Scroll down for reviews of the latest releases by The New Pornographers, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Mark Bacino

Ozma
Spending Time on the Borderline

(Kung Fu)

kungfurecords.com

For years, Ozma's primary claim to fame was that they were the best Weezer mimic in a scene full of them. This was by no means a bad thing. Their excellent 2000 album, Rock and Roll Part Three, won them accolades from fans of power pop and indie rock alike, as well as tour spots opening for Nada Surf, Superdrag, and (surprise!) Weezer.

On their second full length, Spending Time on the Borderline, Ozma outgrows their Southern California roots, producing an album that expands far beyond the fuzzy guitars and ramshackle harmonies of their debut, incorporating elements of new wave and even hints of world music with the Celtic-tinged "Come Home Andrea." They also notably let their songs sprawl out a bit rather than adhering to strict verse/ chorus/ verse format, allowing for more instruments and for guitarist Ryen Slegr and keyboardist/flautist Star Wick to show their instrumental chops.
None of this evolution comes at the cost of the songs, however. The group's sense of melody remains firmly in place, with the choruses from "Spending Time," "Bad Dogs," and "Turtleneck Coverup" ranking among their best ever. Even when the songs are a bit darker, such as on the Kid A-inflected "Your Name", hooks are still present, albeit in a somewhat more subtle manner. Another track vying for the status of the album's high point is the excellent full band version of "Game Over," a song for which a home recording of has been circulating on file sharing systems for several years, mislabeled as a Weezer demo.

Spending Time on the Borderline finds Ozma at a great stage in their career. They've mature enough to have a fair degree of musical complexity and lyrical perspective, but they're still young enough to attack their songs with an enthusiastic fervor, and this makes for a great mix.

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The New Pornographers
Electric Version

(Matador/Mint)

matadorrecords.com

After their debut album, the instant-classic pop opus Mass Romantic, it was almost a given that Canadian supergroup the New Pornographers' follow-up LP would be a letdown. Given that fact, it's high praise that their second album, Electric Version, is only a mild disappointment.

Electric Version opens with "The Electric Version" a song that contains most of the trappings that made the Pornographers debut so excellent: quality lyrics, complex song structures, strong melodies, wall of sound production and a great chorus. The parade of sonic honey continues throughout the length of the album, with standouts being the driving "The Laws have Changed" and the energy of "The New Face of Zero and One." The final track, "Miss Teen Wordpower," which features traded vocals between Carl Newman and Neko Case, ends the album on a high note. My personal pick for the album's best moment is "Testament to You in Verse" a track which concludes with the same vocal phrase being repeated ad infinitum, adding another instrument or voice with each loop, ending with a great crescendo.

For whatever reason though, even after about a dozen listens, this album just never catches fire the way *Mass Romantic* did. This can somewhat be blamed on the lack of any quality Case-dominated tracks. Her two lead vocal contributions on the Pornographers' debut were arguably the best songs on the album. On *Electric Version*, she only takes lead vocals on the mediocre "All for Swinging You Around," and while her backing and shared vocals are vital to several songs, the lack of anything that she could fully lend her dynamite voice and charisma to is a bit of a letdown.

That said, while Electric Version doesn't quite live up to its predecessor's standard, it is certainly another excellent record by a group whose members are very adept at making them. Furthermore, it has enough twists and turns to satisfy not only pop fans, but those who are looking for a bit more than hooks as well.

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All Girl Summer Fun Band
2

(K)

kpunk.com

If there were an award for the most accurate band moniker, The All Girl Summer Fun Band, a Portland-based quartet that features Jen Sbragia of the Softies on guitar, would certainly win it. Their 2002 self-titled debut, delivered just under a half hour of mostly upbeat and relentlessly fun pop whose simple but relentless melodies and campy song topics recalled the best of the girl group era, and their new album, appropriately dubbed 2, does the same.

While not particularly accomplished musicians, AGSFB, avoids the blatant amateurism that characterizes some of their K Records labelmates, varying their approach enough over the album's 13 sub-three minute songs to keep the album from being redundant. "Video Game Heart" has a swirling organ, while distorted guitars are featured on several of the songs, punking things up a bit on the 97 second "Ticking Time Bomb" and infectious "Down South, 10 Hours, I-5."

Of course, AGSFB is still subject to the criticism that applies to every group like theirs, mainly that 2 is very predictable and dated. Every song follows a strict verse/chorus format with the occasional bridge, all the harmonies and solos are in the expected places, and the lyrics never expand beyond junior high poetry. While this is usually not much of an issue, as I'm reasonably sure that no one comes to a band like this looking for innovation, it does mean that the songs where the hooks don't work (most notably on "Daydreaming") are complete throwaways. Luckily, most of the album avoids this pitfall, making this a solid choice for the Summer's most fun all girl record.

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Mark Bacino
The Million Dollar Milkshake

(Parasol)

parasol.com

When I read that Mark Bacino was advertising his new album, The Million Dollar Milkshake on television, I thought it a somewhat desperate plea for attention. After listening to the album, however, my mind was completely changed. If I had made an album this good, I'd want to let the world know about it by any means possible as well. Proving its mastermind to be quite the pop connoisseur, The Million Dollar Milkshake dabbles in nearly every variety of pop and consistently succeeds, delivering excellent melodies and hooks in spades.

Almost every name that you see frequently dropped on Fufkin would be applicable somewhere on this album. "Downtown Girl" earns comparisons to Shoes with its jangly guitars and harmonies while "Want You Around" recalls ‘70s AM pop with its laid back feel and well-placed horns in the chorus. Bacino, however did not stop paying attention to pop twenty years ago; the piano pop of "How About Always?" sounds like Ben Folds and the bouncy "All I Want" shares more than just its title with the Jellyfish song. While it would be hyperbole to claim that Bacino equals his influences, he does have a smooth and versatile voice that works well with every style he attempts and his talent for hooks is on par with just about anyone else in the pop underground.
The main complaint about The Million Dollar Milkshake is that it feels a bit slight. It clocks in at less than a half-hour with only two songs over three minutes, and two of its tracks are merely pleasant throwaways. Given the quality of most of the material on here, one would expect that Bacino had another quality track or two up his sleeve. That, along with the pervasive glossy polish that occasionally makes some of the songs feel lifeless, are the only issues that keep this album from being a lock for one of the best pop albums of the year.

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