Cait Brennan – Debutante

In Cait Brennan’s debut, high fructose corn syrup is liberally poured all over the classical power pop formula. Like your favorite candy bar, there’s a sense of instant gratification for every track. The guitars range from rolling acoustic strums to electric staccato honks, and the vocal delivery is always the perfect mix of dreamy and aggressive. Case in point: “I Want You Back”, a short organ and drum-driven track that simmers with more passion than your grand-pappy’s power pop could ever muster.

Unfortunately, like your favorite sugary soda, your teeth start to feel fuzzy as time goes on. Cait randomly starts pulling Elton John moves on “Showman”, followed by a couple of straight Sgt. Pepper re-writes in “Meet Your Remaker” and “Harmony Lies”. Most tracks also tend to go on a little long, with half just short of the five minute mark. If power pop ever taught me anything, it’s that every good song in the universe can be squeezed between two and three minutes.

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