This Affair Never Happened... And Here Are 11 Songs About It

Philly group the Bigger Lovers keep true their vision of Anglo-toned, intelligent {power pop} on their third album, This Affair Never Happened...and Here Are Eleven Songs About It. And thankfully, the group still possesses the flashes of blindingly pure, intelligently melodic {guitar pop} that marked 2002's excellent Honey in the Hive -- in fact this album even exceeds that high-water mark. I Resign is a sugar-crusted pop confection that should go down in the annals with forgotten classics like Big Star's September Gurls or the Records' Starry Eyes for its unabashed pop melodicism. Ninja Suit is the kind of dead-right swooning pop anthem (complete with swelling backup vocals) that the Velvet Crush have been circling toward, but never quite reaching, for years. (And anyone who has seen drummer Patrick Berkery do his thing live with the Lovers or with the Pernice Brothers will notice that he hits them much like the Velvet Crush's Ric Menck.) The Bigger Lovers succeed at both ends of the {power pop} spectrum, able to knock of cheeky, pastel-toned quirk like Slice of Life at the one end and earnest, spine-tinglers like Peel It Away at the other. In the latter, Ed Hogarty's bright, sharp leads wind their way around Brett Tobias' muttering and stuttering rhythmic tones -- and it's that ear-pleasing guitar interplay that bolsters many of the tunes. Music criticism is often guilty of hyperbole, overt enthusiasms and overstatement -- but rest assured that the Bigger Lovers are one of the best bands trolling the timeless {power pop} landscape in the new millennium. That's no hyperbole. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide