Wheat

After getting their idiosyncratic pop show back on track with 2007's Everyday I Said a Prayer for Kathy and Made a One Inch Square, Massachusetts indie rock survivors Wheat have soldiered on with yet another full-length, White Ink, Black Ink. Still working as a duo, Scott Levesque and Brendan Harney basically keep with the back-to-their-roots approach of their previous effort, although with a few notable differences. Mainly, they've again toned down their more experimental side, opting instead to fill the record with more straight-up and direct power pop hooks. Wheat have also made White Ink, Black Ink a less fractured outing than their last, with the new record playing out as a more cohesive package. Still, despite the improved focus and some of Wheat's most touching "Oooos" and "Ahhhs" to date, the album doesn't reach the same great heights as their early Hope & Adams period. However, it doesn't fall back into their major label lows either, making for a good but not great Wheat effort.