By many considered to be the very first album of the genre, this next essential powerpop album is a true gem that everyone should be aware of. The importance of Big Star’s debut album “#1 Record” from 1972 can hardly be ignored, influenced, as it has, bands like The Posies (whom I focused the last issue on), Teenage Fanclub and Matthew Sweet to mention a few. Big Star is a band that didn’t get its deserved recognition back when they started out in the early 70’s, but has gained some interest in later years - much like Nick Drake.

This is yet another of those albums that, in my opinion, doesn’t have a single weakness. Not a bad track. It’s got the real rocker tracks like “Don’t Lie To Me”, “In the Street” and “Feel”, as well as beautiful ballads such as “Thirteen” and “The Ballad of El Goodo”, which might be one of the most beautiful songs ever written.

Big Star disbanded in the mid-70’s but reformed in 1993, adding Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow from The Posies to the lineup. They also contributed to the 2005 album “In Space” which is a fine piece of work, although it doesn’t even come close to the debut.

Here’s a YouTube clip from The Tonight Show with the new lineup performing “In the Street” (which you might recognize from That 70’s Show, for which Cheap Trick recorded their own version)

Review of “I Don’t Want It” single

Sweden’s best kept secret is easily The Genuine Fakes. They have yet to release an album, but the buzz on this band is deservingly huge! They don’t hide the fact that they are all about power pop, and fans of Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, The Posies and The Merrymakers will welcome The Genuine Fakes with open arms. This band aint kidding around… they are serious of climbing to the top of the power pop charts, and with super high quality music like “I Don’t Want It”, they deserve to get ther. Look for the first full length album in the fall of 2010.

Popbang Radio

Review of “Something New”

HEAVEN CAN BE FOUND WITHIN A POP SONG
When people refer to pop music these days, they mean Britney Spears, Aaron Carter, Ashlee Simpleton, uh- I mean Simpson and all the teeny-twerps on MTV/TRL. Well, when we used to talk about about pop music, this song would have been the very definition. A solitary sweet but stinging electric guitar opens the tune, quickly followed by bass and drums, then finally the whole band. The song is reminiscent of Todd Rundgren/Utopia meets Cheap Trick meets Jellyfish. Great vocals, great melody, great musicianship and great production. The ending is relentless and makes you want to put your fist through the roof. Since I can’t really do that, I’m just gonna yell- yee hah, and play the song again. Congratulations- we have a winner.

Garageband.com

Review of “Irreplaceable”

Proud members of the power-pop fraternity populated by Dwight Twilley, Big Star, Teenage Fanclub and the like, this Swedish trio convincingly transforms the steely Beyoncé ballad [Irreplaceable] into something that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fountains of Wayne album.

thestar.com

Recension av “I Don’t Want It” (demo)

Det här låter verkligen Popsicle. Sångaren försöker låta Popsicle, låtar försöker låta Popsicle, texterna försöker låta Popsicle. Och de lyckas hur bra som helst. Och jag älskar det. Förbehållslöst. Jag vet inte varför egentligen, kanske “for nostalgic reasons”, för det är verkligen inte nyskapande på något sätt. Men oj va bra det är. Och jag vet, man ska vara så jävulskt nyskapande, man ska förakta allting gammalt, man ska älska det nya helt oreflekterat bara för att det är nytt. Speciellt som skribent (jag hävdar inte att jag är en skribent, mest en allmän iakttagelse). Men vad gör man om man älskar någonting bara för att det är bra, inte för att det är nytt? Äh, jag vet inte, jag tänker inte ljuga för er, jag gillar det grymt mycket. Det låter precis som en treminuters (nästan fyraminuters, faktiskt) poplåt ska låta, och det behövs inte mer, speciellt inte i slutet på mars när snön börjar smälta bort och våren till slut kan kämpa sig upp till ytan. För våren, det är gitarrpopens bästa årstid, och det är då jag lyssnar på The Genuine Fakes. Och Popsicle.

Popochskit.blogspirit.com

The Genuine Fakes are:

• Joey Fake - lead vocals / guitars
• Morty Fake - bass / backing vocals
• Johnny Fake - drumkit / backing vocals
• Tommy Fake - keyboards / backing vocals

The Genuine Fakes is the new hope of powerpop in Sweden. Their songs are fueled by rock and catchy singalong melodies.

The band was formed in late 2005 in a basement in Södermalm in Stockholm. The guys; that shared a love for melodic pop and moustaches joined up and beautiful music came to be instantaneously. Influences from bands such as 90’s indie legends Popsicle from Sweden, The Posies, The Wildhearts, Fountains of Wayne, Weezer, Jellyfish, Cheap Trick and Pearl Jam, to name a few, were forged in a way that creates a unique sound in this day and age. You’ve got beautiful harmonies on a thick, powerful foundation of distorted guitars, Hammond organ, McCartney-esque bass lines and noisy drums. The instrumentation is raw and the vocals are as slick as The Beatles’ were in their prime. The band delivers three and four part harmonies that you haven’t seen or heard the likeness of live since the last Jellyfish tour in 1993. A concertgoer perhaps described it best: “It’s Popsicle-rock with Beach Boys harmonies!”

The creativity flourished and a whole album’s worth of songs were written over a couple of short months before it was time for the first gig in January of 2006. Since then the band has played most of the Stockholm rock clubs, such as Alcazar, Klubben and Stampen to name a few. The year was topped off with a critically acclaimed performance at the Rookie Festival in Hultsfred, handpicked as one of 30 bands amongst thousands of applicants.

In conjunction with the Rookie Festival the band released its first single, entitled “Star”. It quickly sold out and has been downloaded persistently on MySpace since then. The first full length album is currently in the making, and the band is shopping around for labels to release it at this moment.

The band has also recorded a couple of interesting covers. One is a Posies song called “Somehow Everything” which was released in the US on “Beautiful Escape: The Ultimate Tribute to The Posies” (Burning Sky Records). The other one is an original interpretation of Beyoncé’s smash hit “Irreplaceable”. It has become an instant live favorite, winning over even the most skeptical listener. Thestar.com describes it: “Proud members of the power-pop fraternity populated by Dwight Twilley, Big Star, Teenage Fanclub and the like, this Swedish band convincingly transforms the steely Beyoncé ballad into something that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fountains of Wayne album.”

As a live act they’re a true force to be reckoned with. There’s a brand new band in town!