Power-pop rocker is high on "Sugar and Adrenaline"

June 28, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Dan Miraldi is hoping to find some new friends with his newly released sophomore album, “Sugar and Adrenaline.”

“I felt like on my second release there are some sweet pop songs and there are also like fast rockers, high-energy stuff,” Miraldi said. “The end of the CD has a 51/2-minute suite, ‘The Many Shades of Blue,’ which captures more of the ballad feel and also turns into like almost a wall of sound. For a more adrenaline track, there’s ‘Record Collection,’ which deals with having to go to a party and realizing that you really don’t identify with anyone at the party and that you’d rather be at home listening to your vinyl records.”

The Cleveland-based artist, who left Washington, D.C., band The Silver Liners a year ago to concentrate on his solo career, released a few EPs in recent years before focusing his attention on “Sugar and Adrenaline.” He said his latest effort, which includes other favorite tracks of his such as the album opener “Few Rock Harder?” and the sweet ballad “Helen of Troy,” has a Rolling Stones-meets-The White Stripes vibe.

However, as for the aforementioned vinyl records, his listening habits are a bit more, if not unique, then, unexpected.

“Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Deep Purple, like their album ‘Who Do We Think We Are.’” Miraldi said. “I listened to that song ‘Woman from Tokyo’ and thought the riff was awesome. It’s the album that version of the band was making as it was breaking up.”

Music lovers coming out to see his Dan Miraldi & The Albino Winos’ Youngstown debut Saturday at the Lemon Grove can expect to hear a classic-rock cover, but not the one you think. The 2009 Wooster College graduate said he’s actually worked up a version of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.”

Despite his penchant for ’70s hard rock, Miraldi is a power-pop performer at heart with high hopes for “Sugar and Adrenaline.”

He feels the songs have quite a bit of commercial appeal, which he hopes translates into touring.

In fact, earlier this year his band completed tours through Florida spring break destinations as well as an East Coast swing.

“We’re slowly moving outside of Cleveland,” Miraldi said.

What’s sort of curious is why the LP-loving Miraldi didn’t release “Sugar and Adrenaline” on vinyl? In some ways, it’s hypocritical not to, right?

“I don’t feel like enough of my friends have record players,” Miraldi said. “I could see me spending a whole lot of money to press an album as vinyl and just have 992 copies of my vinyl album sitting in my basement.”

Hmm, sounds like Miraldi needs some new friends.

“I guess so,” he said, laughing.