Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 17

10 Recent Tracks + Music Reviewers/Publications

Summer has arrived on a raft of great guitar pop releases.

These tracks are perfect for poolside parties, road trips, plane rides, or beating the heat on the work week commute. We kick things off with Nada Surf’s “In Front Of Me Now,” a breezy pop tune reminding us to live in the moment:

I used to be stopping while I was trying
I used to be landing before I was flying
I used to be haunting not just remembering
In the middle of summer, I was Decembering

The song debuted in the Top 40 on Billboard’s AAA album charts, the band’s first radio chart appearance since 1996’s “Popular.” Nada Surf has released some excellent music in between, but it’s fantastic to see them having this kind of well-deserved success 30 years into their career.

All of which is another great reminder to be present for all of life’s fleeting joys:

Always re-writing what I was reading
But also doubting what I was conceiving
I used to be dropping when I was collecting
I could have been building but I was dissecting

I think he might be onto something. And that’s only one of the ten fantastic songs below. Give them all a listen and click through for the full reviews.

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⚡️ What Are A Few Of Your Favorite Tracks Below? 💥

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10 Recent Tracks and Music Reviewers/Publications

“It has everything fans love and expect from the band: play-on-repeat heart punches, poetic and thought-provoking musings on the world around them, and bittersweet anthems that begin quietly but explode into soaring harmonies.”—The Fire Note

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“AVOIDER kitchen-sinks the shaggy, early alternative edges of college rock bands like Soul Asylum or the Jayhawks into something decidedly midwestern and magical—in particular, you can hear hometown hero Paul Westerberg in each song, from the spirited opening of ‘Sunroof’ to the rousing slacker anthem ‘Pinwheel.’”—CJ Simonson, Merry-Go-Round Magazine

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“The Good Stuff brings to mind a time when bands like that dog, Letters to Cleo, Veruca Salt, and The Muffs were breathing fresh air into the modern rock scene. From those classic influences, Hoverborg crafts an endearingly geeky indie rock sound laden with ear worm hooks and clever pop culture references.”—Lord Rutledge, Faster and Louder

***I found out after the fact that this music is AI-generated. Here’s what I wrote about the whole situation.

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“And the album covers a lot of ground too, from the folk-pop infused, understated sound of ‘Wonder of Things’ to the foot-on-the-monitor scuzzy garage rock fuzz of ‘Road Dogs’ and from the shimmering power-pop of ‘Back In the Sun’ to the singer-songwriter vibe of ‘Waiting on a Girl.’”—Dave Franklin, Big Takeover

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“McCrary is able to get a lot of mileage out of keeping things relatively simple on the record, as the acoustic-based pop songs all breeze by amiably (‘Fall for No Reason,’ ‘Every Word Around Me Just Unravels,’ ‘Make It Long’) and the drum-machine jangle pop of ‘Hold You Tight’ is one of the record’s strongest moments, too.”—Rosy Overdrive

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“The ‘self-sabotage bop’ new single from Beach Bunny, ‘Vertigo’ is as catchy and poppy as any of the Chicago band’s previous material. Lili Trifilio is one of the best when it comes to self-aware songwriting that’s as jubilant as it is merciless.”—Paste Magazine

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“Fronted by David Cacciatore and Tom Losito, the group crafts straightforward, irresistibly catchy pop tunes that are perfect for live performances. Fittingly, their latest EP, Live at Lakehouse Studios, captures the energy of their live shows, as the title suggests.”—Patrick Donders, Sweet Sweet Music

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“Nick doing his Cowboy Outfit era thing, a bit rockabilly in a 1980s sort of way. Los Straightjackets sound great on this track and the others that will appear on this LP, putting their considerable talents to work adding some welcome pep to Nick’s urbane performance.”—Dennis Pilon, Poprock Record

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“On his fourth album, 2024's upbeat and lyrically wry Top of the World, Mark Bacino makes the kind of smiling, ice cream-colored pop you can easily imagine pumping through an AM radio in the '60s.”—Matt Collar, All Music

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“MILLY picks up the pace; it’s a subtle change, but for a band who so often deals in muddy, mid-tempo alt rockers, the zippiness of ‘Spilling Ink’ helps it stand out as one of the record’s best tracks.”—Zac Djamoos, The Alternative

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Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 16

Guitar Pop For Now People—Part 15

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Power Pop Essays & Themed Playlists

Power Pop Lovers

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