Deathray: Deathray

Every summer needs at least one great power-pop record like Weezer's self-titled debut, Urge Overkill's Saturation, or Fountains Of Wayne's brilliant Utopia Parkway, any of which can withstand hundreds of trips through car-stereo speakers and open apartment windows. Deathray's self-titled debut comes pretty close to doing the trick for the summer of 2000. The band, known primarily for featuring guitarist/singer Greg Brown and bassist Victor Damiani of the droll Sacramento outfit Cake, has little to do with the group that first gave Brown and Damiani cachet. Instead, it's one of those wonderfully ingratiating summertime records, a slick, seemingly disposable assortment of songs in the mold of The Cars and Fountains Of Wayne, with a dollop of Squeeze's harmonies thrown in for effect, especially on "What Would You Do" Getting off to a flying start with "My Lunatic Friends," a hooky slab of buzz, fuzz, and hand-claps, Deathray whizzes through 13 songs marked by chugging guitars, the occasional drum machine, a few samples, and, on "Baby Polygon," a vocoder. The results never quite transcend rock candy the way the aforementioned summer classics do, but they do pack the wit and songwriting skill of Cake without that group's periodic concessions to smug indulgence. A fine debut, released just in time.