CD of the Week: The Click Five

THE CLICK FIVE
"MODERN MINDS AND PASTIMES"
(Atlantic, 2007)

I'm sorry, but I still think "The Click Five" is a dumb name for a band. But let me follow that up by saying that's really the only thing I don't like about this group. Their debut album, "Greetings From Imrie House", was a very good example of state-of-the-art power-pop. They were forced to find a new lead singer before starting work on their sophomore disc, but it hasn't hurt their sound one bit. In fact, I consider "Modern Minds And Pastimes" (a cool album title, by the way), to be better than its predecessor -- but that's not to say that Eric Dill's exit from the group had anything to do with it.

Along with scruffing up their appearance -- the matching suits and ties and retro haircuts were a cute nod to the Beatles, but perhaps just a bit pretentious -- The Click Five have also tousled up their sound just a bit. The catchy, tight melodies and fun lyrics are still there, but under slightly fuzzier guitars and rougher (in a good way) vocal arrangements. The boys have also broadened their sonic palette a little: along with the assortment of songs in the style that their fans are more-or-less used to -- the energetic opener "Flipside", the sweet-tart of a ballad "I'm Getting Over You", the song with the ultimate hum-along bridge ("Happy Birthday"), and the one with the raucously fun chorus ("Long Way To Go") -- they've also tried their hand at revival dance-rock ala Shiny Toy Guns ("Headlight Disco") with excellent results, and they've even done a bang-up job on an original tune that flawlessly recreates vintage '80s new wave ("Addicted To Me", probably my favorite of the album) ... definitely a big step up from their last effort, a lone cover -- albeit a good one -- of a pre-existing '80s hit.

Their name aside, The Click Five are probably destined to receive very little respect in America because they play power-pop, an inherently upbeat sub-genre of music that most Americans, for whatever reason, don't seem to like. And that's a real shame, 'cause if The Click Five continue in this direction, I'd love to be along for the ride, provided they can find enough of an audience to go along with them.