June Album Reviews: Bloody Red Baron

GUEST POST: Mike Baron

Jun 21, 2024

Mike Baron (aka Bloody Red Baron) was the longtime album reviewer for Pop Geek Heaven. With the closure of that legendary power pop newsletter, we are very happy to host his latest round of album reviews here at Remember The Lightning.

Valley Lodge—Shadows In Paradise (Kool Kat)

Valley Lodge hails from NYC but they sound heartland with their vibrant, hook-laden, harmony-driven songs, carried along in an enormous power pop wave. “Daylights” opens with an explosion of dense sound highlighted by furious guitar. Whenever I hear guitar like this I think of those parochial “100 Best Guitarists of All Time” lists. I know guitarists right here in the small town in which I live that go note for note with Eric Clapton. Certainly Valley Lodge’s Dave Hill and guest Doug Gillard can.

Their “everything but the kitchen sink approach” includes kazoo, an integral part of “I Wrote A Song.” Big crunching again on “Hanging Around” and “Trouble.” “After School” is an urgent thrasher. The harmonies on “Dyin’” approach Sun Sawed in ½ level, the very highest level of pop harmonies achievable without exceeding the normal range of human hearing. Valley Lodge offers full speed ahead similar to Supergrass, although with a wider palette. Top Ten contender.

Dan Miraldi—Ulysses (Self-Released)

Dan Miraldi’s eighth album mixes low-key and high energy on alternating tracks, most of which wail with echoes of the British invasion, such as “Internet Women,” which would fit The Hollies during their “Look Through Any Window” period. Nashville twang creeps into the anthemic “Unfollow Me,” reminiscent of Bill Lloyd, not that Dan sounds like Lloyd, but it’s the type of song Lloyd would write. “Almost Sounds Sincere” about a plastic girl suggests the contours of an earlier age. Something Big Star would write. “You’re My Home” is a lilting low-key charmer, and the closer “Christmas (I Think I’m Gonna Be Sad)” strikes at the soul yet remains power pop.

Various Artists—Jagger & Richards (Jem Records)

Jem Records asked a number of bands to record Stones songs. These songs are instantly identifiable. What’s surprising is how little it takes to transform them into power pop. The Midnight Callers’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is not one of them. The contours are uniquely Stones, and there’s a crazy sax wailing throughout. Does it work? Of course. You’d need Lawrence Welk to kill these songs.

The Airport 77s’ “Too Tight” is unabashedly power pop, and Nick Piunti’s “Ruby Tuesday” is power pop on steroids. Paul Collins’ “Tell Me” sounds a little like Talking Heads, who may or may not be power pop depending on the day of the week. Jagger/Richards’ comps have a certain hard-edged angularity audible on the Grip Weeds’ “Dandelion.” The Anderson Council’s “Connection” is unabashedly power pop, while The High Frequencies’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is not. It’s straight ahead rock, but who’s complaining? Great record.

New power pop project playfully marketed as a lost album from 1979

The Diff—What’s the Diff (Cheap Kiss)

Chicago-based quintet’s first record is a masterpiece of power pop filled with inchoate romantic yearning. Like Marshall Crenshaw or Steve Earle’s Guitar Town, there’s not a duff track, beginning with “Give You Love” which hits the ground running as in Plimsouls, The Knack, or The Beat. Scott Staley’s guitar alternates between electric flash and minimalist bridge.

The album jacket copyrights the songs 1979. Their Facebook page reads, “Seminal early ‘80s power pop straight outta Natick, Mass.” A comment on the FB page says, “I really applaud The DIFF for making use of the new social media era. I remember listening to them in my brother’s ‘79 trans am on 8 track.” When I posted my enthusiasm on a power pop page, a number of people said, “Nah, nah, bro, that’s Frisbie playing under an assumed name.” Liner notes said they signed with Waverly Records, but the only Waverly Records on the internet was founded in 1997.

What’s going on here? Pete at Cheap Kiss Records wrote, “Think XTC and The Dukes of Stratosphear. Or Garth Brooks and Chris Gaines. Actually, don't think of him. Or look at it as a soundtrack to an unreleased film like ‘That Thing You Do,’ but set in the late '70s instead of the mid-'60s. For the label it was about hearing great songs and wanting to get them out into the world. We heard the story after the fact and it just became part of the fun. It's not Frisbie, though. They only share 2/5ths DNA.”

There’s no confusion about the music. “Can’t Stop Tonight” achieves Raspberries-level excitement, electric guitar snapping like a downed power line, bridge like a tsunami gathering its skirts, the emotional hook of “I Think We’re Alone Now.” “Candy Croce” continues that straight-to-the-heart streak, both wistful and powerful. “Leave It On the Machine” might have been a Motown hit with minor changes. The liner notes say Waverly Records was modeled after Motown.

The record itself is heavy blue vinyl, five songs a side. “8 Bit Girls” combines the jaunty kineticism of The Beat with an anthemic chorus. “Driven 2 Distraction” begins with a talking chorus, conversational tone distancing it from anything rap, which is chanted in a monotone.

I listen to records in my car on the CD player. I don’t subscribe to any of those internet services like Spotify or Bandcamp. I’ll buy the CD when it comes out because I want to listen to it more, and I hear more things while I’m driving.