Myracle Brah: Life On Planet Eartsnop (1998)

Do you like power pop? Then you're gonna love this.

Do you like mid-60s Beatles? Matthew Sweet? Teenage Fanclub? Other purveyors of modern guitar rock drawn from the likes of Big Star, the Raspberries, and Badfinger? Then you're gonna love this.

How do I know this? 'Cuz it's a great freakin' power pop record. Just freakin' great.

Songwriter Andy Bopp has played with a number of bands and as a solo artist, across a number of genres, but he really hit his stride with Myracle Brah, who released a handful of chiming power pop albums in the late 90s and 00s; this, their debut, is (by far) the best, twenty concise little numbers, nearly each one a slab of chiming guitar pop perfection. (And no, I don't understand the title, either.)

Check out the killer "Love Is," barely 90 seconds yet one of the most inarguably "Beatlesque" tunes ever, right down to Bopp's Lennon-esque vocal inflections. Or the similarly Beatlesque "Getting Over Delusion" (this one even more concise, 90 seconds flat).  Or the early Who-like "Action Reaction."  Or the insanely infectious "Loli La Letta," one of those songs you'll find yourself singing in the shower for weeks.

Some of the songs break out a bit from the mold. "Machina" rocks an early 60s Beatles-in-Hamburg vibe; "Carry on the Lie" slows things down and show the band's ability to take on a Big Star-styled power ballad.

Really, it's just great. Check it out pronto.

Here's an audio rip of "Love Is":

...and an audio rip of "Loli La Letta":

Here's a live take on "Whisper Softly":