Waves

The duo of Phil Parhamovich and Jeff Kearns has pooled their collective influences and come up smiling with Flame A Little Brighter. Basement beauty comes to life on these 12 tracks, recalling recent Photon Band recordings, as well as the better works of Joel Plaskett, where fuzzy hooks charm with little effort. "Free Entertainment" leads the way, having just put down a T. Rex record to douse with its own falsetto "aaahs." The sequencing is the weak point of the album; the lull in the middle is eventually rescued when the bouncy "Roller Rink" turns up the lights. Other winners are "Hey Boo" and "Shrug It Off," which displays some great string arrangements and catchy keys. The Waves bat about .500 here, but the hits are all for extra bases.