Bastards of Melody

Time for a shout out to the FDR label, the "other" power pop label from New Jersey (we all know and love Kool Kat). They don't release a high volume of discs, but the ones they do are usually really good, and the latest from NYC's Bastards of Melody is one of their best. The Bastards have been kicking around since the late 90s, but this is their first release since 2003 and it's a gem. This is high-energy yet highly melodic, closer to the classic definition of "power pop" than most others.

What makes Hurry Up and Wait closest to the power pop ethos is its brevity: 9 tracks spanning 30 minutes, with no filler or self-indulgent detours. The chiming, driving opener "Around You" gets down to business quickly, with its sing-a-long chorus and insistent guitar riff. "All I Want to Know" continues in this vein, with a bit of a Beatle sound thrown in (primarily in the killer bridge), and "Dream Jeannine" has a bit more retro power pop sound, recalling The Telepathic Butterflies.

The laid-back "Flunkin' Out" allows the listener to catch his breath after the powerful opening troika with its effortless midtempo sound, while "Exit 10" and its "Getting Better"-like staccato beat and chipper melody is another treat. The guitars are out in full force again on "Cut and Paste", a Lolas, Cheap Trick-styled rocker, and "Gateway Center" is straight-up jangle pop not unlike their regional counterparts Smash Palace. And the boys send you home with the frantic pop-punk of "Unproductive" just in case you were thinking the proceedings might be on the verge of mellowing out. "Power pop like the way it was meant to be" could be the Bastards' slogan, as there's nothing inglorious about this excellent disc. - Absolute Powerpop

Bastards of Melody are proof positive that those who missed the 70’s power pop bands like the Raspberries ( I can even hear some of the 80’s coolness of the Replacements), and The Knack, etc., can still build something great out of the crass and hallow corpse of today’s Top 40 bands.

Hurry Up and Wait sounds like juvenile punks whose attitude and energy is running on all eight cylinders. “Around You,” All I Want to Know, “Unproductive”… heck, any song here clicks with energy, passion, and humanity. The onset of maturity (which is sometimes off-set by teetering on drunkenness -“Flunkin’ Out,” “Exit 10”- doesn’t upend the unpredictable excitement that Bastards of Melody create.

Combining blues, power pop, country, straight-ahead rock, and punk in a way few bands could ever imagine, a lot of us have taken notice over the years. Bastards of Melody have that special raggedness, and devil-may-care spirit. The band reaches into what seems like an unending cultural kitbag of intelligent, yet whimsical songs, without overt satire. Bastards of Melody fish’s memorable hooks to involving melodies out of thick pools of driving rock guitars. Relaxes and rough, Hurry Up and Wait has a wonderfully informal feel, surprisingly clear vocals, cool lyrics and simple chord-based songs (“Little Truths,” or “Gateway Center”), that ably withstand repeated hearings.

Bastards of Melody are one of those cool, sharp, and dedicated rock ’n’ roll combos whose music, looks and personalities fit together perfectly, the stuff of which legends are made. - Jersey Beat

Has it been seven years since this ballsy New York City power-pop threesome's second LP, Break Up? And they took three years off from gigging, too, until recently. This may have figured into their new third LP's title, but BOM have come back rejuvenated. Paul Crane and Co. taper back a Cheap Trick/Replacements jag for a ringing-guitars, rockin''60s pop paradigm, without losing the garage chops and sunny melodies-even on the lighter fare, such as the Byrds-ian acoustic-bop of "Gateway Center" and "Flunkin' Out." You could see them supporting Sloan now instead of Paul Westerberg, on the bouncy, upbeat-in-spirit/bittersweet-in-lyric "Exit 10," or the more hard-kicking "Cut and Paste" and "Little Truths." Crane has a classic power-pop voice, too, like Sloan's Chris Murphy, and importantly, the band's strong harmonies are as terrific as their Toronto cousins, too. Pure power-pop for now people! - The Big Takeover