One of my favorite genres of music is both pretty ubiquitous and mostly unremarked about other than every once in a while by other music geeks: power pop. That's also for good reason, since admittedly it's just Dork Rock for most people. The usual description gives away the game early on - "it's as if the Beatles or the Beach Boys didn't stop making their early stuff but also got heavier somehow." At its most reduced elements, it's just lonely boys singing about girls and cars over power chords for 3-4 minutes at a chunk. Normally catchy, usually loud, but not heavy enough to scare the soft rock wimps too much. It doesn't really do a great job at selling itself.
That said, I fucking love it. Loved it ever since I was teenage dork myself.
Photo by Jeremy Allouche, courtesy of Unsplash
As mentioned above, power pop - named from a throwaway quote by The Who's Pete Townsend in 1967 - started due to a bunch of bands wanting to emulate mid-1960s rock during the early 1970s and shed off the more psychedelic influences around that time (though, ironically, many of the 80s power poppers added psychedelia back). It had a connection to garage rock and a cousin to both British-style glam rock and the exclusively U.K. genre of pub rock. All of these would eventually lead to punk rock's birth by the mid-1970s but power pop never fully integrated and served as kind of an alternate to the alternative. Its relationship with punk is more of a weaving than anything else, since both often mixed together to become influential on the various new wave and alt rock movements during the 1980s to the mid-2000s. Of course, the history is more complex than that but this is the general gist. Trash Theory has some good videos covering more of the details:
So, yeah, on paper it's a tough sell as "Wimpy Middle-Class White Boy Rock" but I still highly recommend giving it a shot. Many of the songs you'll hear below have been earworms for decades now, often played over and over on the radio. Some of them didn't get that chance but really should've since they're just as addictive. If you're looking for something fun that doesn't require too much thinking but also doesn't make your ears bleed, check out some of the Recommended Albums below. For further context, I'll also include a couple of good articles and blurbs from AllMusic for each album.
Happy listening!
Recommended Reading:
"How Do YOU Define Power Pop?" by S.W. Lauden (Remember The Lightning)
"Powerpop: 10 of the best" by Paul Lester (The Guardian)
Recommended Albums
⭐ = Recommend checking out first.
Disclaimer(s): Because of the time, place, and people involved making the music, don't be surprised if you encounter some really sexist lyrics, especially with the tracks from the 1970s. The lyrics get less sexist by the mid 1980s but I've included these albums since many of them are foundational to the whole genre. Also, some of the bands included aren't officially power pop bands (a few are either pub rock, jangle pop, or 90s alt rock) but all of them use power pop to define their sound.
Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren - Todd Rundgren (1970)
"Upon its release, Rolling Stone called The Ballad of Todd Rundgren "the best album Paul McCartney" never made, and even if the album doesn't sound particularly McCartney-esque, it does share the homespun, melodic charm of the best of his early albums. Arguably, it's better than Paul's solo work, since it is focused and subtle, never drawing attention to Rundgren's considerable skills as a writer and producer. He tones down the hard rock and his impish wit, lending the album a sense of direction missing on Runt. That's not to say he abandoned his sense of humor -- as if the cover shot of Rundgren sitting at a piano with a noose around his neck left any doubt." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
No Dice - Bad Finger (1970) ⭐
"Badfinger's second album No Dice kicks off with "I Can't Take It," a rocker that signaled even if Badfinger still played pop and sang ballads, they considered themselves a rock band. What gave Badfinger character is they blended their desire to rock with their sensitive side instead of compartmentalizing. Even when they rock on No Dice, it's never earthy, like, say, the Stones. Badfinger's very sensibility and sound is modeled after the early British Invasion, where bands sang catchy, concise love songs. Yet there's a worldliness to their music absent from that of their forefathers, partially because Badfinger styled themselves as classicists, adapting the sound of their idols and striving to create a similar body of work. No Dice bears this out, boasting old-fashioned rockers, catchy pop tunes, and acoustic ballads. On the surface, there's nothing special about such a well-crafted, sharply produced, straight-ahead pop record, but the pleasure of a power pop album is in the craft." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
Greatest - The Raspberries (2004) ⭐
"Your typical garden-variety rock historian says that Big Star never went over with American record buyers because the kids were more interested in hard rock or prog than smart power pop at the time -- but that logic conveniently ignores the fact that the Raspberries were scoring hits and selling tickets all across the nation at the same time Radio City was dying on the vine. And while Eric Carmen may have lacked Alex Chilton's snazz as a freak-genius guitarist or songwriter, at their best the Raspberries were the band who succeeded where Big Star failed, crafting gloriously hooky but potently rockin' three-minute tunes that moved the British Invasion musical ethos ten years into the future." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
Radio City - Big Star (1974) ⭐
"Largely lacking co-leader Chris Bell, Big Star's second album also lacked something of the pop sweetness (especially the harmonies) of #1 Record. What it possessed was Alex Chilton's urgency (sometimes desperation) on songs that made his case as a genuine rock & roll eccentric. If #1 Record had a certain pop perfection that brought everything together, Radio City was the sound of everything falling apart, which proved at least as compelling." - William Ruhlmann, AllMusic
Shake Some Action - Flamin' Groovies (1976)
"The rawer blues and rockabilly accents were gone from the Groovies' sound, with the guitar-fueled cool of the British Invasion era taking their place. While this version of the Flamin' Groovies didn't rock out with the same manic fervor as they did on Flamingo or Teenage Head, they could indeed rock when they felt so inclined, as demonstrated by the glorious "Please Please Girl," "I Can't Hide," and "Let the Boy Rock and Roll," while the Brit-flavored take on "St. Louis Blues" showed that some shades of the old band were still visible. And the title cut was a stunner -- a brilliant evocation of the adventurous side of British rock circa 1966, "Shake Some Action" was tough, moody, wounded, and gloriously melodic all at once, and by its lonesome served as a superb justification for the Groovies' new creative direction." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
Sincerely - Dwight Twilley Band (1976)
"[T]hey crafted a power pop masterpiece, one that merged their Anglophile leanings with the Southern roots of rock & roll better than any of their contemporaries (including Big Star, who never seemed as comfortable with Memphis soul as they were with Liverpool pop). While nothing on the album quite matches the genius of "I'm on Fire" (what does?), the rest of the album is a consistently impressive, nodding towards a number of rock & roll touchstones while sounding confidently original at all times; the Raspberries-on-downs glide of "Baby, Let's Cruise," the loping updated rockabilly of "T.V.," the funky groove of "Feeling in the Dark," the Searchers-esque jangle of "Three Persons," and the broken-hearted melancholy of "I'm Losing You" could each be the work of a different band, but the strength of Twilley's songwriting and [Phil] Seymour's versatile vocal chops bring a welcome unity to these many shades of pop perfection." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
Sneakers - Sneakers (1976)
"[I]t revives the nervy, independent feel of the birth of power pop. This almost feels as long ago, if not more so, than the Beatles and British Invasion that fueled the Sneakers; the group's homemade replicas of ringing '60s guitar pop hinted toward punk, new wave, jangle pop, and ultimately indie rock, but lacked all of the stylized self-absorption that followed as well. Like Big Star before them, the Sneakers were pop obsessives recording in a blissful vacuum, obsessed with the past but not living with it, so their recordings have a twitchy vitality that remains bracing and fresh years later. The Sneakers may belong to a cult, but it's an important one, acting as the bridge between Big Star and R.E.M., pointing the way to such latter-day popsters as Guided by Voices and the Elephant 6 collective, too. Nevertheless, the best way to think of the Sneakers is not in terms of history, but rather as a band that produced some brilliant power pop during its brief existence, pure pop that remains purely pleasurable all these years later and has never been better heard than it is here." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick (1977) ⭐
Cheap Trick's eponymous debut is an explosive fusion of Beatlesque melodic hooks, Who-styled power, and a twisted sense of humor partially borrowed from the Move. But that only begins to scratch the surface of what makes Cheap Trick a dynamic record. Guitarist Rick Nielsen has a powerful sense of dynamics and arrangements, which gives the music an extra kick, but he also can write exceptionally melodic and subversive songs. Nothing on Cheap Trick is quite what it seems... In short, Cheap Trick revel in taboo subjects with abandon, devoting themselves to the power of the hook, as well as sheer volume and gut-wrenching rock & roll -- though the record is more musically accomplished than punk rock, it shares the same aesthetic. The combination of off-kilter humor, bizarre subjects, and blissful power pop made Cheap Trick one of the defining albums of its era, as well as one of the most influential. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
The Rubinoos - The Rubinoos (1977)
"This little gem is a celebration of pop music. There's no other way to describe this record. Catchy tunes with a touch of tongue-in-cheek, mixed with exuberance and joy make this record as much fun as when it was first released." - Jim Worbois, AllMusic
The Only Ones - The Only Ones (1978)
"The Only Ones were a band that became identified with the British punk scene largely because leader Peter Perrett had a funny voice and could write a great straightforward rock & roll song at a time when such virtues were possessed almost exclusively by the faster-and-louder brigade. This helps explain why the Only Ones' self-titled debut album is regarded as a classic of the first wave of U.K. punk despite the presence of the midtempo jazz-accented "Breaking Down"; the '50s pop moves of the opening cut, "The Whole of the Law"; "The Beast," which sounds like some sort of lethargic neo-boogie; and the graceful semi-acoustic semi-samba "No Peace for the Wicked." Of course, when the Only Ones felt like rocking out, they did it brilliantly, and along with the instant classic "Another Girl, Another Planet," this album includes the sinister but rollicking "City of Fun" and the feedback-drenched crunch of "The Immoral Story," which points to another factor that made the Only Ones heroes in their day -- their eclecticism was rooted in a genuine talent for embracing different sounds rather than the inability to pick a style and master it." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
Labour of Lust - Nick Lowe (1979) ⭐
"Working primarily in the roots rock vein of Brinsley Schwarz but energizing his traditionalist tendencies with strong pop melodies, a sense of humor, and an edgy new wave sensibility, Lowe comes up with one of his best sets of songs. Not only is his only hit, the propulsively hook-laden "Cruel to Be Kind," here, but so are the rampaging outsider anthem "Born Fighter," the tongue-in-cheek, Chuck Berry-style "Love So Fine," the wonderful pure pop of "Dose of You," the haunting "Endless Grey Ribbon," the druggy "Big Kick, Plain Scrap!," and the terrific "Cracking Up," as well as his definitive version of Mickey Jupp's "Switchboard Susan." It's an exceptional collection of inventive pop songs, delivered with vigor and energy, making it one of the great records of the new wave." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
Strange Man/Changed Man - Bram Tchaikovsky (1979)
"Strange Man/Changed Man remains Bram Tchaikovsky's finest moment. Produced by his former Motors bandmate Nick Garvey on a shoestring budget, the resulting thin sound only serves to enhance the songs which owe as much to '60s pop as they do to pub/punk rock. The pure pop of "Girl of My Dreams" (a minor hit in the U.S.) perfectly encapsulates late-'70s Brit-pop and stands as one of the classic singles of the era." - Chris Woodstra, AllMusic
Stands for deciBels - The dB's (1980)
"On their debut, the dB's combined a reverence for British pop and arty, post-punk leanings that alternate between minimalism and a love of quirky embellishment, odd sounds, and unexpected twists; Stands for Decibels is clearly a collegiate pop experiment, but rarely is experimentation so enjoyable and irresistibly catchy. Singing and songwriting duties are shared equally by Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple -- Stamey, more quirky and psychedelic-leaning with a winsome, pure-pop whine, is nicely balanced by Holsapple's more earthy drawl and straightforward approach. The album stands not only as a landmark power-pop album, but also as a prototype for much of the Southern jangle that would follow." - Chris Woodstra, AllMusic
Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw (1982) ⭐
"Marshall Crenshaw's 1982 self-titled debut record is a joyous listen that's poised in a perfect spot between power pop and new wave and full of instantly memorable, incredibly likable songs. There's an innocence that bursts out of the grooves and fills the listener with the kind of good feeling that lasts long after the record stops rotating. There wasn't a lot of music as immediate and unabashedly simple on the airwaves in 1982, and definitely not a lot of artists who looked to Buddy Holly and the early Beatles for inspiration. Marshall and his band (brother Robert on bass and Chris Donato on drums) team with producer Richard Gottehrer to craft a sound that's streamlined and punchy, each instrument holding its own in the stripped-down mix with Crenshaw's vocals on top. The end result lacks the gloss of new wave, the power of power pop, and the scruffiness of punk. It does capture the energy, vitality, and otherness the best of those genres have when done right, and Crenshaw definitely does everything right here." - Tim Sendra, AllMusic
Lolita Nation - Game Theory (1987)
"Game Theory leader Scott Miller never made a secret of his fondness for Big Star, and while Real Nighttime favored the lush but direct sound of #1 Record, and The Big Shot Chronicles suggested the harder-edged tone of Radio City, Lolita Nation plays like Game Theory's variation on the themes of Big Star's masterfully damaged swan song, Third/Sister Lovers. Certainly Game Theory's most ambitious album, Lolita Nation was a two-LP set that combined some of Miller's most user-friendly power pop squared off against dark, moody ruminations on betrayal, failed love, and mortality, all of it punctuated with bursts of avant-garde noise and unclassifiable studio doodling, and finally thrown into a sonic Cuisinart through Miller's aggressive use of aural montage. Game Theory's most challenging work, Lolita Nation is a bit disorienting on first listen, though it finds the band playing at the very top of its form on demanding material." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet (1991) ⭐
"Matthew Sweet's third album is a remarkable artistic breakthrough. Grounded in the guitar pop of the Beatles, Big Star, Byrds, R.E.M., and Neil Young, Girlfriend melds all of Sweet's influences into one majestic, wrenching sound that encompasses both the gentle country-rock of "Winona" and the winding guitars of the title track and "Divine Intervention." Sweet's music might have recognizable roots, but Girlfriend never sounds derivative; thanks to his exceptional songwriting, the album is a fresh, original interpretation of a classic sound." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
I Am The Cosmos - Chris Bell (1978/1992)
"Unreleased for over 15 years, I Am the Cosmos is nevertheless an enduring testament to the brilliance of Chris Bell; lyrically poignant and melodically stunning, this lone solo album is proof positive of his underappreciated pop mastery. While cuts like "Get Away," "I Got Kinda Lost," and "Fight at the Table" recall the glowing, energetic power pop of Bell's earlier work, the majority of the songs on I Am the Cosmos are more reflective and deeply personal; the title track is a harrowingly schizophrenic tale of romantic despair, while other cuts like the lurching "Better Save Yourself" and the lovely "Look Up" are infused with a spiritual power largely missing from his Big Star material. The album's highlight, "You and Your Sister" -- which features backing vocals from none other than Bell's Big Star mate Alex Chilton -- is simply one of the great unknown love songs in the pop canon, a luminous and fragile ballad almost otherworldly in its beauty." - Jason Ankeny, AllMusic
Floating on the Beater - The Posies (1993)
"One could argue that the big guitar attack of Frosting on the Beater was simply the Posies' way of trying to compete with the grunge sweepstakes that briefly turned their hometown of Seattle into the center of the rock universe. But one listen also reveals that it transformed a smart but overly precious pop outfit into a hard-charging power pop band that gained a wealth of strength without giving up any of their smarts in the process -- not a bad bargain." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
Spilt Milk - Jellyfish (1993)
"Spilt Milk is a massive balancing act that Jellyfish miraculously pull off; it might seem like a power pop Spruce Goose, but in this case it not only takes off, it flies high as a remarkable experiment in pop-minded rock on the grandest scale." - Mark Deming, AllMusic
One Chord to Another - Sloan (1996) ⭐
"Following the bungled American release of Twice Removed, it seemed unlikely that Sloan would survive, let alone record an album as wonderful as One Chord to Another. On the group's previous album, Sloan had refashioned itself as a power pop band, often with terrific results, but on One Chord to Another the songwriting blossoms. Filled with catchy, jangling riffs and memorable melodies, the record is a tour de force of hooks and harmonies, filled with exceptionally strong songs and forceful performances, which give the record a firm, rocking foundation. Few power pop records of the '90s are as infectious and memorable as One Chord to Another." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
Welcome Interstate Managers - Fountains of Wayne (2003)
"Fans waiting for Fountains of Wayne to finally quit goofing around and release a sonically experimental, brooding collection of "serious music" are just going to have to keep waiting. Luckily, the number of their listeners hoping for anything besides another infectious batch of sunny singalong numbers from Adam Schlesinger, Chris Collingwood, and company is probably about the same as the number of people waiting for the White Stripes to record a smooth jazz record. On the mind-numbingly charming Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne do what they do best. And while they reinforce their reputation as the reigning deities of uptempo, big-guitar pop/rock with feel-good anthems like "Mexican Wine," "Bright Future in Sales," "Stacy's Mom," and "Little Red Light," they also continue their proud tradition of mellow yet equally tongue-in-cheek tunes." - Mark Vanderhoff, AllMusic
Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers (2005) ⭐
"Like their previous two records, it's a bright, hooky record that sounds cheerful even when the tempos slow down and the melodies drift toward a minor key. It's sharp and tuneful, abundant in references to classic guitar pop yet never sounding beholden to the past, thanks to the lively, loose performances, a simple yet muscular production, and smart writing, usually from the pen of [A.C.] Newman." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
The Alternative to Love - Brendon Benson (2005)
"[W]here [Matthew] Sweet's music tied neatly into the zeitgeist of the Alternative Nation of the early '90s, Benson's music is deliberately classicist and proudly out of time, belonging neither to the sounds nor the fashion of the 2000s. That is, unless the defining characteristic of this decade truly is smart, sharp revivalism, from the Strokes through LCD Soundsystem, but even if that's the case, Benson is the heir to a tradition that has never had much commercial (or critical) potency since Badfinger and the Raspberries developed it in the early '70s -- too-shy, sensitive pop tunesmiths who are also skilled record-makers but whose sense of pop remains rooted in the golden era of the '60s, so it chiefly appeals to other pop geeks raised on similar sensibilities." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic
The Emitt Rhodes Recordings (1969-1973) - Emitt Rhodes (2009) ⭐
"Stacked back to back, the records made by Emitt Rhodes in the short time between 1969 and 1973 stand up as one of the great brief flashes of inspiration and greatness in pop-music history. The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 collects all four albums the singer/songwriter/musical wiz recorded over that period of time and adds one extra track (the 1973 single "Tame the Lion")... The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 is essential to any fan of late-'60s/early-'70s pop music and hats off to Hip-O Select for giving Rhodes the attention he deserves." - Tim Sendra, AllMusic
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