Pop Bus

Saying that the in-joke factor rides high on the Elevator Drops' debut puts it rather mildly. There are at least two semi-jabs at fellow Boston-area acts: "Drop 19 (I Wanna Be A)," referring to the shoegaze-inspired act from the early '90s, and "Be a Lemonhead (Beautiful Junkie)," whose targeting of Evan Dando is perfectly obvious. Lines like "you can dance with the tourniquet monkey" may be hilariously cheap shots, but hilarious they are, and the song's amiable pop/rock crunch makes for good fun. But is there more to Pop Bus — itself a parody title, an exact reversal of "Sub Pop" right down to the artwork on the front cover — than simply self-amusement? Elevator Drops don't demonstrate any striking originality, but the threesome's best qualities include both a knack for light-glam stompers (bassist Goolkasian aims for a reasonable Bowie via Brett Anderson vocal yelp) and a surprising willingness to try various things out. The effect may be more dilettantish than anything else, but things like the alien voices and space-ray gun sounds on "Seeking Transport" show the band doesn't just want to record the songs and then go home. The album's highlight, interestingly, is an instrumental — "The Last Fourth of July...Ever." Maybe Elevator Drops do want to be in the Drop Nineteens because the tune's combination of thick, lush effects and honestly lovely guitarwork (Garvy J gets deserved credit here) makes for a fine, haunting number. Other similarly atmospheric songs include "Elevator to Hell," with a low, distant guitar chime, swirled, echoed vocals, and a soft central hook building up to a fine, frazzled stomp, and the concluding "Shangri-La," which also starts a softly beautiful number before revving into a darned-good, playfully trippy blast. The band may have too much irony for its own good, but Pop Bus still has a certain something.