Category: Features
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interview by Michael McCarthy The Defiants find Danger Danger and Westworld bass player/songwriter/producer Bruno Ravel reuniting with vocalist Paul Laine, who was actually Danger Danger’s singer for 12 years and four albums in between Ted Poley’s time in the band; Ted is Danger Danger’s singer now and has been back in the band for over…
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interview by Michael McCarthy all photos by Dean Karr One of the perks of doing Love is Pop is that I sometimes come to hear awesome artists that I never would have found on my own. Here’s the story of how I came to know and love the French rock band BlackRain, who deliver classic-sounding…
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Our readers in the U.S. might not have heard of Norwegian singer/songwriter Bellman yet, but in some parts of the world he is a very big deal. He released his critically acclaimed debut album, Mainly Mute, in 2009 and had his first big hit single with an uplifting song called, “Spaceship Move Slow” and it’s…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Yesterday’s #albumoftheday was Unsaved Progress by Double Experience: https://loveispop.com/reviews/albumoftheday-review-double-experience-unsaved-progress/ It’s one of my favorite albums of 2016 thus far and I’m sure it will be in my top 20 when I write my best of 2016 list at the end of the year. The way they mix elements of everything from…
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interview by Michael McCarthy I was recently introduced to the music of London-based singer/songwriter Lena Laki, whose magical music is dreamy folk but with a hint of jazz elegance. Her debut EP, Take Me With, opens with a song called “Another Woman” and it’s easy to imagine Nina Simone singing it back in the day.…
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Recently singer/songwriter Terra Naomi launched an Indiegogo campaign to crowd-fund her next album. She called the campaign “#HelpYouFly Terra Naomi’s 2016 Reboot.” The page for the campaign features a video for a song also called “Help You Fly,” which features a variety of different people holding up signs that are as inspiring as the lyrics…
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interview by Michael McCarthy In 2006 vocalist/guitarist Montana Masback, guitarist Sean Kraft, bassist Ryan Kelly and drummer Jordan Lovelace left Rockland County, New York and headed to Brooklyn where they officially formed the mean, gritty rock band Tournament. On March 25th they finally released their long-overdue second album, Teenage Creature, and it was well-worth the…
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Back on March 10th, I named newcomer Mavrick’s song “Funeral” our #songoftheday and here we are three weeks later and I’m still listening to it every day. It’s such a massive and addictive song that all it takes is one listen to get you hooked. From its boisterous beats to his emotive vocals to the…
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interview by Michael McCarthy Have you ever seen a magic show by one of the masters – like David Copperfield – and swore it was real? Well, I saw Copperfield perform a few decades ago and still can’t fathom how he did anything that night. The finale is the illusion that especially boggles my mind;…
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I recently fell madly in love with an album called A River’s Invitation by The California Honeydrops. A band whose members play half the instruments under the sun, who call the Bay Area of San Francisco home, they blend everything from old jazz and pre-blues with New Orleans funk and classic R&B. In other words,…
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interview by Michael McCarthy photographs by Joshua Bernard except where noted There’s something about Lowell, Massachusetts that makes record stores stick like peanut butter on bread. In fact, two of the three record shops that I frequented when I was a kid are still there, RRR Records and Garnick’s Records. And it’s vinyl sales that…
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On March 4, 2016 I interviewed Adam Jensen, a Boston native whose debut single, the deliciously dark, alt pop “Sandcastles,” was recently one of our #songoftheday selections. The only other track of his that I’d heard was his forthcoming second single, “Ritual,” which is even more amazing. Normally, I wouldn’t interview someone I’d only heard…
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Interview by Michael McCarthy Sweden’s Adiam makes delicous, dark pop that splits the difference between Lykki Li and Marina and The Diamonds, having the starkness of the former and the insanely catchy beats of the latter. Or perhaps she’s better described as Fiona Apple meets Little Boots, melding Fiona’s tormented and vengeful lyrics with Boots’…
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I recently discovered the wonderful music of AJ Unity, a duo consisting of Naomi Suzuki and Philipp Moll, who make music that blends traditional Japanese instruments with shades of pop and new age. It’s very calming music, which I imagine you could meditate to. I’ve found it especially relaxing and perfect to listen to while…
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HXLT is how Chicago’s eclectic musician Holt is spelling his name these days. The reason why is one of the few things I didn’t think to ask him about, but I imagine it’s to make you wonder how it’s supposed to be said, to get you thinking, to ultimately make you remember it. In any…
