THE SINCEROS/The Sound Of Sunbathing review

In the late '70s and early '80s, the line between Pure Pop bands and New Wave outfits became intertwined. Most bands that played slick, melodic Beatles-influenced pop were considered Power Pop in the mid '70s but by the time bands like Squeeze, The Sinceros, 20/20, Nick Lowe, The Plimsouls and other like minded acts hit the music scene, they were quickly branded New Wave and marketed as such.

This was not necessarily a bad thing in terms of commercial sales, but we all know that when a music scene dies, it takes most of the bands with it. Some bands (Squeeze, Nick Lowe) were able to rise above but when New Wave became old news, then the bands lost label support and any momentum they had built up.

The Sinceros were an excellent Pop band consisting of four great musicians: Mark Kjeldsen (vocals/guitar), Ron Francois (bass/vocals), Don Snow (keyboards/vocals) and Bobby Irwin (drums). While Kjeldsen was the main frontman and wrote the majority of the songs, both Snow and Francois offered some tasty treats to The Sinceros' repertoire.

On The Sound Of Sunbathing, the band's 1979 debut, was a hook-filled Power Pop party dressed up in dayglo colors... with a little New Wave spice thrown in for good measure. Like Squeeze, The Sinceros' songs were instantly catchy and those lucky enough to hear them would have their melodies stuck in their heads for days, weeks, months and, for us lucky ones, decades!

The album is chock full of great tunes including Kjeldsen's "Little White Lie", "Quick Quick Slow" and "So They Know", Snow's "Hanging On Too Long" and Francois' "Good Luck (To You)", but two songs received the most attention: "World's Apart" and "Take Me To Your Leader". Unfortunately, these two tracks were, at best, average Pop tunes dressed up in quirky New Wave arrangements, which possibly made them more appealing to the masses. Thankfully, the rest of the album is loads better, so anyone suckered in by those two tracks were more than pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the rest of the material. Now, don't get me wrong, those are fine tracks, but compared to the rest of the album, they sound like b-sides!

For music fans not familiar with this great debut, the best way to describe it would be a cross between Squeeze's Cool For Cats and Argy Bargy: not quite as Pub-like as ...Cats, but not quite as accomplished as Argy.

While there's not really a bad song on the album, The Sinceros were still in the process of becoming a GREAT band, something they achieved on Pet Rock, their sophomore album (which I'm hoping is reissued soon!). After that, the band split and the members went their separate ways: Snow ended up in Squeeze (ironically enough) for their Sweets From A Stranger album; Francois joined The Teardrop Explodes and Irwin played drums for Nick Lowe for years and years. Kjeldsen unfortunately passed away in the '90s.

Cherry Red's excellent reissue of The Sound Of Sunbathing retains the UK album cover and track listing and adds three non-album bonus tracks, making this an absolutely essential purchase for any Power Pop, New Wave and '80s music fan.

I can only think of ONE reason why The Sinceros may not have clicked with the youth of the '80s: Kjeldsen's moustache! When New Wave was considered the music of the young generation, anyone with a mustache was considered uncool (including The Stranglers' Dave Greenfield!). Fortunately, Kjeldsen had a full, slightly more fashionable beard by the time of their sophomore album, but it may have been too late! The moustache did them in! Well, I'm not entirely serious... but kinda.

Pure Pop For Now People,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

THE SINCEROS/The Sound Of Sunbathing review

In the late '70s and early '80s, the line between Pure Pop bands and New Wave outfits became intertwined. Most bands that played slick, melodic Beatles-influenced pop were considered Power Pop in the mid '70s but by the time bands like Squeeze, The Sinceros, 20/20, Nick Lowe, The Plimsouls and other like minded acts hit the music scene, they were quickly branded New Wave and marketed as such.

This was not necessarily a bad thing in terms of commercial sales, but we all know that when a music scene dies, it takes most of the bands with it. Some bands (Squeeze, Nick Lowe) were able to rise above but when New Wave became old news, then the bands lost label support and any momentum they had built up.

The Sinceros were an excellent Pop band consisting of four great musicians: Mark Kjeldsen (vocals/guitar), Ron Francois (bass/vocals), Don Snow (keyboards/vocals) and Bobby Irwin (drums). While Kjeldsen was the main frontman and wrote the majority of the songs, both Snow and Francois offered some tasty treats to The Sinceros' repertoire.

On The Sound Of Sunbathing, the band's 1979 debut, was a hook-filled Power Pop party dressed up in dayglo colors... with a little New Wave spice thrown in for good measure. Like Squeeze, The Sinceros' songs were instantly catchy and those lucky enough to hear them would have their melodies stuck in their heads for days, weeks, months and, for us lucky ones, decades!

The album is chock full of great tunes including Kjeldsen's "Little White Lie", "Quick Quick Slow" and "So They Know", Snow's "Hanging On Too Long" and Francois' "Good Luck (To You)", but two songs received the most attention: "World's Apart" and "Take Me To Your Leader". Unfortunately, these two tracks were, at best, average Pop tunes dressed up in quirky New Wave arrangements, which possibly made them more appealing to the masses. Thankfully, the rest of the album is loads better, so anyone suckered in by those two tracks were more than pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the rest of the material. Now, don't get me wrong, those are fine tracks, but compared to the rest of the album, they sound like b-sides!

For music fans not familiar with this great debut, the best way to describe it would be a cross between Squeeze's Cool For Cats and Argy Bargy: not quite as Pub-like as ...Cats, but not quite as accomplished as Argy.

While there's not really a bad song on the album, The Sinceros were still in the process of becoming a GREAT band, something they achieved on Pet Rock, their sophomore album (which I'm hoping is reissued soon!). After that, the band split and the members went their separate ways: Snow ended up in Squeeze (ironically enough) for their Sweets From A Stranger album; Francois joined The Teardrop Explodes and Irwin played drums for Nick Lowe for years and years. Kjeldsen unfortunately passed away in the '90s.

Cherry Red's excellent reissue of The Sound Of Sunbathing retains the UK album cover and track listing and adds three non-album bonus tracks, making this an absolutely essential purchase for any Power Pop, New Wave and '80s music fan.

I can only think of ONE reason why The Sinceros may not have clicked with the youth of the '80s: Kjeldsen's moustache! When New Wave was considered the music of the young generation, anyone with a mustache was considered uncool (including The Stranglers' Dave Greenfield!). Fortunately, Kjeldsen had a full, slightly more fashionable beard by the time of their sophomore album, but it may have been too late! The moustache did them in! Well, I'm not entirely serious... but kinda.

Pure Pop For Now People,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

AIR SUPPLY/Lost In Love & The One That You Love Review

OK, stop laughing.

No, really. STOP laughing!

While many "music" fans look at Air Supply as nothing more than pop fluff, they are missing the point entirely.

Air Supply may not have rocked out, they were never surrounded by controversy and they certainly didn't have much very much street cred... but the Australian duo (Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock) never claimed to be anything than what they were: creators of radio-friendly pop nuggets that often veered close to melodic masterpieces.

Air Supply had previously released albums in Hitchcock's native Australia (Graham was a transplanted Englishman), but they didn't start making waves until their single "Lost In Love" was remixed and edited for the American market. This 1980 debut U.S. single was as close to 'perfect' as pop could get: great melody, great vocals and great arrangement. The song became a massive hit and proved to be the beginning of a long career that continues three decades later.

The single was followed by the album Lost In Love, which also featured the hits "All Out Of Love" and "Every Woman In The World". Though not every track on the album was released as a single, each song features the now-familiar Air Supply pop formula, which makes for a warm and inviting album of pop gems. Yes, it does get schmaltzy at times, but what's wrong with that?

In 1981, the duo released The One That You Love, another corker of a pop album! The album contained even more hit singles, including "Here I Am (Just When I Thought I Was Over You)' and "The One That You Love". And once again, the album is filled with plenty more where those came from!

While not a 'hits' package, Robinsongs/Cherry Red has issued this fantastic two-fer which contains both complete albums on one CD. You get six bona-fide hit singles plus many fan favorites that will take the listener back to happier times when Top 40 music was actually created by real people.. for real people.

I'm not the only one that thinks Air Supply deserves a lot more respect: I'm just the only one that will publicly admit it!

AIR SUPPLY-Lost In Love/The One That You Love (Robinsongs/Cherry Red) is available NOW!

Peace, love and pancakes,

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

GIRL IN A COMA/Trio B.C. Review

When I heard GIRL IN A COMA's first album, Both Before I'm Gone (Blackheart Records), I was impressed by the songs, energy and musicianship but it wasn't enough to blow me away. I certainly loved the way they wore their musical influences on their sleeves and shot a youthful feminine energy into the tired male-dominated Alternative Rock scene. As much as I wanted to LOVE them, I could only LIKE them... alot.

Well, what a difference an album makes!

Trio B.C., the Texas trio's sophomore album, is a major leap forward for the band and one of the finest albums I've heard in eons. Instead of wearing their influences on their sleeves, they've covered them with tattoos and become a truly original band with their own unique GIAC sound. Vocalist/guitarist Nina Diaz may have a voice that might take a moment or two to get used to (sort of a cross 'tween Bjork and early Gwen Stefani), but she now sounds more confident and sexy than ever.

Alongside bandmates Jenn Alva (bass) and sister Phanie Diaz (drums), Nina and GIAC's songs are beautiful things, filled with atmosphere, emotion and a tenderness not found on their debut album. Now, this isn't 'tenderness' in a fake, convoluted American Idol kind of way. This is 'tenderness' that is raw, emotional and sometimes scary. It reaches into the listener's psyche and stirs things around a bit. It is comforting but also confrontational.

The melodies are both haunting and extremely memorable. The girls have traded their 'rock out' combat boots (figuratively speaking) for more comfortable footwear and tend to concentrate more on melody and song structure this time around, which helps to accent the songs' rich emotion, adding texture and a shimmering beauty to the tracks.

Standouts cuts include "Pink Lemonade", "Static Mind", "BB", "Vino" and "Baby Boy", but I've got to be honest: this is an album filled to the brim with standout tracks! My favorite songs change from day to day, so it's hard to really focus on one or two.

While not exactly playing the commercial card, Trio B.C. could be a huge monster of a record. Let me rephrase that: Trio B.C. IS a huge monster of a record. It's in my Top Ten list already and I don't see it leaving it's comfy position by the end of the year.

So, now I absolutely LOVE Girl In A Coma and anxiously await their 3rd album... although I reckon I'll be waiting awhile since this album is only two weeks old!

Life is good!

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

EMPIRE OF THE SUN/Walking On A Dream

You've GOT to get your hands on the debut album from Empire Of The Sun, a collaboration between Luke Steele from The Sleepy Jackson and Pnau main-man Nick Littlemore. Though the occupy the same aural terrain as bands like MGMT, Empire Of The Sun stand out in the crowd, chiefly due to their exceptional melodies and the fact that they don't take themselves too seriously. The spectacular album art was created by multi-Aria award winning design studio Debaser and will look amazing in racks and store displays.

The album's lead single, "Walking On A Dream", is pretty much a pop music masterpiece. It's one of those songs that may sound good on first listen, but the more you hear it, the more you WANT to hear it!

If you haven't heard it yet, then check it out NOW!

UK DECAY/For Madmen Only: Finally available on CD!

UK DECAY's 1981 album FOR MADMEN ONLY is finally hitting stores on CD in July, 2009! More details coming soon!

Here's what we know so far...

2009 digitally remastered and expended edition of this classic 1981 Punk album, appearing for the first time on CD along with eight bonus tracks taken from non-album singles. UK Decay were creators of the Goth and Positive Punk movements and had four #1 records in the UK Independent Chart. The band were among the first Punk groups to make music outside of the original 1234 Punk style, along with Killing Joke and Bauhaus, but retained the Punk spirit, touring the UK and the US with The Dead Kennedys. They also toured the West Coast of America in 1981 with the likes of DOA, Black Flag, Circle Jerks and X. 19 tracks.

DAVID BOWIE: VH1 STORYTELLERS’ TO BE RELEASED ON CD/DVD AND DIGITALLY JULY 14 BY VIRGIN/EMI

Hollywood, California – May 12, 2009 – David Bowie appeared on “VH1 Storytellers” on August 23, 1999, and his episode is remembered by fans as a highlight of VH1’s acclaimed performance series. On July 14, Virgin/EMI will release David Bowie: VH1 Storytellers on CD/DVD and for digital audio purchase from all major digital service providers. The CD/DVD features audio and video for Bowie’s televised performance of eight songs, plus bonus video of four performances taped during his “Storytellers” session, but not aired in the show’s original broadcast. The digital audio release also includes the eight originally televised songs and the four bonus performances.



Featuring intimate performances accompanied by personal stories and recollections by a diverse array of top music stars, each one-hour episode of “VH1 Storytellers” takes viewers behind the scenes with a single artist or group, including Ray Davies (whose 1996 appearance launched the series), Elvis Costello, Coldplay, R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Kanye West. To date, more than 60 episodes of “VH1 Storytellers” have aired on VH1.



“We were used to dealing with legendary musicians,” says “VH1 Storytellers” Executive Producer, Bill Flanagan, in his liner notes essay for the new Bowie release. “Still, landing David Bowie was more than a big booking. There's no way to say this without being corny: it was an honor. Bowie has a unique place in rock & roll. He is not only one of the most influential musicians of the era, he does nothing unless he is fully committed. He never phones it in.”



Flanagan continues, “Bowie's ‘Storytellers’ was a unique theatrical event, a sort of off-Broadway ‘Evening with the Artist’ in which a great songwriter used bits and pieces from his life and career to show us all the roads leading up to a single moment, a complement to his current album but also a performance strong enough to stand on its own: a compelling introduction to David Bowie for the uninitiated and a fresh experience for the long time fan.”