Jeffrey Novak

Cheap Time front-man and former one-man band Jeffrey Novak has followed peers Jay Reatard and Mark Sultan in exploring the merits of a solo record. And while he calls the project "a pathetic attempt at doing something different than what I've already done in the past" on his MySpace page, this is a glimpse of the pure punk pop perfection that has always lurked beneath Novak's louder tendencies. Recorded in his bedroom, After The Ball ditches the garage rock almost completely, opting for timeless glam ballads ("What a Surprise"), mid-tempo rockers ("The Lost Parade") and Transformer-era Lou Reed ("Never Together"). The result is an album that retains an uncompromisingly unique but fully realized identity, building a new sound that transcends era or scene but would still sound good on a mixtape with Blood Visions and The Sultanic Verses. There's no question that Cheap Time were a great band but After The Ball starts a solo journey down a path too good not to finish.