I dissolve in the stereo

You all should be very glad we're in the middle of a Click Five special, or else today's post probably would have been nothing more than old music videos, since that's what I spent most of this morning watching. That might still end up as tomorrow's post, actually... Anyhow, we return to the band that seem designed for stardom, not building up popularity through small gigs--they dress in matching suits, throw guitar picks into the crowd, decorate their autographs with hearts and stars, and include trading cards in their album (from which you can learn interesting facts like that keyboardist Ben Romans's first concert was Weezer and favorite sport is baseball).

Good Day--the perfect song to start your day to (though maybe not wake up to--it's probably too loud for that). It's most like "Catch Your Wave," "Friday Night," and "Pop Princess" in style--happy, catchy power pop. Love it. The Click Five have also mastered the art of using little electronic swirls in the background.

Friday Night--those electronic swirls I just mentioned? Once again deployed to amazing effect here, as you can hear right from the beginning. The chorus isn't annoyingly over-the-top shouty, but it does sound like it's meant to be shouted along with at a concert (and, as I mentioned yesterday, jumped up and down to). Do you know how much I would love to turn on the radio at night as I get in my car and hear this playing? A great weekend anthem, embodying teenage emotion but with far broader appeal than that.

Angel To You (Devil To Me)--someone famous wrote this--I just can't remember who...research reveals that apparently it was someone from KISS, which makes sense; it's definitely not a KISS-type song, but it does have fewer cute electronic effects and more guitar emphasis--it's still great, though.

Pop Princess--the cute electronic swirls return for another amazing song. "Pop Princess," along with "I Think We're Alone Now," is one of their most praised songs. Its style and subject matter like this that make it seem like the Click Five genuinely love pop. Their songs are with guitars, yes, but they are incredibly poppy and have hooks to die for.

Time Machine--there was a thread on the Popjustice forums for a while asking what had happened to strings in pop, and I was so tempted to register just to say that they'd been stolen for a few cameos in this song. "Time Machine" also features hand clap-esque percussion and a smooth but fun chorus (and, like all of their songs, lots of harmony). This song, though not crazily out of the ordinary for the Click Five, definitely stands out on the album.

Bonus: Resign--rockier than many of their other songs, but when they perform the guitar break in the middle at concerts, they jump and do choreographed guitar movements! Short of group dance routines (which I guess guitars would hinder), that may be the greatest thing any group can do when performing.

To buy the Click Five's debut album, Greetings From Imrie House, go here (physical; or, if you want to pay a little more for the Japanese version which includes "I Think We're Alone Now," go here) or here (digital).

Next up: had enough of my hyperbolic raving? I just genuinely love the Click Five. Their ballads are good, too, but ballads aren't really my thing. We'll be moving on tomorrow, though; possibly another hodge-podge post or one about a French singer.

click five