Odd Fellows

Power pop isn't dead, it's just middle-aged; the Spongetones have been leading purveyors of the genre for almost 20 years. And the fact is, power pop has never sounded better than it does on their first album in five years; the hooks on their Gadfly debut beat anything they ever released on the Black Vinyl label. "Beatlesque" is the term that pops inevitably to mind, what with those juicy-fruit chord progressions and that hint of a fake British accent ("boy meets gull," etc.). But the Spongetones deliver their pop confections with the weight and momentum of a Detroit muscle car — song titles like "On the Wings of a Nightingale" and "Nightsong" notwithstanding, the general tone here is crunchy and loud. One problem with middle-aged power pop, though, is the weakening of the vocal cords that often comes at midlife, and that's a distraction in several places (especially the whimsical "Love Song to Mrs. Parker"). Even with that minor caveat, this is an album that will please any pop music lover.