David Myhr: Soundshine

Bubblegun by the Merrymakers was one of those albums that ticked every box for me as soon as I heard it.  I just played and played the thing when I first got it and still very much do to this day.  It was most probably over a year after I bought Bubblegun that I picked up a copy of a copy of their 1997 debut No sleep til’ famous.  Songs such as ‘Smiling in the sky’ which with its heart-stopping harmonies made me fall in love with the album instantly.

Then nothing.  No more albums.  I waited and waited and waited.  Then some news on their website saying they were working on new material.  I was beside myself with excitement.

Then nothing until one day I saw a clip on YouTube of some demos that David Myhr was working on.  A solo album!  Yes, i’ll take that.  Much excitement ensued.

So jump forward some months and i’m hanging round in London waiting for a gig to start taking some photos by the Thames and who should walk past but David Myhr.  Honestly, what are the chances?  I wandered over to say hello and he gave me a CDR of a song from his up-coming album ‘Soundshine’ which was – as you’d expect – great.  It whetted my appetite for the full album and was thrilled when the lovely Andrew from Lojinx threw me a copy.

It is exactly as good you’d hope it should be.  Every track is bubbly, happy, infectious pop of the most upbeat variety.  It’s like crack for your ears.

Listen out for the Jeff Lynne-esque vocals on Got You Where He Wanted — watch the video for it over at Lojinx.

There isn’t a single duff song on the whole album.  It’s 100% killer.

I can’t recommend this album enough.  It’d take something pretty special to knock this off my number #1 spot for the best of 2012.

If you’re in the UK then head over to Lojinx and read more, or more important go to Amazon and grab it in pre-order and left the guitar jangling ring out.

Our American friends can get it on import from Amazon (US).

Mike Lombardo feat. The Caulden Road – The Alchemist

Hello friends and pals and internetty buddies! I wanted to drop back in to let you know of a new project from Mike Lombardo. You may remember my post a while back about his music. If you love piano-pop, check him out. This new project is a bit of a departure, but no less exciting and engaging. The 15 minute EP is a concept album in the musical theatre tradition. It tells the story of the titular alchemist who makes a potion to send himself back in time to save his love. Musically, it is very ambitious and sounds great. What’s cool is that this was conceived of and finished in 3 weeks. For most people that could result in a shoddy production, but this sounds just as good if they had spent a year on it. Don’t let the musical aspects scare you away, these songs have a good pop structure, and stand alone for the most part. Give it a chance and have fun with it! Enjoy!

http://mikelombardomusic.com


http://thecauldenroad.com


http://dft.ba/alchemist
 - To buy the physical copy for $6 – with downloads

http://mikelombardo.bandcamp.com/album/the-alchemist
 - To buy just download for $3.99

Faith in music restored

For the most part, I have found 2008 to be a very disappointing year for music. Most artists I’ve favored the last couple of years failed to impress with their latest efforts such as The Fratellis, The Kooks, Dirty Pretty Things, and Mystery Jets, just to name a few. Not to say it’s all been bad, I really loved the new releases from The Charlatans and Primal Scream, but these are groups who have been doing this for well over a decade. There seems to be very little new talent arising.