Nocturnal Missions

Somewhere between The Heartbreakers (Petty) and The Heartbreakers (Thunders), Atlanta five-piece The Barreracudas find a shallow well of inspiration just deep enough to produce one of the biggest foot-tappers of the year. Nocturnal Missions blends elements of dirty '70s glam and the radio-friendliness of Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymour. The Barreracudas' sound shouldn't come as a great surprise as most of these guys have been playing with Gentleman Jesse and His Men for the past couple of years. There's no Pulitzer-worthy poetry in the lyrics, but the hooks in these songs are more infectious than encephalitis. It's even got a sweet cover of Cheap Trick's "Come On, Come On."