From the opening notes of "She's Blowing Up," which can only be compared to the bliss of vintage
Buzzcocks,
the Behoovers are a power pop lover's wet dream. "Girl of My Dreams" is crunchy,
Cars-like magic, "Pop Star in Space" is an urgent, hilarious swipe at Lance Bass, while "The Pleasures of Forgetting" and "Selfer" are as alluring as anything in
the Kinks' mid-'60s catalog. Couple that with "Broken Cog," which chronicles the split between frontman Jon Hartley Fox and his wife with the kind of earnestness
Rivers Cuomo hasn't shown since
Pinkerton and you've already got enough reasons to grab it. The fact that
the Behoovers do the impossible, breathing new, edgy life into
the Beatles' 1964 classic "A World Without Love" is icing on the cake. The best of the pack is easily the gripping "Mary Lou," however, as Fox taps a nerve by singing this goodbye song atop a
Ramones-inspired backdrop. "She lived right near Gracie Mansion" he sadly intones of the friend he lost in the 2001 World Trade Center Attacks. The Behoovers may not be as wry as
Fountains of Wayne, but fans of the style will identify with
That's Right just the same. ~ John D. Luerssen