Berwanger Demonios High/Dive Records 2015

Berwanger Demonios High/Dive Records 2015 CAT# HDR016

Josh Berwanger is apparently just going with his last name now...at least according to this 6 song EP put out by High/Dive Records.

Demonios is Berwanger growing fonder of the power pop treasure trove he discovered when making his self-titled debut. These six tracks find him trying to master his own brand of the genre. In addition to late-70's skinny tie sounds, he is attempting to mix the swagger of 80's hard rock and the groove of 70's jam bands. It's a decent mix, but he can't drop the influences of his work in the Anniversary, there's still a lot of Weezer and 90's alterno-rock hiding in the corners of his songs.

As catchy as his solo debut was, you could tell it owed a lot to others. Demonios finds the songwriter finding more of himself in his new power pop hooks. He's still the goofy character with a backward baseball cap and outlandish fashion, but his version of the american teenager culture starts to grow on you, motorcycles, heartache, and suburban punks start to make a lot of sense on these tracks.

Live Radio Performance

Josh Berwanger Oh Bis! B/W Back of My Hand Too Much Rock 2014

Josh Berwanger Oh Bis! B/W Back of My Hand Too Much Rock 2014 CAT# 003

The transformation is complete.  Josh Berwanger has gone form Blue Valley teenage hipster, to emo heartthrob, to retro rocker, to a power pop craftsmen.  This is the third in Sid Sowder's Too Much Rock series and will be released on June 3rd, 2014.  There will be a party June 5th, 2014 at Mills Records in Westport.  You should go.  I'm probably not gonna go...don't want to be the weird, old, fat belly, looking awkward and shit.

So yeah, Berwanger's power pop stick is growing on me.  Moments on his solo LP are brilliant, but the LP wasn't completely drenched in big hooks and jangly guitars.  His original tune on this 7", "Oh Bis!", is nothing but power pop, clocking under 3 minutes of actual song before Berwanger goes into a short roller-hockey story about the song's title.  There's woo-hooing, oohhs and aahhs on the chorus, and it's about getting the girl.  It's so power pop it comes off a bit formulaic, but, all is forgiven since Cheap Trick stopped writing good songs in the 80's and the most great power pop groups disbanded prior to the end of the 1970's.

As with all releases in the series, Too Much Rock selects a song to cover on the flip side.  Berwanger gets the Jags "Back of My Hand", which is an obscure track to most Stateside, but was a hit in the band's home of England.  Berwanger's version is solid.  The Jags were a little too clean and sharp versus American bands of the same era like the Nerves or the Real Kids.  I had an issue with the singer's affliction and the band's slick production.  Berwanger's breathy vocals and hurried production do the song a favor.  Also, love the use of female backing vocals rather than dual tracking dude's vocals to perfection (kind of the auto-tune of it's time wasn't it?).  Further, big fan of the acoustic guitar break, it's a nice touch.

Oh, and I'm not going to talk about the cover...I don't get it, but whatever, I guess it's supposed to be funny?

UPDATE: Apparently there is a limited run of color variants that will be available for this release, my guess would be at Mills Records show.  109 colored 7"s in blue, green, purple and what appears to be a Coke Bottle clear.  Also, the cover I don't get...  It's done by Jay Shaw, an artist who does alternate movie posters...I get it now.

Check out the Tune, Too Much Rock.com

Berwanger T.K. Webb Split 7" Creme Tangerine 2013

Berwanger T.K. Webb Split 7" Creme Tangerine 2013 CAT# CTR-003

Nifty release on hot pink vinyl.  This was put out by a small label, Creme Tangerine, in 2013.  As far as 7"s go, solid packaging, the pink vinyl is cool, the label contrasts nicely, the artwork and printing are attractive, but simple.  Also, Josh Berwanger was behind most of the artwork and design, so pretty DIY accept the actual label part.

From my understanding, it was Josh Berwanger's first output as a solo artist.  You can tell since it's drenched in a sound reminiscent of his work with the Anniversary.  Bit of a dance rock groove with synth effects all over the place.  It's got a good hook and the Anniversary-ness to is welcome in relation to the Only Ones. He's not doing this sound anymore, if you've heard Berwanger's newest stuff, dude is obsessed with power pop sounds.  He's doing an upcoming release for Sid Sowder and Too Much Rock which is due out in early June.  That release promises to be full on 1978 style.

The flip side features a home recording from T.K. Webb entitled, "Fuck the Police."  I think the song uses the phrase once and I'm not a huge fan of using a title that borrows from N.W.A., but whatever.  It's a a decent rural, folk-blues jam.  Homemade style, so it's still rough around the edges.

Nifty Label, Super-Indie, Creme Tangerine

Josh Berwanger Strange Stains Good Land Records 2013

Josh Berwanger Strange Stains Good Land Records 2013 CAT# GLR013-1

Quick introduction to the album, Josh Berwanger, was one of the main songwriters for the now defunct Anniversary.  He plays around town and elsewhere as the Josh Berwanger Band, but the LP is credited to him as a solo artist.  For the most part, Berwanger is the only consistent player on tracks and the group is pieced together.  One stand out, the first track, "Bullets of Change," features Kansas City native T.K. Webb on guitar.

After the split of the Anniversary in 2004, Berwanger and members of Anniversary formed the Only Children which took the stoner-rock vibe of the Your Majesty to the country-rock side of the fence.  So instead of big groove retro-rock, they went rural, Southern boogie.  That all ended in 2007.  Since then, hadn't heard much from any Anniversary alums other than Justin Roelfs' White Flight recordings and videos.

Apparently, Berwanger was busy penning power-pop gems.  Granted, still retro-rock, but there are some legitimate hits on this LP.  Kansas City recently got a new adult alternative station, it's a former NPR station out of Central Missouri State (maybe?) going by the Bridge FM.  They're trying incredibly hard to align themselves with the local scene and are spinning the crap out of Berwanger's tunes.  And for good reason, there are some great songs.  The station currently seems to favor, "Time Traveler", which is kind of funny because the word "shit" is stated clearly and I don't think they've caught on.

While the album has some lulls, which isn't any different than any of the Anniversary albums, the first side and moments on the flip side are incredible.  My main problem with Berwanger has always been this forced persona.  Like he's always trying hard (like his former band mate, Justin Roelfs) to be this strangely, engaging, oddball.  What's wrong with being a normal dude who plays guitar, you know?  You're from the burbs, embrace it.  Despite all that, he's never sounded more genuine than he does here.  Power pop suits this dude, his backwards hats and vintage attire are well placed.  His breathy vocals and T-Rex-ish cosmic lyrics make sense.  Unfortunately, he's hitting on some pretty well worn territory.  I mean, even when chiming guitars and big Beatles chorus' were a thing in the late-70s, people quickly looked elsewhere (how many hits did the Knack have, again?).  Regardless, I'm hoping this album finds a devoted following.  The songs deserve it.

Baby Loses Her Mind
Time Traveler