PowerPopSquare

It's time for a first recapitulation of PowerPopSquare : More than four years - and a whole lot of good music. That was fun.  To celebrate this I made my personal Best Of PowerPopSquare Mix Tape (2010 - 2014). Hope you enjoy it! Below you find the tracklist and the iTunes samples. I had to alter some of the songs at iTunes because some of them aren't available there. Disc 1 01 Bleu - Ya Catch More Flies With Honey Than Vinegar 02 Taylor Locke & The Roughs - My only drug 03 Mike Viola - So Much Better 04 Farrah - Swings & Roundabouts 05 The Nines - Virginia 06 Regina Spektor - Us 07 Owsley - Coming Up Roses 08 Ben Folds - Gone 09 Pelle Carlberg - Riverbank 10 Jellyfish - That Is Why 11 Ben Lee - Catch My Disease 12 Jeremy Messersmith - Tourniquet 13 Bleu - Grasping At Straws 14 Spoon - The Book I Write 15 OK Go - End Love 16 Sondre Lerche - Let My Love Open The Door 17 She & Him - In The Sun 18 Teitur - You Never Leave LA 19 Jim Boggia - I Hate New York 20 Dan W...

Another crowd funding campaign is on: the new record of Guster . Read all about it HERE! Here's the message from the band: Hello from Guster!  We’re so proud to announce that our new album is finished and set for a release early next year. Like presidential elections and the World Cup, these things only seem to happen every four years. Which is why we’ve stacked this here website with ways for you to get involved with our band – from pre-ordering the album to some seriously interactive Guster Fantasy Camp stuff. Take a look. When you pick up a new Live Album (Parachute, Lost & Gone Forever, and KIT are all live on cd now), pre-order the new album, or decide to get involved in any of the creative ways we’ve come up with – you’re making it possible for our band to make music, shoot videos, tour the world, and ultimately put out our first independent album since 1997 (!) So that’s why some things are pricier than what you’ve come to expect from Gust...

If you're still looking for the perfect summer-record, I think I can help you there: Vacationer - a group from Philadelphia - just released their second album Relief .    Vacationer are Kenny Vasoli, Matthew Young and Grant Wheeler. Relief is not just the title of the record - it's the record's proposition. From start to finish the album is the musical image of vacation, palm trees, wide sand beach and blue sky (the cover fits quite well). Vasoli says: “ Whether through love, exploration or relaxing, we all strive for relief. It’s just a quick flip-of-the-switch away, and think it’s good to be reminded of that. ” Relief is available digital, on CD any beautiful translucent blue vinyl at amazon.com or directly from the band HERE . Make sure you listen to: Onward & Upward , The Wild Life , Paradise Waiting, In The Grass and Heavenly Official website: vacationermusic.com

The Britannicas are Herb Eimerman (USA), Magnus Karlsson (Sweden) and Joe Algeri (Australia). They are separated by thousands of miles of ocean but they use modern technology to make old-school pop music. High Tea is their second album. And if you like 60s pop music it may be perfect for you. Recommended tracks: Got A Hold On Me , Come on Boys, A Shag And A Cup o’ Tea, Talkin' 'bout Summer The songs of " High Tea " can be previewed & bought at CDBaby.com .

If you have a look at the right side of this blog, you'll find a complete index of artists I wrote about in the last four years. A great deal of these musicians came together on Here Comes The Reign Again: The Second British Invasion . I am lost for words... ...well, not completely: Here Comes The Reign Again is a compilation by Andrew Curry . It's his second project, his first was Drink a Toast to Innocence . Here is the Kickstarter.com campaign: Find all information and updates also at the Facebook page of Here Comes The Reign Again . Track listing: Life In A Northern Town – Chris Collingwood Do You Really Want To Hurt Me – Rachael Yamagata Save A Prayer – David Mead Dancing With Myself – Taylor Locke Promises, Promises – Freedy Johnston Life’s What You Make It – The Nines Everybody Wants To Rule The World – Mike Viola Relax – Mike Doughty Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) – Tracy Bonham Goody Two Shoes – Jim Boggia & Pete Donnelly So...

The debut album of Parks will be released via Pledge Music and can be preordered NOW! It will be mixed by Grammy award-winning engineer, Ducky Carlisle . Parks are Brian E. King (Songs/Vocals/Guitar), Stu Dietz (Guitar), Matt Girard (Bass/Vocals), Brian Fitch (Drums),  Liz McBride (Vocals/Keys/Percussion). Described as " a crisp & precise take on garage pop " (Boston Globe), Parks distinguishes itself with dynamic live performances, lush instrumentation, rich three-part harmonies and sonics somewhere between fizzy Shins twists and fiery Strokes-esque turns. Here are the news from Parks: " As you see in our video, we will be releasing our long-awaited debut album via PledgeMusic and YOU! Over the past year of working tirelessly, we have a ton of bonus materials, unreleased outtakes, alternate versions, behind-the-scenes footage, and MORE! We’re extremely proud of it and we need your help to bring it to a wider audience. We’re excited to say the ...

A friend of mine - Maik Antrack - just released his first EP - it's called Musicmaik - Emeral . Back in 2010, equipped with a guitar, pen and paper, Maik Antrack sat on Mt. Taranaki and wrote an idea, which later came to life as a piece on his first album „ Ooceeyaan “. Weeks later, after traveling to some of New Zealands’ lonely places and exploring Australias’ East coast, he came back to Europe with a bunch of ideas. 12 pieces went on his first recording „ Ooceeyaan “. When he finished this album, a mysterious and rough travel diary, there was more to say, more to explore, more to play. There was an open door, leading to his undeniable love for straight-forward stuff, melodies, grooves. 3-4-GO! There’s rooms for vast improvisation and explorations in sound. And worlds in between. Paths yet to find! So Musicmaik, that’s Maik playing his own Music. The latest EP release „ Emeral “ features five new explorations. Emeral is a place, everyone of us owns...