Nineteen Ninety Four

On its debut full-length, NINETEEN NINETY FOUR, Philadelphia-area group The Danger O's offer an amalgamation of the dominant trends in indie rock of the past several years, but sound frequently like an early version of the Police fronted by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler--not necessarily a bad thing once the shock of it has passed. The songs here are fairly expert: 'MFW' is compelling if not perfect pop, the slower 'Canada' provides a moment of affecting introspection, and 'Something About Sundays' somehow unloads every trick in the recent indie book (handclaps, WAR-era U2 guitars, etc.) without coming off as cheesy, which qualifies as a fairly major accomplishment.