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Intelligent, well-produced powerpop generally draws its inspiration from a rather short list of influences. While the most mediocre powerpop tends to chase its own tail \u2013 serving up predigested, overly derivative pop you\u2019ve heard before \u2013 the better quality stuff manages to have it both ways: remaining firmly grounded in the powerpop tradition of its foreberars, and still offering something new and exciting.<\/p>\n
The latter is tougher than it might seem. I have no problem at all with derivative acts: Take my favorite critical punching bag, Oasis<\/strong>. They served up little in the way of originality. Did it keep them from creating a couple great albums (and some good ones? It did not.<\/p>\n In any event, Maple Mars<\/strong>‘ new album Galaxyland <\/em>succeeds against the odds. While it\u2019s true that to be successful in the powerpop genre, you simply have to<\/em> pay a stylistic debt to the canon of influences (Beatles<\/strong>, Who<\/strong>, Raspberries<\/strong>, Big Star<\/strong>, etc.) it remains possible to maintain one\u2019s individuality. But to do that you have to have that identity to begin with. Maple Mars does.<\/p>\n Right out of the gate, the band makes a stylistic nod to the works of Tommy Keene<\/strong><\/a> and Teenage Fanclub<\/strong>. \u201cThe Excursion\u201d has the lyrical texture of Keene\u2019s work, and the instrumental attack has that sweet\/sour balance of poppy grunge for which Scotland\u2019s finest are known. As an added bonus, the song\u2019s subject matter is a perfect leadoff to a loosely-defined album concept a la Jason Falkner<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s \u201cThe Invitation\u201d or (dare I say) \u201cSgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band.\u201d<\/p>\n So on Galaxyland <\/em>Maple Mars establish early that their antecedents are once or twice removed from the Founders of Powerpop. That\u2019s fine: they\u2019re a young band. One takes inspiration from where one finds it.<\/p>\n Especially on its bridge, \u201cStarting Over (Again)\u201d suggests that these Maple Mars guys (mostly Rick Hromadka) have been partaking of the Grip Weeds<\/strong><\/a>. The song features punchy arrangement slathered with creamy harmonies. Had Galaxyland<\/em> been released fifteen years ago, it would have driven Jordan Oakes<\/strong> crazy: which of several fine tracks to include on the latest Yellow Pills<\/em> collection? Dual lead guitar fills conjure smile-inducing memories of Thin Lizzy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Fender Rhodes piano is the foundation of the ballad \u201cBig Imagination.\u201d With a feel similar to Pilot<\/strong>, the track is impressively arranged, with the instrumentation expanding as the song unfolds. That 1970s approach of wedding big (yet brief) stadium-size guitar solos to midtempo\/ballad arrangements is in full flower here.<\/p>\n Maple Mars show that their understanding and appreciation of powerpop goes fairly deep. They cover Mark Radice<\/strong>\u2019s 1972 song \u201cNew Day.\u201d Now, Radice is a fine artist, but his name will elicit blank, unknowing stares from most music fans. They\u2019re more likely to know who, say, Van Duren<\/strong> is. But the song is a gem, performed here in a baroque-rock style similar to another criminally underappreciated band, North Carolina\u2019s Gladhands<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTranscendental Guidance\u201d mixes the acoustic side of Badfinger<\/strong><\/a>, the soft, chiming rock of Pilot and the lyrical focus of Beach Boys<\/strong> from that same time period. \u201cCitizen Roger\u201d looks (relatively) forward: the song would easily fit on Redd Kross\u2019<\/strong> 1993 Phaseshifter<\/em>. The song starts as a midtempo tune, but builds the ferocity of its attack as it develops. And as I\u2019ve written many, many times before, I\u2019m a total pushover for effective use of \u201cba ba ba\u201d as lyrical material. Maple Mars nails it here, delivering the ba ba ba with an anthemic boom. The song\u2019s outro features that plus a killer riff that\u2019s repetitive in the best way, making the track a highlight of an excellent album.<\/p>\n