Don't Mock This Music

Let's end the week with another of the power pop CDs in my collection. Here are The Mockers who sound like a cross between Squeeze and Elvis Costello with The Turtles thrown into the mix. Like yesterday's group, this is foot-tapping music that is instantly likable. No deep understanding of musical styles is necessary to appreciate this fun guitar-based music. This is sixties music with a 21st century sound.

From yesterday's west-coast group, we travel across the country to the east coast where The Mockers are (were?) based. The selections featured here are from their 2001 album, Living In The Holland Tunnel. Their other albums are available from their web site or from Amazon here.

Next week is Elvis week on this blog. Can you believe it's been 30 years since he died?

1. The Mockers - Coronation (3.53 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. The Mockers - Comes As No Surprise (3.55 MB; 128kbps)

Wonderminty Power Pop

I'm going to end this week by featuring some pure guitar power pop groups. A friend of mine (probably one of the few regular readers of this blog), sent me a whole series of CDs from different power pop groups that I had never heard of a couple of years ago. They all have exactly the clean, melodic pop with excellent harmonies that I seem to enjoy so much.

Today's featured group is an L.A. group called The Wondermints consisting of Darian Sahanaja, Nick Walusko, and Mike D'Amico. The sound is reminiscent of The Beatles, The Beach Boys and ELO. If you like that sound, you won't be disappointed. This is another of those albums that is consistently strong from beginning to end, making the choice of songs to feature here difficult. Their MySpace page is here. Some info can also be found on Wikipedia.

The songs featured here are from their fourth album (2002) called Mind If We Make Love To You. Absolutely classic power pop. The rest of their oustanding catalog can be found on Amazon here.

1. The Wondermints - Time Has You (2.83 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. The Wondermints - Project 11 (3.38 MB; 128kbps MP3)