Scroll down for reviews of the latest releases by Exploding Hearts, Junior Senior, Barely Pink and and The Flops

Quasi
Hot Shit
(Touch and Go)

http://www.quasi2x2.com

If Quasi's new album had just come to me out of nowhere, I would have thought it was pretty good. There are plenty of clever lyrics, cool passages, and some very formidable hooks. Unfortunately, Hot Shit is by the same band that produced the 1998 masterpiece, Featuring "Birds", which means that this album, just like every one they've released since then, is somewhat of a disappointment, in spite of its numerous strengths.

For fans of the band, the most immediate thing about this album is that singer Sam Coomes plays guitar on almost every song, augmenting, or even replacing his usual keyboard. The band's songwriting has also changed. Rather than write tight, concise pop songs, Quasi adds more instruments to their usually sparse mix and let the songs sprawl out. While this works well on a few songs, such as the whiney guitar on the lumbering "Good Time Rock and Roll," or the enjoyable cacophony of the multi-sectioned "Good Times," the results are usually dull. The most heinous offenders are the three minute buildup on the opening title track and four minute outro to "Sunshine Sounds," neither of which add anything to songs that already fail to meet the band's usual high standards. Coomes' guitar also frequently sounds out of place, such as the often amelodic noodling on "Seven Years Gone," which really hurts and otherwise fine song.

As with all of Quasi's albums, there are still a handful of songs to be added to the band's canon. The somber, piano driven "Drunken Tears" is great, and in addition to featuring the album's best hook, the song's instrumental bridge is one of the few instances on the album where drawing out the song is effective. "Mama Tried" is nearly as good, with a marching band beat forming the foundation for the verses before resolving to the melodic chorus.

The other distinctive thing about Hot Shit is Coomes's voicing frustration with George W. Bush and America's current political agenda. He's usually clever about it, such as on "Master + Dog" he sings "The elephant wields the rod / While the donkey throws you a bone / I'd rather have a bone than a beating." The exception is the blunt and confrontational "White Devil's Dream" in which he voices his disgust by simply offering "a big fuck you to George Bush, father and son. And Jeb Bush too." He then expresses a similar sentiment for each member of Bush's cabinet. Really, Coomes success in conveying his political views is a lot like his songwriting. When he knows exactly what he wants to express, the results are excellent, but when he only has a vague idea, it's not very convincing.

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Exploding Hearts
Guitar Romantic

(Dirtnap)

www.explodinghearts.com

Last month on the way home to their native Portland after a gig in San Francisco, the Exploding Hearts' van crashed, killing three of the band's four members. This was not only a human tragedy, as it always is when people are taken at such a young age, but also a musical one as well, since it means that we won't hear anything else from the band responsible for what may be the best album of 2003.

While the menacing cover and thin production of Guitar Romantic suggest punk rock, the songs are pure pop. From the opening "Modern Kicks" to the fading chords of "Still Crazy" Guitar Romantic is an adrenaline rush with hooks. There are no forced ballads and no critic-pleasing musical experiments, just 28 minutes of blissfully sloppy pop.

Standout tracks abound and seem to change every time I listen to the album. The layered vocals in the chorus of "You're Black and Blue" make for one of the sharpest hooks I've heard in a while. "Throwaway Style" is the infectious single the Strokes wish they had for their new album and my current choice for the album's best song. "I'm a Pretender" and "Jailbird" are wonderfully energetic and catchy updates rockabilly and 50s rock, respectively. I could go on, but it seems foolish no need to list each song on the album followed by "is appealing rough around the edges, but sugary sweet at the chorus"

While the punk rock sheen on this album creates a tossed off feeling, repeated listens show a collection of carefully assembled songs. The single note keyboard in the verses of "Sleeping Aides and Razorblades" really augments the song well, as does the tambourine in "I'm a Pretender." They also have a keen sense of songcraft "Rumours in Town" and has near-perfect bridge and "Throwaway Style" has a great breakdown (with finger snaps!) and coda.

At this, point, I'm getting close to repeating myself, and like Guitar Romantic I want to be concise and to the point. Let it suffice to that most anyone who have even a slight affinity for the sloppier side of pop should find a song or ten on here that works for them.

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Junior Senior
D-D-Don't Stop the Beat

(Mercury)

www.juniorsenior.com

After hearing "Move Your Feet," the irresistibly cheery lead single to Junior Senior's debut album, the song got stuck in my head. This, obviously, was not an unusual event. What was unusual, however, is that the song remained with me well into the next day. I didn't have access to the Internet, which meant that I couldn't just go illegally download the song and listen to it until I was sick of it as I usually did in situations like this. This meant that the Jackson Five-like melody and bouncy keyboard riff of in the song's chorus continued to torment me. After several days of this, I was convinced that "Move Your Feet" was the best song ever written, so I admitted I was helpless against it, mortgaged my ideals and dropped $13 on a brand new copy of their major label album.

I got in my car, put in the album, and got my fix. Then I did it again. After the third listen, it was becoming apparent that, while mighty fine, "Move Your Feet" was not as good as I had led myself to believe over the previous 72 hours (but keep in mind the "best song ever" line above). Still, I still liked the song enough to bludgeon myself with it for another fifteen minutes before even acknowledging the other ten songs on the album.

The rest of the album consists of a half hour of songs that exude the same cheer, and while none are as infectious as the single (an unreasonable expectation), there are number of fine tracks to be had. While Junior Senior can't really be classified as anything other than dance pop, there are a number of other influences that keep the album from being monotonous. "Dynamite," with its stuttering surf guitar and harmony vocals in the chorus is what the Beach Boys may have sounded like had they been raised in the new millennium. Even better are the wildly catchy and relentlessly enthusiastic "Shake Your Coconuts" and "Rhythm Bandits," both of which are about exactly what their titles would imply.

While this album receives my full endorsement, I will acknowledge that this is by nearly all measures, stupid music. Valid complaints can be made against the albums lack of tempo variation (fast and faster are your options here) and that the group's vocalists, predictably dubbed Junior and Senior, basically only deal with two lyrical topics: their desire to make their audience dance, and that Junior likes girls while Senior prefers boys (covered most prevalently in "Chicks and Dicks" but mentioned in at least three other songs). If listeners take issue with these things though, they're missing the point. Junior Senior merely wants to make happy songs that get stuck in your head, and they do that pretty well.

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Barely Pink
Last Day of Summer

(Not Lame)

www.notlame.com

I love gyros. They're my favorite food. Last week, on the way home from school, I stopped at a place called Andy's Sandwiches and Gyros, and bought one of the latter. It wasn't anywhere near the best gyro I ever had, but it had all the proper ingredients and was prepared with adequate amount of skill, which meant that it was perfectly enjoyable. I won't make a point of returning to Andy's again, but if I'm ever asked about the place, I'll certainly give it a good review.

I also love pop music. It's my favorite diversion from life. Last week, I came across Barely Pink's fourth album Last Day of Summer. I knew the album wasn't going to change my life, but it had all the proper ingredients and was executed with a fair amount of skill, which meant that, for a pop fan like me, it was perfectly enjoyable. I won't make a point of searching out the band's back catalog, but since I get this corner of cyberspace, I'll certainly give it a good review.

I can be more specific though.

At the College of Pop, Barely Pink learned everything about the genre, and Last Day of Summer is their dissertation. Songs about girls are delivered with total enthusiasm. Verses merely fill time before the chorus. A solid acoustic ballad is at the center of the album. All the best songs are conveniently placed at the front of the album. Of course, the College of Pop also teaches hooks. "Sixteen's Gone" is Last Day of Summer's high point, with features a strong, harmony laden chorus and a big guitar solo as a bonus. "Girl in the Crowd" and "Simple Enough" are nearly as good, delivering melody with maximum energy, while "Mood Meter Maid" is the second best song that has the words "meter maid" in the title. Unfortunately, when the hooks don't work, there's nothing to fall back on, which is the case on about half of the album. Still, if an album is only as good as the tracks its offers that are mix tape possibilities, Last Day of Summer does pretty well for itself.

While no quite as good as some as their Not Lame kin, Barely Pink certainly deserves to bear the logo. Last Day of Summer is like your favorite food: a enjoyable experience, but not a particularly memorable one.

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The Flops
Ooh La La

(I don't know the label, and neither does the All Music Guide)

www.theflops.com

This space was supposed to have my review of the Flops first full length album, Ooh La La. Unfortunately, after giving it a couple of cursory listens, I lost the CD. The logical thing to do would have been to just not write the review, but given the group's somewhat well known lineup (Matt Wilson and John Munson, both of whom were in Trip Shakespeare, and the latter of which is in Semisonic), I figured that someone might want a review of the album, even if it is about as specific and as informed as something that might bed overheard at a bar.

Ooh La La is a live recording. It's all acoustic and much more laid back than I was expecting given the group's personnel. I felt it was a pretty decent folk album, though I can also say without hesitation that the cover of the Faces / Rod Stewart song "Ooh La La" is the best track on the album. People who are interested about the group probably won't be disappointed, but my two listen impression of the album doesn't see this winning them many new fans.

Oh, there's also a bonus disc of video footage and, I believe, a film with the Flops music as the soundtrack. I didn't get to watch this before I lost the disc, so any comments I could make about it would be, at best uninformed, and at worst out and out lies.

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