Strapped

The SoCal quartet The Soft Pack deliver a third album of tight songs rooted in pop-punk, this time upgrading the formula of ultra-simple plus barbed hooks into something a little more dressed up. Where before there were only sharply pointed guitars and bull's-eye percussion buffeting Matt Lamkin’s easy, boyish vocals into something slightly less agreeable, the group now includes swashes of oddball synth tones, flowing organ notes, and ... saxophone. And it works! “Second Look” will go down in the “how to” books under “How to Rock with Saxophones”; the guitars gallop and race like a distant cousin of The Feelies, with a bellowing saxophone underlying (and underscoring) the song’s energy. From the first track, the propulsive “Saratoga,” you feel the band taking a leap forward, filling out its finely honed melodies with just enough meat to satisfy slightly larger appetites. There’s a shadow of ‘80s Aussie psych-rock in the vintage-flavored organs of “Tallboy” and in the swirling backward tape loop of guitar in “Ray’s Mistake.” The band takes a surprising (and delightful) stab at dance pop on “Bobby Brown,” while “Head on Ice” sounds like something from The Horrors. Dig in.