NEVEREVER - Angelic Swells LP

Jihae and Wallace Meek, a couple with a keen ear for pop, have travelled the world together in search of the perfect tune. Having met in Glasgow while Ms. Meek was the singer for The Royal We and Mr. Meek helmed the excellent Bricolage, they eventually relocated to Los Angeles to soak in the sunny vibes and pop history. Surrounded by stacks of dusty 45s, crack musicians and dinette counters lined with hopefuls and has-beens, Neverever is their new band, a tough group with a flair for echoey three-minute symphonies, marrying classic pop melodies with punk-informed crunch and glam-infused '70s stomp.

Angelic Swells, the group's debut album, is a remarkable effort that takes in '50s rock 'n' roll, '60s girl-group sounds, the '70s glam heyday of Slade and Suzi Quatro and '80s power-pop on its way to creating a bang-up-to-date idea of what pop should sound like in 2010. It's a timeless sound: fuzzy riffs, pounding rhythms and tales of teenage love and lust. From the epic, widescreen opener "Here Is Always Somewhere Else" to the breathless tale of adolescent sexual awkwardness that is "Coconut Shampoo" to the slow-dance swoon of "16th Wonder," every tune could be a lost hit crackling from an AM radio. Not that there's anything lo-fi happening here; the band worked hard with Jeff Ehrenberg at famed Los Angeles studio Infrasonic (No Age, Beck, Peter Case) to give Angelic Swells that warm, technicolor sound that marks so many great records.