The Cowboys

I'm going to just go ahead and say it: Bloomington, Indiana's The Cowboys are probably the best rock n' roll band in the country.  I think we're about six albums in so far, and the band's upcoming new album "Captain Easy's Downfall" pretty much solidifies my opinion on this.  Their sound's got bits of college rock, jangle pop, power pop, glam, and just good old fashioned rock and/or roll pulsing through its aural veins.  Check out "Little Baby Birds" below and get the LP here from Feel It Records.

The Creem

Ratatat's Mike Stroud and Islands' Nick Thorburn have joined forces and become The Creem.  The duo have a indie rock meets throwback '70s pop rock sound going for them that's pretty infectious.  Pre-order the "A Taste of Cherry" LP here and listen to "Taste of Cherry" below.

Daily Jam - Junior Panthers

Posting about Canadian band Eric's Trip yesterday led me straight to Sloan.  Here's a track from their 1996 album "One Chord to Another."  Listen to "Junior Panthers" below, our Daily Jam.

Daniel Romano's Outfit

Steeped in the sounds of the '70s comes Daniel Romano's Outfit.  The Welland, Ontario based band fuses power pop with bits of psychedelia, country, folk, and good old fashioned rock n' roll.  Grab the new "Preservers of the Pearl" LP here from You've Changed Records and listen to the horn-fueled title track below.

Uni Boys

LA band Uni Boys do a catchy power pop and punk kind of thing that's infectious and sticks to your eardrums like bubblegum.  Check out "You're So (Phisticated)" below and grab the new self-titled album here from Curation Records.

Mod Lang

It's power pop time!  Here's a wonderfully catchy track from Detroit band Mod Land from last month's "Borrowed Time" LP.  Listen to "What I Can't Have" below and snag a copy of the album here from Just Add Water Records.

Mythical Motors

Here's a perfect mix of lo-fi alt-rock, jangle, and power pop from Chattanooga, Tennessee's Mythical Motors.  Check out the short and sweet "Dismantled Man Tells You" below and pre-order the band's upcoming "Tremolo on the Punch Line" LP here.

Bullseye

New York band Bullseye make an excellent mix of lo-fi alt-rock and power pop.  It's wonderful.  They're upcoming, self-titled EP sounds like a record you've always listened to, like something you fell in love with at 14 that's been in your ear space ever since.  Check out "Dangers of the Heart" below and pre-order the record here from Ever/Never.

Mod Lang

Let's end 2025 with some power pop from the appropriately named, Big Star-inspired Detroit band Mod Lang and their debut 7" release "TV Star" b/w "3+1."  Dig on the excellent A-side below and get the record here from Just Add Water Records.

The Lemon Twigs

Here's a new jangler from New York duo The Lemon Twigs.  The band has a wonderful way of fusing power pop, jangle, college rock, and psych pop into pure sunshine.  And that's all present on new single "I've Got a Broken Heart."  Check it out below and pre-order the 7" here from Captured Tracks.

Daily Jam - Surrender

Starting the week off with some Cheap Trick.  Listen to "Surrender" below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - The Ballad of El Goodo

It's always something to go back and listen to old Big Star records and realize just how far ahead of their time they were, by "3rd" in particular.  For now, here's a track from their debut that feels simultaneously of its time and like something that might have been released decades later.  Listen to "The Ballad of El Goodo" below, our Daily Jam.

2nd Grade

Philly band 2nd Grade have a cool power pop thing going on, with bits of jangle pop, old college radio, and some Guided By Voices inspiration in the mix.  Check out "Made Up My Own Mind" below and get the "Scheduled Explosions" cassette here from Double Double Whammy.

Mother Sun

British Columbia band Mother Sun make a dreamy mix of psych, folk, and power pop with flashes of krautrock, jazz, and more.  It all makes for some fine art pop.  New album "Meadow 6" is out in October.  Pre-order it here from Earth Libraries and listen to the album closing "Giant Bog" below.

The Mellons

Here's a new track from Salt Lake City power pop band The Mellons.  Listen to "Please Baby Please" below and download the tune here from Earth Libraries.

Daily Jam - Drawer

In the summer of 1997 after I graduated from high school, I delivered pizzas for Pizza Hut. It wasn’t a great job, but it really wasn’t that bad of one either, as it gave me plenty of time to drive around town (the cultural mecca that is Midland, Texas) and listen to music. I’d check into the back, fold some pizza boxes for a few minutes, gather a handful of deliveries, and then tear off into the evening with the stereo blaring. And I’d deliver pizzas across the sprawl of the dusty old berg, to a junior high slumber party in a big house in the wealthy area of town, or to a couple of stoners in a dilapidated apartment, or to a nice family in a small, quaint home, or to high school kids, single moms, divorcees, summer ball little league teams, businessmen, engineers, art teachers, and sad old drunks. Once, I delivered a pizza to a Mexican roustabout living in a house on the outskirts of town where the city ends and there’s nothing but farms, ranchland, and desert for as far as the eye can see. He invited me in for a beer. I accepted. And then back on the road again, shuffling through my CD case for the evening’s next audio accompaniment.

My selections generally consisted of the usual ‘90s fare, alt-rock and Britpop and industrial noise, metal and hip-hop and first wave throwbacks (it was very, very tempting to rhyme something there). One of the songs that played in heavy rotation for me at the time was the alt-rock/power pop jam “Drawer” from the California band Summercamp, an underappreciated little gem that will forever be one of those little time capsule songs for me. Memory in stereo.

I wonder whatever happened to that roustabout.

Daily Jam - Exhausted

It seems like there are a whole slew of artists whose work I adore, but whose extracurricular activities can affect the way I hear the music, often very much to its detriment. These are the artists whose personal quirks or faults are so in the public domain, that it can be seriously difficult to separate the art from the artist. For instance, there are only so many temper tantrums somebody like Axl Rose can throw before it starts to make Guns N' Roses a little less enjoyable. Then there are artists like Mark Kozelek or Father John Misty whose curmudgeon or trolling personalities make them seem like giant douchebags. Both of those guys are geniuses, but I'd hate to be in a room with them. It's almost enough to make me have to pretend that it's somebody else making the music. And that's not even getting into all of the suspected racists, misogynists, abusers, gropers, murderers(?), and all around asshats out there making songs for our consumption. It's hard to separate that art.

But then you get a band like Foo Fighters that gives me the exact opposite kind of dilemma. Dave Grohl and his merry band of rockers all seem like great people. They're funny and earnest, intelligent, good to their fans, friends, and families, seemingly good friends with one another, and positive public figures. They just seem cool. And that's why it makes it kind of hard that with the exception of the first self-titled album, I just can't get into these guys.

And I try. Oh, how I try. Every time the Foo puts out a new record, I give it multiple spins, attempting like crazy to get something to stick. But it just doesn't. Somewhere along the way, the band traded in its post-grunge, power-pop aesthetic for full on arena rock, and I just can't get into that, regardless of how fun I think it would be to hang out with the band.

I guess I'll always have that first record though, and the wonderful, melancholy closing track "Exhausted." The song's distorted tones and fuzzy feedback compliment the wistful nature of the tune, keeping things crunchy and grounded, and never falling into outright despair. Dave's vocals are soft and low in the mix, similar to some of the demo and B-side stuff he was doing with Nirvana before Cobain died, and thus "Exhausted" kind of serves as the bridge between the two bands...what was and what was to come.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Everything You've Done Wrong

TV has melted our brains. Video games have warped our perceptions. Social media and the cellular age have skewed our interpersonal relationships. And movies have shaped and molded our personalities beyond our grasp or scope. We search for connections in fictional characters, drawing parallels between archetypes, ourselves, and those we surround ourselves with. We assign on screen characteristics and quirks to our groups of friends and we soundtrack our lives with pop music and instrumental cues. We live in a false reality. We make believe.

But I’m not criticizing. I’m just commenting. I’m well aware that I do all of the above, my senses and (sub) consciousness forever affected by everything both true and fictional that my eyes and ears have taken in. And that’s okay. It just means I’m another 20th century baby making my way through an increasingly digital world. It’s perfectly normal that I recognize traits that my friends or I share with some on air personality. (Though I must add that 25 years ago, a girl I know did try to determine which Friends character I was because there is no God and the world is a gray and dead place.) And it’s also normal (probably) to experience life as if it was some grand, epic film about you.

That being said, whenever the montage scene in the movie of me plays, I’m pretty sure it will be scored by the perennially underrated Canadian power pop rock band Sloan’s 1996 jam “Everything You’ve Done Wrong.”

From the excellent 60’s rock indebted album One Chord to Another, “Everything You’ve Done Wrong” kicks in with Mariachi horns and an instantly infectious acoustic guitar riff. It demands your foot to tap or your head to sway. It demands that you sing along. It demands hand claps. Set to an affable sequence of scenes that sees me making mistakes or screwing things up but then finding cheer and support from friends and loved ones, the song will perfectly encapsulate the pure stream of corn playing in my head at this very minute. It’s cheese, but it’s beautiful.

On it’s own though, separated from my imaginary montage, the song operates as about as pure a piece of pop music as you could hope for. It’s hooky as hell, fun, and easily worms its way into ears and mind for all eternity. And I will happily continue to soundtrack my days to its wonderful melody.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Near Beer

Here's a little pop nugget from LA band Near Beer that mixes a little bit of college rock, a little bit of jangle pop, and some indie rock into a glorious rock n' roll stew.  Give "Al Pacino" a listen below and download it here via Double Helix Records.

The Lemon Twigs

Starting the year off with your team blowing it in the Sugar Bowl sucks, but starting the year off with some new power pop from The Lemon Twigs is good.  So i guess we'll just have to call it even for now.  Anyway, check out said new Lemon Twigs song below.  Listen to "My Golden Years" and download it here from Captured Tracks.