Birdwatchers Of America

This Boston quartet say they chose their name because bird watching was the least cool thing they could think of. The same could almost be said of their sound: earnest '90s power pop. That's not entirely my view but given current popular tastes, it seems a little odd that any band would want to sound like Matthew Sweet, has even he had to eventually admit he was out of step. That aside, as an out-of-step power pop aficionado, there's a lot of good things to be said about There Might Be Sightings. Singer/guitarist Matt Hutton, formerly of one-time Warner signees the Red Telephone, is an adept tunesmith and overall, the album has a nice, crunchy sheen accentuated by some vintage Moog work, even though the production is slightly pedestrian, at times. Moreover, the more rustic "Call From Virginia" isn't enough to totally recommend them to Jayhawks fans but anyone who still has Sound Of Lies in regular rotation should appreciate the effort these lads have made to try to recreate that album's vibe on this song, as well as several others.