Where It Hurts

You have to love a band that beats you about the head in a happy pop-rock way. Songwriter/singer/guitarist Chris Arduser manages to write serious and tongue-in-cheek lyrics that tend to be dark, yet the music is upbeat and catchy. A tune like "Candy" has a good hook and a bass solo that breaks away from any previous notion of what's supposed to be included in a pop song. Arduser even goes as far as giving the violins of Pete Hyrka and Karen Addie some room on the Celtic-inflected "The Glazebucket" and "The Innocent Spouse." Mandolin is also in hand for the R.E.M. -flavored "Gods and Monsters" and the strange psychedelics of "Death Ranch." When the album ends, you're left with a clean, glistening feeling of rock that refreshes.