BARELY PINK 
Last Day of Summer (Not Lame; CD)
     Although this Florida power pop combo take their name from the lipstick colour referenced in Valley of The Dolls their music doesn't follow a similar kitsch aesthetic. Barely Pink play tough, powerful pop with Cheap Trick influences.
     These days a lot of bands play in this style, which I can enjoy in a live setting, but it takes top notch song writing to carry it through an entire album.Barely Pink would sound great on the radio, or on a four song EP, but the simple chord changes and loud guitars wear thin after a while, because the songs aren't consistently memorable enough. There is, however, a lot of promise in the best tunes. The opening song, 'Girl In the Crowd', is a good, powerful bubblegum pop number, but the next few songs are rather ordinary.
     Half way through the album, a gorgeous stand out emerges to confound me. 'Mercury Girl' is a really strong acoustic ballad, and is easily the best song here, partly because the melody isn't swamped by power chords. The lyrics are pretty inventive too; "You live in fahrenheit, I'm stuck in centigrade". 
     Elsewhere the lyrics are standard fare. Do we really need another song named 'California?'
     The next album will tell if the band can mould something a little more original from the "rousing choruses and tough guitars" template.
www.notlame.com
Phil Suggitt

CAPTAIN SOUL
Jetstream Lovers (Poptones; CD)
     I can't help feeling some bonhomie with these guys - we both hail from swingin' rural Northamptonshire and their album was recorded at a studio where my old band cut half a dozen sessions ten years ago. Alan McGee and Joe Foster obviously have faith in them too - they're one of only a handful of bands to survive the recent turbulence at Poptones. 
     The Byrds-derived name is an instant giveaway but Captain Soul are far from being Rickenbacker-wielding 60's revivalists sporting granny glasses and Dylan obsessions. The Caledonian/Californian melodicism of Adam Howorth's proficient song writing places them more in the classic Creation/Poptones tradition of Teenage Fanclub and Cosmic Rough Riders while the ghost of The Stone Roses and Oasis lurk in the blissed-out beats and soporific tempos. New single 'Show Me A Way' should be all over the radio this summer if there's any justice, particularly in these temporarily enlightened times when lesser talents like The Thrills are shifting thousands of albums, getting nominated for the Mercury Prize and gracing the pages of every music rag on the market with bewildering regularity.
     My only beef with Jetstream Lovers is the running order. By kicking off with some of the album's weaker pieces (the indie-rock-by-numbers opener 'I Am A Rolling Stone', 'It's Alright, It's OK''s dubious glam affectations), the more discerning listener may not even get as far as hearing the fabulous, yearning 'Looking For Love' or the gorgeous, uplifting 'Captain of Your Soul' - a great shame as these songs are this fine band's saving grace.
www.poptones.co.uk
Andy Morten

THE CAROUSELS 
A Bend In the River (Sugar Cane; CD EP) 
     Doncaster's Carousels have an undeniably original sound. On 'A Bend In the River', which appears here in a single and extended version, the 10-piece band include snatches of Americana, traditional jazz clarinets, mariachi brass, slide guitars, spaghetti western themes and female backing vocals. If this mix of influences sounds horrible on paper, it isn't on record. I love their efforts to defy categorisation and be wholly original. 
     The lead vocals and overall "feel" of the songs on this EP remind me of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, although the band are miles away from Texas Swing. If the songs can shed this slight "old-timey" feel The Carousels could do really well. Having developed a really original sound, they need to develop a batch of songs that will fully do them justice. Like Doncaster Rovers, the songs on this EP are not bad, and are on the cusp of better things!
     Extra points for a groovy sleeve depicting a baby alien sitting by a window in his romper suit.
http://www.btinternet.com/~thesugarcaneclub/records.htm
Phil Suggitt

FEEL
Feel (Curb; CD)
     These days the "power pop" umbrella seems to cover many different styles of music that regularly overlap. You have the 'B' bands whose work shows the classic influences of The Beatles, Badfinger, Big Star, The Byrds etc. Then there is the "power" school, ranging from punky pop to the tough guitar pop that the Australians do so well. There is a gentler, almost acoustic strain, with hardly any power but lots of pop, as well as a bunch of neo-AOR bands heavily influenced by the likes of Cheap Trick, ELO, and Jellyfish. Lots of artists play in a range of styles, although there are a few who have transcended their influences and are instantly recognisable.
     Pop aficionados may feel that this is a series of crass, simplistic generalisations, but it isn't intended as a criticism. Power pop isn't a matter of copying your heroes, but it DOES involve a synthesis of classic influences. I enjoy bands who approach power pop in all the ways mentioned above, whilst others don't hold my attention for more than a couple of numbers. It isn't a matter of the style but the songs; have the band got the tunes to match the sound?
     In the case of Feel, the answer is a definite "yes". Feel are more about pop than power. The melodies, all written by Scot Sax, are never swamped by the guitars. A typical Feel song begins as a quiet, almost acoustic piece, building with subtle Hammond parts to a yearning chorus. The ten tunes here contain a lot of variety, subtleties and neat harmonies. 'Got Your name On It' and 'I Am The Summertime' are good examples.
     Although the booklet includes all the lyrics, there is little information about the band other than their American origin. I thought of typing 'Feel' in a search engine, but thought better of it!
Phil Suggitt

GIRL TROUBLE
Illusions Of Excitement (Wig Out Records; CD)
     This busy sounding four-piece on Takoma's Wig Out label serve up a fiesty menu of focused and well energised guitar led numbers. No grunge or post grunge here, just clean sounding and vibrant songs. The album in its first half especially, is nearer to power pop than "rock" per se, but pop punk fans will also find pleasure here too. Singer K.P. Kendall has a confident and emotive voice, but tends to come across like Lux Interior's (of The Cramps) long lost twin, increasingly so as the album progresses (especially on 'Rockin' Good Way' and 'Stalking' for instance) but this is not necessarily a bad thing of course! 'Going Going For It' is the one slower number that divides the album and in the second half the tightness slips just a little. There are two cool sax-led instrumentals 'Simulator' and hidden track 12(b)! which are highly sixties flavoured and which I enjoyed a lot. With peppy drumming and enveloping guitar figures this is a most enjoyable album. The songs are fast without being furious and have some very hooky moments. As such, I'm sure that Girl Trouble's excitement is far from illusory!
http://www.luth.org/girltrouble/
Paul Martin

MARTIN GORDON
The Baboon In The Basement (Radiant Future; CD)
     Gordon's name will be familiar to Shindiggers for his work with the bands Sparks, Jet, and Radio Stars, as well as his more recent stint with the reformed John's Children. The Baboon In The Basement is Gordon's first solo album and it's a good 'un, most reminiscent of early '80s (read: non Deface The Music) Utopia in all its colossal glory. Gordon pulls off everything very keenly with a little help from his geographically diverse friends, guitarist Andy Reimer, ex-Jet and John's Children drummer Chris Townson, and lead vocalist Pelle Almgren, whose balls-out pipes may remind listeners of the great contemporary popster, Doug Powell. There's no holds barred on The Baboon In The Basement, as every song is high-octane pop spiked with Reimer's beefy guitar licks and thick production by Gordon, who also pens most of the tunes. 
     Songs like 'It's Like It's Like,' 'Why Do I,' 'Hit Him On The Head (With A Hammer)' and 'She's So Pleasant Today' are excellent slices of uber pop, while the title track adds a little rhythm for taste. The band also does some creditable covers of The Stones' 'We Love You,' the Tyrannosaurus Rex tune 'Warlord of The Royal Crocodiles,' and The Move's classic 'Tonight'. Gordon's lyrical bent is quite clever throughout the album, but reaches its apex on the very funny 'Greenfinger'. The best track herein is 'Anyway Goodbye,' which will not leave your head for hours because its amazing chorus is unshakable. 
     The Baboon In The Basement is a very solid first effort by this veteran. Let's hope there will be many more. 
www.martingordon.de
David Bash

MICHAEL LYNCH
That's Not The Way It Should Be (Nanker; CD)
     Anyone who isn't a Shindig! reader may guffaw at this collection due to the tunes' approximation of the mid-60s. But then that 's exactly the point here, and the dweebs at the NME who would criticise this and then give The Coral's (may I say wonderful) Magic & Medicine a praise worthy review (even if the album is trading on '60s-doms) just goes to show the insanity of the modern world. Yes, the average rock crit these days is clueless! On one hand their favouritism towards old sounds is great ... but then again, it's a style that they hated last year... and so on. A vicious, predictable cycle! The point: '60s sounding bands have never had it better, but those who openly admit to playing in the style of the era will remain to be slandered for eternity. Okay rant over... but these sure are weird times that we're living in!
     Michael Lynch (a regular over at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shindig-Magazine/) has no qualms in admitting that the music he makes is a direct response to the records that soundtrack his life. '60s records!!! Admittedly I hadn't heard his take on '60s garage pop up until now and have been more than presently surprised by these five songs, as they really do capture the essence of mid-'60s American teen bands inspired by The Beatles, Byrds and big hook laden choruses. 'That's Not The Way It Should Be' comes across like Preflytye era Byrds, 'Happy For You Babe' veers towards a mid-tempo Mersey flavour not unlike The E-Types, 'Act of Kindness' echoes The Sound of '67 Paul Revere & The Raiders and a forlorn Turtles/Association vibe is achieved on 'Won't You Hear My Song'. All memorable pop tunes!
     No boundaries are being broken. But then there's nothing quite like the honesty that only a sparse jangling guitar, a simple melody and a tambourine can provide is there? And Michael does this wonderfully!
     The term garage is now a misdemeanour, so if you wanna hear the type of garage music that SD magazine craves for, it's here. Recommended!
nankerphlg@aol.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE OUT CROWD
Go On, Give A Damn (Elephant Stone; CD) 
     Checking their webpage, one notes that this American band seem to specialise in playing totally mismatched gigs with the likes of The Burning Brides, The Catheters and The Datsuns. They must have gone down about as well as a reversal of the infamous "Jimi Hendrix supports The Monkees" bill. Garage punk this lot definitely aren't. One of them (Matt Hollywood) used to be in The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The All Music Guide (on whom I must rely here, as the BJM's magnificent moniker wasn't sufficient to encourage me to buy their records) reckons The Out Crowd sound virtually identical to his ex-band. That is, like a rather listless cross between The Leaving Trains and XTC's more pastoral moments. This is their debut release, an EP produced by one of The Dandy Warhols. Of the five songs, 'Good Morning' is probably the best, being a poppy and tuneful ditty. They're probably a bit more successful when they're not trying to sound like The Doors or The Velvet Underground. Unfortunately, they spend most of the disc trying to do this. Top tip: DON'T write songs about "The Reptile Queen", whose lyric even Jim Morrison would have rejected as too wanky (oh OK then, he probably wouldn't have) and DO use the female keyboardist's harmony vocals as often as possible as to form a counterpoint to Hollywood's voice, which can get a bit whiny after a while. And having a photo of self-same keyboardist licking The Rolling Stones "lips" tattoo on a bloke's arse is to also to be applauded. Well done madam!
www.elephantstonerecords.com
Betty Chienne

THE PILLBUGS
The Pillbugs (Proverus; CD)
     OK, no guesses what's in store here - the pseudo-psychedelic sleeve montage and ludicrously posed band photo complete with strawberry shades and kitsch ephemera are a dead giveaway - we're in Pepper/Piper pastiche territory and no mistake. The question on these occasions is whether you're gonna get an accomplished, affectionate, accurate artefact akin to the Dukes of Stratosphear albums or a synthetic, soulless, too-clever-by-half project like Andrew Gold's Fraternal Order of The All.
     Well, the Pillbugs occupy a space somewhere in between. 
     They're a bona fide band with an arsenal of real instruments including sitar and strings and they know how to use them, they've got the smooth sun-kissed Notting Hill-via-Los Angeles vocal harmonies down pretty well and main man Mark Mikel and buddies write well-formed little songs that recall the softer side of LSD-era Beatles, Beach Boys, Zombies, Strawberry Alarm Clock et al. 
     Sadly, the very nature of what they do is hard to get excited about and they don't inject quite enough of their own personality into proceedings to entice you back for another visit. You want string-laden sunshine pop? You listen to Sagittarius. Fey art school psychedelia? Blossom Toes were pretty good at that. Fuzz guitars fighting harpsichords? Try We The People.
     As a tribute act to an Austin Powers-esque 60's where everything was made of purple plastic, revolved and played 'Spanish Flea' when you touched it, The Pillbugs have just enough wit and observational prowess to pull it off but it would take a stronger stomach than mine to sit through the 30-odd cuts on offer here for a second time.
     Maybe next time they should try really writing their own material.
     And fellas… the photos suck.
www.proverus.com
www.pillbugs.com
Andy Morten

THE STONEAGE HEARTS
Suzie (Butterfly; 45)
     Sounding not unlike a product of the UK circa '78-'81 The Stoneage Hearts throw in some Squeeze (on 'Shoot My Mouth Off' Danny McDonald does a good impression of a pissed of Chris Difford) and come across somewhat like a pastoral XTC on a decent cover of Timon's psych-pop-bubblegum corker 'The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane'. It's just a shame that topside 'Suzie' is a predictable yobby rocker that does the band no favours… stick with the pop lads!
www.butterfly-records.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

TRUE LOVE
I Was Accident (Not Lame; CD)
     I was a little worried to discover that members of True Love previously did time in Mars Needs Guitars and Shake Appeal, two bands that had great names but lacked similarly great tunes. I needn't have worried, as I Was Accident is a pleasant surprise - a varied and exciting power pop album. 
     The first song 'Burn Rubber' is a simple pop tune with loud guitars. I was expecting eleven more of the same, but was proved immediately wrong by song two, 'Mr Sad', which has a neat jangly melody. The third song starts with sax and unusual percussion - no predictable rifferama here. All my guesses were confounded. You'd expect a song called 'Ilovegirlswholoverockandroll' to be a crude, fast rocker, right? Wrong. It is a slow ballad that begins with hand bells (or wind chimes?) and doesn't even have any drums.
     The twelve songs might almost be six 45s back-to-back, as fast pop-rockers are followed by slower and often more adventurous tunes. This could be explained by the fact that the band is comprised of three equal singer-songwriters, Ray Kubian, Keith Hartel and "the squirrel". Individual song credits are not given, but clearly a lot of different influences are at work.
     Having three vocalists is an asset, particularly on songs like 'Service of The Knife', where the chorus has the heartfelt, yearning quality of the best power pop. Guest Richard Lloyd also contributes some restrained guitar parts.
www.notlame.com
Phil Suggitt

VARIOUS
Antipodean Screams (Off The Hip; CD)
     First there was the Do The Pop double CD then Raven's Born Out of Time comp and most recently, another double, Tales From The Australian Underground, all of which charted the primal amplified sounds of Australia's neo garage dwellers from the late '70s through to the early '90s. These comps seem to have spread like a rash from seemingly nowhere in the last year or two! As the latest addition to this rock 'n' roll heritage comes Off The Hip's report on the garage punk state of play in the Australia of 2003. 
     If you have been smitten by any of the above then you will want to go here as well. Any one of the acts on this silver platter could knock aural holes into reinforced concrete! Not grunge, not metal, just plain honest high energy, octane fuelled garage rock'n'roll music. Perhaps The Green Circles might be the most well known act on this collection, whose 'Knee Jerk Reaction' makes all the right moves. Elsewhere you get The Fanatics tribute to the Farfisa organ and punked up instro surf guitar in the shape of The Alohas 'Kooksville', and Ian Wettenhall, who lives in house full of vintage analogue musical equipment, presents us with his raucous 'Pirate Lies'. The disc kicks off with the very agreeable riff that is Dom Mariani's (ex Stems, Someloves) new group, 12 0'Clock Shadow's 'Hellbound Train'. An appropriate title for another generation's worth of Stooges, MC5 and Heartbreakers based guitar loudness. Names such as The Drones, Naked Eye, The Stoneage Hearts, Asteroid B-612 and Roll Cage for instance might be as anonymous as a Conservative opposition cabinet member right now, but you could do a lot worse than get to know them better via this speaker shredding comp. I swear if it could, this little 5 incher would exude perspiration in buckets!
www.offthehip.com.au
Paul Martin

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Carnivals, Cotton Candy, And You: Orange Sky Records Compilation (Orange Sky; CD)
     Knowing next to nothing about Orange Sky Records or the bands on the label, it seemed the best way to approach this compilation was to bypass the sleevenotes and get on with listening to the music. Not a bad plan, as it turned out. There are quite a few good songs for a V/A album. And it opens with a stormer: 'If That's What You Want' by The Sights. A power pop cracker, it totally contradicts the received impression I had of them as a garage band (that'd be the NME lying - or possibly not knowing their arse from their elbow - again). The Electromagnetic hark back to the late '80s with their somewhat Darling Buds-esque male/female harmonies, and The Volta Sound sound like a sparser acoustic version of Blur (the lead singer is a total Albarn soundalike) on 'Hey Babe'. Some nice upfront acoustic piano too. Honeyrider are clearly aspiring to a Teenage Fanclub/Mamas and Papas classic pop moment on 'Summer's Almost Gone'. Happily, they succeed. The Mojo Filters (wasn't that also the name of the McCartney/Weller/Gallagher 'supergroup'?) are a bit less interesting. Not bad, just less exuberant/tuneful than the rest. Especially when followed by the dreamy Belle & Sebastian meet Eric 'Where Is He Now?' Matthews sound of The Witch Hazel Sound. The next couple of songs are a bit 'ish' as well, not helped by the fact that the lead singer of The Out Crowd sounds like Bobby Gillespie (yuk) and Moroccan are far too Weller (yes, him again) in their late 1960s getting-it-together-in-the-country-complete-with-bongos styling. Then The Alphabet perk things back up again with their splendid psychedelic phasing and backwards tape effects epic 'They Had No Faces'. New Planet Trampoline give their sound a Farfisa veneer, though the underlying song is basically indie rock. Closing track 'Postcards From L.A.' by The Terrapin Gun could (aptly enough) fit right into the Postcard Records oeuvre. Clearly the majority of the 11 bands presented here are heavily influenced by 1980s British pop and the listener's feelings about that period will probably dictate whether you take to this music or not. But The Sights, Honeyrider, The Witch Hazel Sound and The Alphabet all sound like they have the potential to rise above their influences.
www.dionysusrecords.com/orangesky/
Jane Farrell

THE WINNERYS
And… The Winnerys (Rock Indiana; CD)
     After wooing a lucky few with their self-produced demos collection last year, Madrid's The Winnerys have finally unleashed their debut long player. From the punning title and cover image of a gold Rickenbacker statuette (you got it yet?) to the fake names (Sugar, Magic, Happy and Hammer) you know this is gonna be a fun record.
     The Beatles are without doubt the overriding influence here but rather than simply attempting to re-write such painfully over-plundered source material, The Winnerys excel in taking the spirit of their heroes and dragging it into their world, here and now. They're four good friends playing guitars together, hung up on the joys of a heartbreaking chord change and the universal lyrical themes of love and loss, happiness and despair.
     Using the woody, semi-acoustic fabisms of Help! and Rubber Soul as their template ('It's Up To You', 'Messages Inside') they effortlessly stir in plenty of 1978 Jam/Costello pop-art grit ('I Tremble', 'Breaking The Ice'), a dash of LSD enlightenment (particularly on swirling centrepiece 'Little Dark Cloud'), velveteen three-part harmonies and some jaw-dropping McGuinn-esque 12-string runs courtesy of Fausto Martin (Sugar, natch!) whose nimble-fingered mastery of the Rickenbacker is exemplary throughout (check out the lead break on 'Your Smile For Me').
     And it's all sung in accent-free English for us dumb monolingual types!
     And… The Winnerys is a good old-fashioned guitar pop album, crammed with hooks that keep re-acquainting themselves with your brain when you least expect it. 
     They've already written the soundtrack to my summer. Don't let 'em get away from you.
www.rockindiana.biz
Andy Morten