Charming, Beatles-worshipping power pop from Michael Penn (brother of Sean and Chris.) I feel like I'm lifting this thought from somewhere, so forgive me if that's the case, but: There's something inherently sad about power pop, and it's not just that it tends to consist of a bunch of peppy-sounding songs about heartbreak and depression. It's that it always seems to be made by some scruffy dude, clearly out-of-sync with the times, pouring countless hours into crafting these sweet little guitar-pop nuggets that have precisely zero chance of becoming actual pop hits. I guess there may have been a little bit of space for music like this when Resigned came out, but Matthew Sweet already had dibs.
Track listing:
1. Try
2. Me Around
3. Like Egypt Was
4. Out of My Hands
5. All That That Implies
6. Selfish
7. Cover Up
8. Figment
9. Small Black Box
10. Comfort
11. I Can Tell
More power pop sad bois:
That's one sad reflection, about the sadness inherent in power pop — but I agree with you, it's one with a lot of truth. Thank you for sharing, as always!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it put into words like that, so I don't think you're borrowing someone else's thought. If there were a study of the suicide rate among musicians sorted by different genres, I bet power pop would rank far above the norm. Maybe it's a "tears of a clown" sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteJust look at Badfinger.
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