Okay, Fine. Another List. — The Q2 Edition

Apparently I make lists now. Q1 set a precedent I didn’t entirely mean to set, and Q2 has arrived with its own stack of records demanding attention. You’ve heard The Lemon Twigs and Uni Boys — I know you have. I’ll leave those to the algorithms. These are mine.

Jesus Christ Taxi Driver — Taxi the Rich

When I first heard “Have It,” the opening track from Taxi the Rich, I couldn’t share it with the Power Pop community on Facebook fast enough. It sounded like a song that could just as easily have come from The Knack as from XTC. Others picked up on echoes of Sloan’s infectious energy and the quirky brilliance of Panorama-era The Cars.

That same creative tension runs through the album’s remaining ten tracks. Along the way, Jesus Christ Taxi Driver also taps into the sharp-edged indie funk sensibilities of bands like Yard Act and Hot Chip, creating a sound that feels both familiar and refreshingly contemporary. It’s a remarkable balancing act — a band that seems to hold the future of power pop in their hands, even as they insist on calling themselves a blues band. Or a violent rock band. Don’t let them fool you.

Local Drags — Cool If We Split?

“Hell is in the doorway, blocking light.” That line from Highbeams, one of the standout tracks on Cool If We Split?, tells you everything you need to know about what Lanny Durbin does so well: dark lyrics wrapped in catchy melodies and sparkling guitars. A power pop masterclass that would have held its own just as proudly in the ’90s — one of the genre’s great eras — as it does today.

If you know The Shazam or Splitsville, you’ll recognize the quality immediately. Local Drags seems to be flying under the radar, which is remarkable, because the catalog Durbin is building is outstanding. Cool If We Split? is a new high point.

The Well Wishers — Expected Outcomes

“I like a lot of different kinds of music, but the songs I love most are usually torn apart by a guitar after about two and a half minutes.” That used to be my answer whenever someone asked what I was into. I’m not sure it’s still entirely true — and I’m not sure it happens on every track of Expected Outcomes.

What I do know is that the guitars take center stage throughout all eleven songs. The tone, the playing, the power chords, the seemingly endless stream of punchy melodies. It’s absolutely fantastic.

So if someone asks me today what I listen to, my answer would probably be: “I like a lot of different kinds of music, but the songs I love most are usually torn apart by a guitar after about two and a half minutes. And right now, I’m listening to Expected Outcomes by The Well Wishers a lot.”

The Maureens — Don’t Give Up

The Dutch live music scene overflows with cover bands, while the airwaves are dominated by party pop sung by fresh-faced young artists celebrating little more than a night at the local pub. The Maureens are the antithesis of all of that. No trend-chasing, no pub anthems, no calculated appeal to radio formats — just classic songcraft, chiming guitars, and melodies rooted in the golden age of guitar pop.

Don’t Give Up contains thirteen tracks, one meticulously crafted gem after another. Handmade, thoughtful, deeply human. No grand statements, just sincere and personal stories told with warmth and precision — melodies that linger long after the album ends. It’s earned them a home on Spain’s Meritorio Records, which makes perfect sense: few places in Europe have championed power pop as consistently or as passionately as Spain.

There’s something bittersweet about that for Dutch music fans. The Netherlands has produced brilliant guitar-pop bands — Johan, Daryll-Ann, Moss, and now The Maureens — yet so much of it remains hidden in plain sight. Thankfully, I found them. I hope more listeners will too.

A View of Earth From the Moon — Rolled Over Like A Wave

A View of Earth From the Moon is Jonathan Fickes’ band, and ever since 2017 I’ve been endlessly returning to Closer to a Ghost. “One Thousand Miles Apart” and “Distance Runner” still find their way onto nearly every playlist I make. Despite the long gap between releases, Rolled Over Like A Wave delivers exactly what you hope for from a follow-up: razor-sharp yet instantly accessible power pop songs filled with vivid reflections on the past — on why those memories can still matter in the present, and sometimes the other way around.

But this is far from a purely melancholic or nostalgic record. “Every For Free” and “Looking Straight Ahead” sound like the voice of someone fighting for change, or simply trying to scrape together fifty bucks. The urgency that drives opener “Emerson and Henry David Thoreau” never fades. These are not songs casually tossed together — they are stories that clearly needed to be told.

Albums like this are what keep power pop alive, fresh, and relevant. And if I end up being the only person who prefers Rolled Over Like A Wave over the latest records by The Lemon Twigs or Uni Boys, I’ll gladly stand by that. Power pop doesn’t need more ’70s soft-rock nostalgia to stay relevant. It needs conviction, edge, and a sense of purpose. Rolled Over Like A Wave has all three.

The Greenberry Woods — It’s All Good, Sugar…

Just under a year after Mobtown by Splitsville, the Huseman brothers return with It’s All Good, Sugar…, the latest album from their other band, The Greenberry Woods. It’s an equally pleasant surprise — because twelve good songs in a row is something worth stopping to appreciate, in a world where thirty-second snippets are apparently enough to make a hit.

Not here.

What you get instead is craftsmanship, melody, and a healthy dose of mischief. Pop music has thrived on that combination for as long as it has existed, and The Greenberry Woods make it sound as fresh as ever. It’s All Good, Sugar… could just as easily have been released in the 1990s — and within the world of power pop, that happens to be one of the highest compliments imaginable.

Timeless is another. It applies here too.

The Greenberry Woods sound like masters of melodic songwriting, effortless hooks, and the kind of album that reminds you why you fell in love with Power Pop in the first place.