The Shame Idols: Rocket Cat

One unfortunate by-product of the media-fed hysteria over electronic music is that less and less attention is being paid to acts that play pure, unabashedly catchy pop music. Which is too bad: All the machines and effects and tape loops in the world can't duplicate the raw, sassy charm of a simple guitar-pop song. The Shame Idols' sophomore album Rocket Cat is packed with 'em, and though guitar-pop isn't trendy anymore, music this giddy and unpretentious should survive long after the dipshits in The Prodigy are pumping petrol somewhere. It's not that The Shame Idols will stand among the legends in the genre; Rocket Cat is the sort of catchy, soft-hearted fluff that you forget until you hear it a second time. But more and more, these bands are becoming worthy underdogs, and a needed source of old-school pop fun. And dig that Jaime Hernandez cover art.