Tattoo”:  This is bright and shiny Power Pop in the grandest early-70s tradition with subtle glam and garage rock undercurrents. You’ll also start singing along to this one long before its over:

Loop Line, “All I’m Waiting For”: Loop Line is two guys — one living in the U.S., the other in Japan — who created a 21-track record via file sharing. They describe their sound as “a combination of 60’s pop and 90’s indie rock, with as many vocal harmonies as each song can possibly hold.” That’s an apt description — their just released long-player, Tides, sports what seems like a thousand harmonies. “All I’m Waiting For” must have several hundred itself:

Each of these songs, along with nine-hundred others, are spinning 24/7 on Pop That Goes Crunch radio. Why not check it out?

 

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04 Dec 2013

An American Underdog And Brandon Schott Leave Us Wanting Much More

The A/B EP“Always leave them wanting more.”

That venerable quote perfectly describes the “joint” EP just released by An American Underdog (basically, Andy Reed) and Brandon Schott. The four-song teaser, titled simply The A/B EP, originated online through the artists’ shared admiration of ELO, Elliott Smith and Harry Nilsson.

A virtual collaboration ensued as Reed and Schott contributed to each others’ songs from more than 2,000 miles away. Despite the technology baked into the four tracks, each song nevertheless displays all of the handmade, artisanal qualities of the analog age evident on Reed’s and Schott’s prior efforts, such as this one and this one. The A/B EP delivers four tasty morsels of pure pop goodness to savor until Reed and Schott release their next full-length products.

The digital version of the collection kicks off with Schott’s “Henry,” a joyous romp through three-and-a-half minutes of swirling keyboards, ukeleles, kazoo, glockenspiel and lots of well-placed “la la’s.” What’s not to love?:

Reed’s more wistful “The Show Goes On” follows. Its the perfect vehicle for his gorgeous vocals:

Reed’s “Good Girl” comes next. It’s the emotional center of the collection, as the tension builds steadily throughout the track to a rocking, almost operatic conclusion:

A darker, contemplative mood also marks Schott’s “Verdugo Park (Part 2),” which closes the digital collection. A lot will be written about the many influences at play on this EP, and on the full-length records both artists subsequently release. This one caused me instantly to think of The Zombies’ Odessey & Oracle, particularly (and most fittingly), “Beechwood Park”:

* * * * *

The A/B EP is a stunning preview of what’s to come soon enough from Reed and Schott. You can download it for $4 or get it on vinyl for $7, right here. You certainly will want more — much, much more.

 

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