Turn the hour hand back

I was starting to worry that the dance-influenced pop-rock anthem trend of the past few years (Metro Station's "Shake It," Cobra Starship's "Good Girls Go Bad," Boys Like Girls' "Love Drunk") was never coming back. Who knew Canadian punk pop band Simple Plan would swoop in to save the day? Having failed to convincingly build on the more grown-up sound of 2005's "Untitled" on the album that followed it, they've finally figured a way to transition from the innuendos and (admittedly sometimes fun) tantrums that first brought them success into a sound more fitting for a group with an average age of thirty. The uptempo "Jet Lag" has a surprisingly effective little metaphor for missed connections at its center, but what seals the deal is its radio-ready chorus. The end result is the best both Simple Plan and Natasha Bedingfield have sounded in a long time. In a summer that's so far lagged behind in worthy hit songs, here's hoping this one breaks through.

What's the worst that could happen baby if they knew?

I was going to try to hold back from posts beyond my countdown until I'd finished it, but I can't help it; instead, here's a compacted version of the things I've been itching to write about in recent days, in the form of songs I'm loving:

The-Dream feat. Rihanna, "Livin' A Lie" and Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown, "No Air"





A great pair of pop-R&B duets. I've written about "No Air" before, and it remains just as heavenly as it was back then, both in quality and in its feel of floating up among the clouds. The-Dream, best known this year for Rihanna's "Umbrella" and J. Holiday's "Bed" (though he's done other and earlier work), released his debut solo album a few weeks ago and, though I'd be fine never hearing the lead single again, this (so far) album track from it has captured me, got me transfixed, at least for the moment. It's simple, full of repetitive synth pulses, but it just works so well for me. It isn't necessarily a huge-sounding song, but I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing it on the radio (famous last words?). It's best heard with good headphones if you've got them and, of course, in good quality.

David Jordan, "Sun Goes Down"



I've been meaning to write about this for a while, since Popjustice featured it. Fantastic fantastic fantastic. I refused to watch the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie because the ending sounded just stupid, but this song could very well have been the soundtrack to all the pirate mania that came out after the first (and excellent) movie came out. That said, as much as it sounds very pirate-y, it's not pure novelty; it's really a well-done catchy song that just doesn't sound like anything else out there. The first chorus that opens the song is sparser than the rest of the song, by the way.

Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocketful Of Sunshine"



The title track to her upcoming American album, and, though it may seem unassuming, it's one of the most transporting songs I've heard this year, at least in that chorus and pre-chorus/bridge. After thinking "I Wanna Have Your Babies" was great, I've gone completely off of it and haven't bothered to check out the album N.B., but I still think she did some fantastic songs for her first album and am thrilled she's done something I like once again.

Cassie, "Is It You?"



I know this is months old, but I'm just getting into it now. It's from the Step Up 2 soundtrack and isn't at all like "Me & U" (a song which I've recently been thinking I really underrated)--it's probably a little more "basic/disposable pop song" sounding, but I like it--crunchy but simple electro-rock underneath the verses and a cute simple chorus.

I also quite like Leona Lewis's "The Best You Never Had," though the production on it sounds odd.