Kurt Hagardorn - Ten Singles

BLEW me away - but not on first listen. One of those records that hit me as really, quite good on first listen but on subsequent listens not only opened itself up to me, but left me bowled over. Mixing varied influences(Which are more hinted at, than overt), The Kinks, New Pornographers("International Travel Advisory" below), Big Star("Please Make It Last" below), Neil Young, Elephant 6 indie rock Beatle pop, Beach Boys, XTC, Laurel Canyon 70s pop, Cracker and a lot more. It's just freaking GOOD! REALLY, really, really good! This is one of those releases where I just tell you to listen below, so please do that as it does it more justice than words here.

" Kurt assembled this album over the course of about eight years, primarily recording whenever inspiration and time would allow. Usually when you pick up an album it reflects a small portion of an artists mindset -- typically a year or so of their songwriting life. The interesting thing here is we get insight into Kurt over a longer period of time. The results are pretty wide in terms of genre and production value. But, rather than coming across as uneven or inconsistent, it plays as interesting and varied. The perfect example of this is the transition from song one to song two on the disc. The opener, titled "International Travel Advisory" has a Beatles-march feel with a slab of Elephant 6 on the side. Kurt somehow manages to have this song lead comfortably into "You Are My Girl," replete with pedal steel opening and laid back Bakersfield vibe. And there you have it, a mix of indie/powerpop and alt.country. Of course, this reflects Kurt's own background, having spent time in both of those worlds (he was in Chapel Hill band Gumption and played guitar for Thad Cockrell). Of course my favorite tunes are the ones that fall down on the powerpop side of the fence, and songs like "Rock Scissors Paper," "Leanne," and "Last Time Rewind" all fulfill my harmony jones quite well. Chock full of tunesmithy goodness, he's got this great roots pop thing happening that seems equally influenced by the Beatles, the Everly Brothers and some of the modern-day alt country folks like The Jayhawks (with perhaps a bit of 90's indie pop a la Portastatic thrown in for good measure)!"-SeatlePowerPopBlog.

" the strong groove that comes out on "International Travel Advisory" is the sort of Beatles-tinged song you've never heard before but seem to know exactly where it's heading. And it's good, damn good. After that, Hagardorn opts for a cross of The Kinks and The Byrds with the retro-pop rock of "You Are My Girl", a country-ish tune that a band like Sloan could pull off with relative ease. But Hargardorn, who grew up in Tennessee, seems just as comfortable doling out an Americana gem like "Yesterday and Tomorrow" as he does with the ensuing "Please Make it Last", which sounds like Neil Young covering the Pink Floyd ditty "San Tropez". Meanwhile, Hagardorn hits another home run with the power pop nugget "Rock Scissors Paper" and also with the terribly melodic and jangle-riddled "You Never Know". Hagardorn can do no wrong with the foot-stomping "Last Time Rewind" leaving a group like The Soundtrack of Our Lives drooling. The biggest problem with this album is that there is nothing to criticize about it. I hate it when that happens�"-Pop Matters. Extremely Highly Recommended!

International Travel Advisory - mp3

Please Make It Last - mp3

Rock Scissors Paper - mp3

You Are My Girl - mp3

Leanne - mp3