Sweet Water - Clear The Tarmac (2009)

This is a fun album. It reminds me of the late 90s, and I don't mean that disparagingly, just that certain sounds - the guitar on "Grass Is Green" for example - make me think of songs on the radio back then. Which I guess makes sense since Sweet Water was putting out albums throughout the 90s. The songs explore the rockier side of pop, falling somewhere between power pop, pop punk, and alternative rock. What that means is that the guitars are generally plugged in, turned up, but still melodic and the choruses simple and catchy. The album would fit into a radio station playlist right in the middle of Blink 182, Sugar Ray, Third Eye Blind, and Matchbox 20. Maybe not the coolest station anymore, but one you might listen to in your car in traffic and accidentally find yourself singing along, drumming your steering wheel, and generally enjoying yourself. "Rock Steady" and "Stereo" are particularly catchy.

The Virgins - The Virgins (2008)

Apparently there's a large (huge?) place in my heart for the derivative but catchy pop song. The Virgins seem to specialize in that type of song because every song sounds familiar, but contains a chorus that makes me want to sing along ("she said, well right now you and I were getting high, but we don't have to be this way..."). Some songs sound like the Strokes, particularly "Fernando Pando", but most of the time they just sound like a 80's revival band specializing in poppy new wave, particularly on "Murder". I can see why some people wouldn't like these guys - I'm not sure they bring anything new to the party but a good time, but damn man, that's why I party. Although they can keep their high end drugs, I'll stick to the beer. Thanks though. "Hey Hey Girl" kind of reminds me, in a good way, of those late 90's pop radio songs, the kind that Sugar Ray might write. "Private Affair" and ""She's Expensive" are my favorites. At another, more image-conscious time in my life, they might have been guilty pleasures.