August 2021 REVIEWS

by Mike Baron

SORROWS: Love Too Late (Big Stir)

The Sorrows were a popular late seventies/early eighties band in
New York who made a splash with their first album. They cut a deal with
a major label to record their follow up, Love Too Late, and the producer
replaced the original members with studio musicians. It had little to do
with the band. Now, forty years later, the original members have
reformed to record Love Too Late the way it was meant to be and the
result is a propulsive, infectious power pop gem reminiscent of the
first Knack and The Beat, to name a few, but with their own spin,
beginning with the Arthur Alexander-penned “Christabelle.”

Not since Cheap Trick’s “Hello There” has a record thundered into your heart on
the first song like this. “Crying Time” starts with a reggae beat that
changes up in tto pure energy. “Play This Song” harks back to the late
great The Deal in chord structure, but the Sorrows pack more punch.
Drummer Luis Herrera sounds like a busy octopus on “What I Used To
Know,” and the inclusion of the Kinks’ “Tired of Waiting” doesn’t hurt.
You can tell an Arthur Alexander tune by its urgent rhythm and Chuck
Berry overtones, as in “It’s Not Love Anymore,” and the record closes
with the Joey Cola/Alexander whammy of “Street Punk Blues” which
reminded me of nothing so much as the one/two punch that closes Ulysses’
Kill You Again.

THE PEPPERMINT KICKS (Rum/Bar)

Straight out of the eighties yet modern as tomorrow, the Peppermint
Kicks mix smart chords with songs that rock. A touch of prog, a touch of
pub, beginning with the anthem-ready aptly named “When Rock & Roll Met
Your Dad. “Strawberry Girls” would fit on any mid-period XTC album.
“Johnny D’s” has particularly elegant chords, while “The Morning Girls”
is classic power pop. “Roxetta Jones” kills with traces of Superlicious
and a Ulysses-like hook. “Rock & Roll Rampage” is hard rock except for
that Left Banke-like interlude, which lights it up like a single drop of
black in a bucket of white paint.

KURT BAKER: After Party (Wicked Cool)

Kurt Baker makes infectious, smart power pop reminiscent of the
Plimsouls, Paul Collins’ The Beat, and Graham Parker. He likes
background chatter. There’s chatter on opener “New Direction,”
“Wandering Eyes,” and “She Don’t Really Love You, Dude,” And Kurt showed
up on Brad Marino’s latest to provide some background chatter. None of
this chatter detracts from Baker’s superb rock instincts, fresh tonics,
bridges, and hooks that permeate every song. He has a caramel singing
voice similar to Zac Anthony of the Wellingtons, a perfect voice for
this type of music.

“I Like Her A Lot” has an Ed James shape, lodging in your skull and
crushing all other earworms until you hear the next song. “Used To
Think” begins with classic Beach Boys Do Wop Diddit before morphing into
straight-up power pop. Kurt channels Burt Bacharach for “A Song and a
Drink.” Dionne Warwick could have sung this. There are no bad songs.
This is on a par with the best of Marshall Crenshaw or Graham Parker,
but Kurt rocks harder.

WANDERLUST – All A View (Special Edition, 3CD set)

The new three disc Wanderlust set is too big to have a name. Each
disc has its own name. Each disc is a towering masterpiece of
intelligent pop, churning guitars, and stacked harmonies. All A View was
recorded in an apartment but you’d never know it from the sound quality.
Wanderlust encapsulates most of power pop history, recalling many other
bands but always remaining true to their unique vision. Thus, “2 Million
Pieces” has a touch of the Hang Ups and the Zombies. A strain of prog
runs through this disc, with its lush harmonies and cascading chords.
“Poetry and Pen” suggests both Field Music and the Posies. “Corduroy
Moon” combines a swooning melody with a three part harmony that would do
CS&N proud. “Liars Stick Together” is gorgeous art deco with a gold wall
of harmonies, reminiscent of Rob Bonfiglio’s solo record, which is
brilliant. Surprisingly, Rob doesn’t contribute much in the way of
writing, but overwhelms on guitar and backing harmonies.

Appartamento de Ke’Set is the acoustic set. Song #2 could have been
written by Blake Shelton or George Jones. I’d tell you the name, but the
art direction is confusing with lots of handwritten lyrics in small
print. This entire disc has a whiff of Laurel Canyon, the harmonies, the
strumming, the chamber music delicacy recalls CS&N, Joni Mitchell,
Beachwood Sparks, Poco, and a hundred other bands, with musicianship
that is at least equal to the classics.

Life From Sigma Sound is as good as any studio recording as the
group roars through eighteen tracks, marked by dueling guitars straight
out of the Allman Brothers or Derek and the Dominoes. Posies DNA in
“Wanna Feel New,” with prog and Zombies fiber in “Before We Fade.”

An explosion of visionary power pop.