# Debut Solo Album From STEVE STOECKEL of the Spongetones Out 2/24 On Big Stir Records

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/debut-solo-album-from-steve-stoeckel-of-the-spongetones-out-2-24-on-big-stir-records/
- Published: 2023-01-16T16:45:00-06:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

[[**Big Stir Records** is extraordinarily proud to begin our 2023 release year with the long-awaited solo debut album from **STEVE STOECKEL**, founding member of Power Pop Hall Of Famers **THE SPONGETONES**. Featuring fifteen all-new tracks ranging from hook-heavy rockers in the Spongetones style to lovely folk-tinged jewels of melody, **_THE POWER OF AND_** sees release February 24 on CD in record stores worldwide and on all digital platforms, and is up for pre-order at [www.bigstirrecords.com](https://u648841.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=n4-2BFS6ihWTIbrglZSRCLUdCctLWe5GlloZggC2-2BJ3RVP7cI-2BJ0h0PVuH8AqsuER2i9o0fOKtHc2djdM0nIMDBbYdEbQnDuBqNLQfeXYFLy5IFMKVf0ClCnFuToYz-2FjY-2FnCqcY1ELQA0fgi6cTj1t-2BK3-2FenuRr94w3rp8LZ5bocU-3DYAjK_gjUN5q0oY-2Fa9pVSh-2F3ttEV36g8zdE-2BC7uOgdgzyXpkp1UsIlWUxX6pNV4tKRzAaqyAnrJf-2F4xdeYLQuUFzCZLT8Kq9R-2FKSXmAeWd2EiCcMjoRpQDBnN0bbwWun-2BSz6wQGO1WPRjQvL9lOkDs0ADmTJ1FeF2VURY-2Fuv-2FbTbXrcynyrpurzKC9ZgZoA00bCO8t9Y6KmoRuH3G9dHBRAIHi01xJlXOoSWKDFV0S9rtwPyuVeWISuf7PXzJeQm3VVLQwMPWhrphNXcuZf31ZQFMVItHarI9n8MK-2By9c0D2tnRRujkvGe-2FlwotLUvrZQPLWxy-2FNhWnTvUOxN66zrIzbqHvA-3D-3D) now. It
features the new single “Just One Kiss” as well as **Steve**‘s prior hit **Big Stir**
singles “Why” (featuring **IRENE PEÑA**) and “Birds”, as well as “Mod Girl” which
reunites Stoeckel with all of his **Spongetones** bandmates.

![](https://i0.wp.com/d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/284050/d30afae5100b5df54805474fa0050390f87e93c0/
original/orchard-steve-stoeckel-the-power-of-and.jpg/%21%21/meta%3AeyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ%
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For decades, **STEVE STOECKEL** has been penning and performing highlight compositions
with his legendary band, on duo recordings with fellow Spongetone Jamie Hoover, 
and most recently as part of the far-flung collective **POP CO-OP**. That makes **
_THE POWER OF AND_** a long-overdue opportunity for listeners to experience **Stoeckel**
stretching out on a full-length LP under his own name. The songs on the album, galloping
rockers and bucolic idylls alike, are textbook studies in heartfelt songwriting 
economy. Each one packs a stunning wealth of melody and strikingly original imagery
and wordplay into their brief run times, with the full 15-track record clocking 
in at a breezy 37 minutes. There’s not a note or a word out of place and all of 
it’s instantly memorable, inviting another spin as soon as the pyrotechnics of the
closing track end with a resounding bang.

Kicking off with the boisterous Merseybeat-informed “Laura Lynn” (one of several
tunes here to refresh the “girl’s name” pop song trope in delightfully surprising
ways) and following it with the sweetly understated acoustic-based “Birds,” **_THE
POWER OF AND_** establishes its palette at the outset. There’s a compelling back-
and-forth between refreshed retro-rockers like the galloping “Christine” or the **
Spongetones**-propelled “Mod Girl” and delicate borderline-baroque miniatures (the
aural iridescence of “Hummingbird”, the musical and lyrical poetry of the title 
track). The combination of complementary textures is sure to strike many listeners
as the kind of superbly melodic and nuanced album experience they haven’t often 
heard since the late ’60s, while longtime followers of the Spongetones will recognize
that **Stoeckel’**s been mining — and refining – this kind of glittering ore all
along.

Even for the faithful, there are surprises along the way. There’s the Celtic ode“
The Emerald Sea” replete with Gaelic passages and dueling pennywhistles and stinging
electric guitar leads. And “Why”, the Seekers-like duet with **Irene Peña** that
was **Stoecke**l’s first hit single with **Big Stir** in 2021. The journey treats
us to the whimsical instrumental “Skippy’s Parade” and the hauntingly stark “Heather
Gray” along the way to its closing track. That would be the powerfully scathing 
political broadside “Whistling Past Graveyards”, rendered poignant as the last collaboration
between **Stoeckel** and Spongetones drummer **Chris Garges** before the latter’s
untimely passing. All of it is indicative of a creative restlessness that’s as welcoming
as it is playful.

The exuberant lead single “Just One Kiss” brings all of the record’s threads together
in one irresistible three-minute package. Strolling in with a lilting uke-and-vocal
intro, both the song and **Stoeckel**‘s keening, sophisticated vocal line start 
swinging when the drums and electric guitars kick in. And the line “Anyone can see
you were never kissed correctly from the start” is as demonstrative of Stoeckel’s
considerable wit as anything on the album. In fact his way with words, and ear for
wedding them to pitch-perfect musical settings, yields many of **_THE POWER OF AND_**‘
s most magical moments. It can be heard in the dream-inspired lyrics to the shuffling“
Strange Cameo”, and on “If/Only” a tender appreciation on what might not have been
but happily is: “If you hadn’t been beside me there in that dim, crowded place /
If I hadn’t turned to hear you and felt the lips that brushed my face.” The music
is gentle but urgent, contented but searching, and it’s simply lovely.

Perhaps most emblematic of **Stoeckel**‘s approach here is “The Monsters Under My
Bed,” a true anthem for the young at heart. “It’s a tribute to the wonderful Maurice
Sendak, who, like me, knew the delightful things that wild things can bring to one’s
life,” says **Stoeckel**. “The song is a promise never to let them go, to keep a
child’s view always.” The new record makes good on that promise: after four decades
of songwriting and performing, **STEVE STOECKEL** is still reveling in discovering
new ways to delight us with words and music, and using it to bring us together. 
It’s the sound of a Power Pop Hall Of Famer demonstrating his mastery of the form
and reaching beyond it as well. Such is **_THE POWER OF AND_**, as **Steve** describes
it: an album-length ode to “the connective power this little word has” and a celebration
of a whole new chapter in an already illustrious career.

![Big Stir Records](https://i0.wp.com/d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/284050/6e93dd79734ce640bf0d4e0e8516effef3acdca4/
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3D%3D/meta%3AeyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ%3D%3D.png?resize=479%2C247&ssl=1)

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