Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (Scratch) (1978)

"I need perspective, I don't trust my eyes"

On Gabriel's second eponymous album, Robert Fripp moves up to the title of producer, and also plays guitar on half the tracks and uses his Frippertronics looping technique on "Exposure". While this record still likes to toe the line between prog and pop, it falls more often on the side of prog. Scratch is perfectly unfocused, meandering through rock, electronics, and even a little bit of reggae on "A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World", with Gabriel's obtuse lyrics managing to strike a personal chord - even if it's not one that you can quite put a finger on. It's not quite as accessible as its predecessor, but despite its experimentation and free-wheeling, it's still a pop album at heart, never passing up an opportunity to pull you in with a catchy hook or infectious keyboard rhythms, seen prominently in the closing of "White Shadow", which is the centerpiece of the album. All four of his self-titled releases are absolutely worth the time of day, but this one might just be my favorite.



1. On the Air
2. D.I.Y.
3. Mother of Violence
4. A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World
5. White Shadow
6. Indigo
7. Animal Magic
8. Exposure
9. Flotsam and Jetsam
10. Perspective
11. Home Sweet Home

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Captain Wilberforce - Everyone Loves a Villain (2008)

"There are worse things than ghosts, you know / haunting these streets"

I'm always cautious to use the term britpop, because it seems to have some conflicting connotations for different people; regardless of any of that, it certainly applies to this release by power pop singer-songwriter Captain Wilberforce, if only insomuch as this is a pop rock album from Britain with alternative leanings; encapsulating tales of dysfunctional and failed relationships (surprise surprise) in tidy three-to-four-minute packages, and always bringing back memories of the nation's pop greats without forgetting to be his own artist, Captain Wilberforce has made an album that reassures us that pop music can recall the past, can even dance around with it, and manage not to drown in nostalgic hero-worship

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Charles Crossingham - Talkers Talk (2009)

Catchy-as-shit pop rock from Raleigh, North Carolina, Crossingham (I believe) self-released this debut EP but the production is wonderfully tight, especially for a first effort; this isn't your average bedroom pop; of special note is the track "You and Me (Stick Figure Love Song)"

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This is Me Smiling - This is Me Smiling (2007)

A fun little four-piece from Chicago who plays chillaxed pop rock; their song "Mixin' Up Adjectives" has ended up on a few compilations, so if you've heard them at all it was probably that song, but this album is full of great tracks that get stuck in your head

I don't feel like I'm giving much of a description of this, but I promise it's not because I don't love the album, it's because I woke up like ten minutes ago...besides, that's why I post the Myspace links (since apparently there's been some confusion), so that you can check out what the band sounds like before 'committing' to a whole album

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Hot Hot Heat - Elevator (2005)

Generic pop-roGOODNIIIIIIIGHT, GOODNIIIIIIIGHT, you know you love it motherfuckers

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