Three for Thursday, 8/13/09

Grand Atlantic-How We Survive. The Aussies with the big pop/rock sound are back with the followup to 2007's This is Grand Atlantic, and they've managed another disc that will lodge its tunes in your head and give your speakers a workout. Oasis, Sloan and Cheap Trick are the bands that come to mind when describing their sound, and there are plenty of great tracks to choose from on this sophomore effort. You could start at the beginning with "Coast is Clear" with its dense guitar sounds and insinuating melody, or with the synths and handclaps of the catchy FoW-esque "Tripwires", or with the Oasis-styled "She's a Dreamer". Then go from there to the classicist power pop of "Freeway", the languid title track, or the raucous "Holding Pattern". No duds here, and most certainly no sophomore jinx.

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Michael Gross & The Statuettes-Dust and Daylight EP. First Lamar Holley and now Michael Gross - it's a veritable flood of Utah poppers. Formerly with The Brobecks, Gross caught my ear with his solo disc Tales from a Country Home last year, and now has formed a new band to release Dust and Daylight. Gross & Co. fit into the pop/rock/Americana mix, with a hint of the Wallflowers about them. "I've Been Wrong Before" rocks with a distinct Western feel; "Stone Face" recalls the Old 97's, while "Novocaine" does the straight-ahead rock thing quite well. The Year of the Quality EP rolls along.

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Broken Promise Keeper-Ice Cold Pop. Broken Promise Keeper is the Atlanta-area's Rob Stuart, who keeps cranking out the power pop each year with now his third release. He kind of has a retro-80s power pop sound, bringing to mind Shoes, Let's Active, R.E.M. and adds a level of wit and whimsy to the proceedings. Tracks you'll want to check out below: "I Blame James" (in which a series of famous James are blamed for our narrator's shortfalls), the exuberant "Kristine", and the Beatlesque "Worship from Afar". Good pop that goes down smooth.

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