Boston-based
Señor Happy's long-delayed sophomore release,
I'm Sorry, is an immediate stew of grungy riffs and sunny hooks. While their presence on Q Division, Boston's best pop record label, and the band's occasionally sunny choruses may get them branded power pop,
Señor Happy are a band whose sound leans more heavily on the attack of bands like
MC5 or
the Stooges mixed with the cinematic wash of late-'80s/early-'90s shoegaze-y Britpop like
Swervedriver or even
the Darling Buds. As usual,
Mike Denneen gives everything a sharp, aggressive production, making the best songs -- "Got You" and "She's New" among them -- jump off the page. If
Señor Happy have a flaw, it's that they sound strangely faceless: there's very little on this record that wouldn't sound at home slotted onto a latter-day album by
Nada Surf or Boston's own
Francine or
Loveless.
I'm Sorry is filled with fun, chunky guitar pop, but -- like the cake being smashed on the album jacket -- seems just a bit loaded with empty calories.