The new album from Allyson Seconds, Little World, really caught me by surprise. Awash with the sort of Beatlesque hooks that the Bangles once created, the record is full of rays of power pop sunshine.
If the title cut, featuring contributions from Anton Barbeau and XTC's Colin Moulding, shines like something off of Everything (1988), stuff like "Dust Beneath My Wings" jettisons the Bangles bits in favor of some big Lesley Gore-style hooks even as the guitars wail like something from the acid rock era. Elsewhere, "Your Velvet Year" charms with a sort of gentle Jayhawks-style underpinning, while the lyrical "Eye Kinda" unfurls like an Aimee Mann track, only one with more upbeat bits of goodwill sprinkled throughout. If "Burning Burning" hints at something darker lurking underneath the summery pop, then things are put right again with the glorious "Sun Don't Shine", all poppy Belly-meets-Susanna Hoffs goodness.
Some of the material on Little World by Allyson Seconds could use a bit more fire and a little less production but, on the whole, this is a fantastic record full of the sort of power pop followers of XTC and Jellyfish are sure to love. Fans of Hoffs, Jason Falkner, and (obviously) The Bangles, are going to dig this a lot.
More details on Little World by Allyson Seconds via the Beehive website.