Their Majesties

Second time out, these Haligonian retro rockers have tightened things up. Their debut, Lands Where Tails are Tall, was a fun, though ramshackle, affair, but In the Thick of It finds the group vastly improving as songwriters, no doubt a product of Halifax's incestuous music community ― many of the band's members play in various groups. Dave Ewenson, the band's drummer and owner of their label, handles production, cleaning up their sound just enough to make the hooks (and there are a lot of them) stand out. There's no hesitation or sense of self-consciousness in any of these songs, giving the album a very free feeling. Yes, there are plenty of other bands mining '70s pop and rock for inspiration, but that's beside the point, 'cause this group own it.