Summer's Over...

...but in the land of power pop, it always sounds like summer. Here are three new releases to get you by as the calendar changes to September (plus you can still celebrate like it's summer through next week's Labor Day).

The Ravines-Everything's Fine. This UK power pop band led by Chris Corney (who's put some fine solo albums out in the last few years) had one of the genre's lost classics in 2005's Manifesto of a Broken Heart, and they've regrouped in 2015 to give us one of the year's best releases. The title track is bright, catchy power pop that falls somewhere between Gin Blossoms and Fountains of Wayne, the jangly "Blue Eyes" and "Dead Letters" could have been hits in the 90s, and what "Tambareen" lacks in accurate spelling it more than makes up for in tunefulness. Plus, the acoustic "Queen Bee" makes a lovely closer. Everything's fine, indeed.

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The Allrightniks-Two Places at One Time. Our favorite Virginia rockers are back with their first full-length, having released 3 EPs over the past few years. So this time around you get twice as much of their Spongetones/Janglemen-styled pop. Opener "Nice to Know" has a bit of Rockpile in its DNA as well, "I Can't Wait" has an early Beatles feel, and "200 Milligrams" is just the right dose of power pop. Elsewhere, they even add horns to the mix on "Today is the Day" to fine effect, and the title track would fit right in on a Red Button album.

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Jeff Litman-Primetime EP. Primetime is something NYC singer-songwriter Jeff Litman is ready for, as his latest EP is another compact collection of quality tunes. "That's on You" is a killer opening track, sounding like a lost 80s hit with its insistent beat and relentless guitar hook (which later becomes a great guitar solo), while the cynical-yet-tuneful "Debutante" allows Litman to get his Elvis Costello on, and "Nothing" (previously released as a single) finds him in his mid-tempo element. Just have a listen below and you'll be hooked.

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