Poor
Jesse Summers
. He should have been born early enough to burst onto the music scene in the late '70s, when
the Cars
were teaching the hipper mainstream audience that guitars and synthesizers could go great together, and
Devo
were sharing the same wisdom with the new wave kids. As fate would have it,
Summers
and his band
Love Fiend
are plying their trade in the mid-2020s, and they sound like they learned a great deal from listening to those two bands. They also have a few ideas of their own to add to the mix, and
's debut album, 2024's
Handle with Care
, is a punchy, high-spirited collection of power pop tunes with plenty of keyboard squeals (and occasional bursts of synthesized percussion) and elemental guitar riffs played with the spunky impact of a seasoned pop-punk band.
isn't afraid to push his vocal resemblance to
Ric Ocasek
, and even without it,
is a work in the grand tradition of
' debut album -- certainly not a work of pop perfection like
Ocasek
and Company conjured, but plenty of fun, with enough rock action, pop hooks, and playful wit to confirm they're contenders. "Just Like Eddie," "Jimmy (Is an Agent)," and "C.K.I.L." (aka "Cool Kids in Love") sure sound like the stuff of hit singles with their blend of taut guitars and period-appropriate keyboard patches. There's just the right amount of nerdy swagger in
' delivery to make them communicate, and his bandmates (
Raymond Schmidt
on keyboards and guitar,
Owen Summers
on bass,
Owen Barrett
on drums, and
Kurtis Ray
adding saxophone on three cuts) deliver with the same balance of sweat, precision, and rock & roll joy.
have an abundance of cool along with plenty of talent, and even if they occasionally stray in the direction of camp and excess hipster cleverness, this band sounds like they're having a blast; they more than bring that across in the studio, with
John Dwyer
of
Osees
serving them well as producer. Dig out that skinny tie, turn this up, and join
in the musical time warp of their own design. You'll enjoy it. ~ Mark Deming