#ryan power

5/20/26.

This first came across Miserable Chillers "Innocent Victims" due to the fact that Raffaele Melina bought it. I listened, and liked it, but wasn't bowled over. I think I didn't pay close enough attention, or there was just too much diversity of sound for me to find a listening groove.

Then, a couple of weeks later I noticed that Bandcamp had named the album one of its "New and Notable". The short write up stated that the album "channels popsmiths like Blue Nile and Prefab Sprout". This was enough to get me to listen differently. I also looked at the tags at the bottom of the release page: art pop, indie, jangle pop, power pop, soft rock, sophistipop. Perfect tags.

As evidenced by those tags, I was initially correct during my first listen - this album tries on many different styles and sounds. So take a look at these comps I jotted down while listening to the album multiple times: The Lemon Twigs, Arthur Russell, Talking Heads, The Kinks, Mac DeMarco and Prefab Sprout.

5/3/26.

The only time Mr. and Mrs. Muffins has been mentioned on this blog was in late November 2024 in connection with their label's release of the Hotel Artesia LP. I loved that record, but I never took the time to listen to Mr. and Mrs. Muffins (Seattle, Washington). To the couple, I sincerely apologize, and today I righted that wrong.

"The Quiet Moon and Other Midnight Memories" is a jazz/pop/orchestral release that fits nicely alongside the music of Ryan Power, Tredici Bacci, Scritti Politti, and The High Llamas. The vocals recall, at times, the smooth sound of Guy Blackman.

3/4/25.

I received an email the other day announcing a new release from Feeding Tube Records. It was announcing "Play Sharp To Me" by Brattleboro, Vermont musician Chris Weisman. I fell in love with this right away and only later did I realize this is a 2016 release.

Weisman is a prolific musician, and "Play Sharp To Me" is quite different from some of his other projects. I knew of Happy Birthday (his band with King Tuff - first heard through Daytrotter, and then through Sub Pop).

This record is just an amazing tapestry of sound that moves unpredictably from start to finish. It is mastered by Ryan Power, and there is definitely a Poweresque feel to this. But this also sounds like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, or Chris Cohen (if you're looking for a modern comp). And I love that the Bandcamp write up mentions Emmit Rhodes, Scott Miller (Game Theory) and Pip Proud.

3/10/24.

Simon Hanes and Tredici Bacci (New York) have been a part of my musical "playlist" for over 7 years. I love chamber pop with weird turns. I love grand projects with talented musicians. Simon Hanes has always provided all that.

"Brave New World" seems to keep everything except the spaghetti western feel that used to be a marker of Tredici Bacci music. Sami Stevens' voice is still here, and so is the meticulous orchestration. Really, there isn't much like Tredici Bacci out there.

But if you want to branch out into similar music listen to Inner Ear Brigade, Yonder Pond, and of course Ryan Power (who has been a regular collaborator with Tredici Bacci).

8/7/23.

You might need to consciously give this a longer play than normal. I mean this sounds like minimal synth driven jazz pop. And it is unapologetically this. But it's also quite good.

Satoshi Suzuki's (Japan) music has been described as City Pop. On the OBI strip of a release from the 80s his music was described as "40% Jazz, 30% Soul, 20% Brazil, and 10% Kayokyoku".

But don't be mistaken. This sounds like Japanese pop - the earnest vocals remind me of The Tenniscoats (or even BMX Bandits). And the music has a High Llamas or Ryan Power feel.

12/23/20.

Fievel Is Glauque is a collaboration between Zach Phillips (Blanche Blanche Blanche) and Ma Clément.  This collaboration led to others - to the point that this cassette contains songs was made by 5 different groups of musicians - each group containing 7-8 people.

The music has a jazzy/French/bossanova feel reminiscent of Sergio Mendes or Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Additionally, it recalls everything I love about Tredici Bacci.  Ryan Power mastered this, and as stated earlier a wide array of musicians play on it - including Chris Cohen and Quentin Moore (Big French).

11/5/20.

I meant to post this last night, but just ran out of steam.  So here we go.  Better Person is Berlin based Polish musician Adam Byczkowski.  His career took off when he met MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser.  Byczkowski then traveled to California to record this LP.  It’s a melodic, synth-based throwback to 1980s pop - think Spandau Ballet, Roxy Music, Prefab Sprout or even Culture Club.  

Better Person is also firmly rooted in today.  It recalls some of the pop/crooner work of Lawrence Arabia, Ryan Power or TOPS.