November 20, 2009

Mod-A-Day: The Naomi Star

Power pop bands that smartly blend sixties pop with indie rock and infuse it with folk rock don't come along too often. The Naomi Star do (maybe did?)exactly that, and they do it exceedingly well. The band has lots of influences from The Monkees and The Beatles to Badfinger to The Posies. Seeing that list you might think you know what to expect, but you'll get more than you bargained for. They take those influences and mix them together in an intoxicating blend of kinder, gentler power pop, maybe more akin to the seventies than any other era. The first of their releases I became familiar with was Sunshine Girl, with its fabulous power pop title track that has the seventies bubblegum and rock mixture that Sweet made famous, sans the glam. Their latest release Through The Eyes, is a smooth record styled after late sixties, early seventies pop groups like The Bee Gees, and Badfinger and popsters like Dwight Twilley and Marshall Crenshaw. Surprises abound as the songs flow effortlessly from one to another, even when you go from the seventiesesque S"he Told Me" to the more modern indie rock of "Moneyman" and "Powerpop Nugget". And then another slick shift sideways to the Mike Nesmith-like "Anjoulie". From what I've read online it looks like perhaps they've gone on hiatus or broken up, if anyone knows for sure let me know.

The Naomi Star -- She Told Me


The Naomi Star -- Powerpop Nugget