Flop

Flop's exuberant, hook-laden and propulsive songs will make you jump up and down like nothing since the first time you heard the Buzzcocks' blistering combination of Punk and Power Pop. Their songs are smart without sounding overwrought, and there's a precision and tightness to their playing that never impedes the buoyant, youthful recklessness they convey. Not just limiting themselves to straight-up Punk-Pop arrangements, Flop's lead guitarist throws in wild, psychedelic-tinged solos complete with plenty of wah-wah pedal; even without such effects, however, he consistently shows himself to be an imaginative and singular player. The rest of the musicians are of equal caliber -- the singer's voice is clear and strong while the rhythm section rockets the tunes to pop nirvana.