You don’t get to hear powerpop like this in 2014 much.
Detroit’s Nick Piunti goes back a long way – to 1975 to be precise. The incessant debut single by Piunti’s teenage band Dwarf ‘Gotta
Get Louder’ / ‘I Won’t Be Back’ has recently been reissued on New
York’s Sing Sing label (the original has sold for big bucks on eBay).
It’s no surprise either as this is a proto
punk/powerpop/bubblegum/heavy-glam attack that recalls Jook if they had
been American. All Who-ish power chords, pounding rhythms and an almost
mod urgency as echoed by The Raspberries if they had stemmed from
Detroit. ‘13 In My Head’ from the new album of the same title echoes the
sentiment of that nearing 40-year-old single. Newly renamed as The
Take, Dwarf hit LA, only to find that powerpop was all but over and the
gig going teenagers preferred pouting, spandex wearing poodles.
That’s been the thing with Piunti ever since. The three chords and wham
bam thank you mam mentality of the classic pop song of the mid-60s has
never left him. He’s been back off and on since, but it’s the chiming
guitars, driving beat and hummable melodies of 13 In My Head
that caused the most attention, gaining many nominations for the
“powerpop album of 2013” from its original Bandcamp download release,
with MOJO magazine including ‘It All Comes Down’ on their covermount Songs In The Key Of Paul CD.
Now
on vinyl and with an extra two tracks Sugarbush give this timeless
album a physical release on the format it should be heard.
With the tight confines of powerpop (in which a good writer can still do
so much) it’s always easy to box artists together without much thought.
But Piunti genuinely is in the same league as recent progenitors like
The Shazam, Fountains Of Wayne and Cherry Twister. Red Kross, The
Replacements and Cheap Trick are also good pointers. This is powerpop
with a modern rock edge, informed by the mid-60s but produced in the
same manner that led alt-rock to sell millions in the ’90s. Piunti’s
rough vocals stand out front like a young Rod Stewart giving Paul
Westerberg advice on how to front The Replacements as the Beatley massed
vocals later appropriated by Queen, 10cc, ELO and Jellyfish add needed
sweetness to the mix.
In an alternate reality this would undoubtedly grace the top of the charts.
Link for full MP3 download at the top of this page.
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