Break Up

Where is the G-spot where garage and power pop meet? That might be a question to ask Jersey City, NJ's well-named Bastards of Melody, who continue what they did on 2001's debut, Fun Machine, only with the engine purr more streamlined, like after a tune-up. Crisply recorded, these guys pile on singer/guitarist Paul Crane's hooks with vaguely '60s Kinks or '70s Cheap Trick choppy riffs, plenty of nicely chunky early Replacements charge, and some Sloan big-guitar pop. Sometimes they go for broke with straight-ahead, 4/4 thick guitar rock & roll, like on the opening "What's on Your Mind," "Ball & Chain," and "Way to Now"; sometimes they're more jangle pop, like "Cheat"; there's even one acoustic-only folk track (very Paul Westerberg!) for balance. It's all good. Warning: there's a tiny bubblegum pop tendency in the melodies, and they sometimes write lyrics like "When they wrote the book of love/They didn't mention you." But as long as the guitars keep ringing like they do from song to song, and drummer Jeff Prosetti keeps the fast stutter-fills coming, that's entirely acceptable and even kind of naïve-cute. Energetic and sweaty but still mannered, these Bastards could have worn matching suits with special-cut collars and rocked if they were from 1963. Or they'd be a big act in the '80s U.S. underground, touring with the young Soul Asylum. Highly enjoyable! ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, Rovi