Fratellis

The Fratellis came onto the scene when their song "Flathead” made it into an iPod commercial, and that same brand of straight-up, danceable rock that everybody loved is what they deliver on their second album, Here We Stand. There’s nothing fancy or over-the-top about this Glasgow trio’s collection of songs but that’s what makes them so much more refreshing than the other bands out there that seem to be trying so hard to fit in. Songs driven by acoustic guitars, like "Babydoll” and "Acid Jazz Singer,” are a nice break from the rest of the record’s ever-present electric guitar power chords, and the piano-based "A Heady Tale” is a particularly standout track. The Fratellis might not have done something new and innovative with Here We Stand but they’ve managed to take a genre we all know well and turn it into something everyone will want to listen to over and over again.