Want to hear what Brendan Benson meets Andrew Gold meets The Cardigans might sound like? You'll find the hybrid child of this diverse trio in the lasered grooves of the latest Hush Sound album.

And jolly good it is too. Wacky pop rock, melodies aplenty and too many hooks to mention see this US four-piece do interesting things with relatively normal sounding material to spruce it up.

Sweet Tangerine is as superb a pop rock classic as you'll find anywhere, with its boogie-ing piano, while the gloriously catchy We Intertwined does wonders for those who think pop is a mundane affair. Lions Roar comes across more like Menlo Park doing pop, with a nagging but delightfully vaudevillian lilt. You will find yourself desperately trying to nail other influences, but the task is eased by the quality of the material you are using to identify the sources.

Great stuff.

Rating:
Released: 12th June 2006
Label: Fueled By Ramen