Jellyfish “Bellybutton” (1990)

From The Beatles right through to the likes of The Lightning Seeds, Britain has a knack of producing bands who deliver a brand of pure, polished pop. The content may have dark or serious overtones but the melody and vocals carry a rare, unblemished character. When a band is lauded as new pop sensations in America don’t expect the same characteristics. In some respects our pop is their AOR whilst their pop arrives way over from left field. They Might Be Giants and Eels are good illustrations of this idiosyncrasy and Jellyfish can be added to that list. They may have more rounded edges than the others but, underneath, they are equally strange. Vocally the closest comparison to Jellyfish is Crowded House (Andy Sturmer even sounds like Neil Finn), but when it comes to lyrical content they are a mile apart. Absent fathers ("The Man I Used To Be"), prostitution ("The King Is Half Undressed"), marital abuse ("She Still Loves Him"), rampant consumerism and parental neglect ("All I Want Is Everything") are all covered. It's testimony to the skill of the band that, no matter how heavy the subject, the music retains a lightness of touch to stop proceedings becoming too maudlin. Special mention should also be given to "I Wanna Stay Home" and "Baby's Coming Back" which, on their own, prove that Jellyfish was definitely a band that got away. –Ian

Badfinger “Wish You Were Here” (1974)

Simply put Badfinger's best album, contains no hit singles and was surprisingly pulled from the shelves (which can't have helped Pete Ham's fragile mind) but everything here has a cohesion and quality control lacking on other albums. 'Just A Chance' is a fabulous rocker, amongst the best of the band's career, 'You're So Fine', 'Know One Knows', 'Love Time', 'King Of The Load' could all quite conceivably been hit singles, all show the band's poppier style to fine effect, 'Got To Get Out Of Here' and 'Dennis' show off a more acoustic, reflective almost countryish style whilst 'In The Meantime/Some Other Time' and 'Meanwhile Back At The Ranch/Should I Smoke' are pure power pop, lavishly arranged, musically and melodically as inventive as the band was ever to get, it lacks one of Ham's gorgeous ballads but otherwise this is as good as they ever got, shame then that it was to be the band's final album before Pete Ham's suicide, they could have gone on to even better things. –Derek

Shoes “Silhouette” (1984)

Despite guitars being toned down in favor of keyboards and electronic drums, Shoes' Silhouette still retains a lot of the qualities of their earlier releases. While the sound is spare and dry to be sure, the consistency of their songwriting remains strong, with lightweight popsters like "Get My Message", "When Push Comes To Shove", and "Turnaround" taking prominence, though the robotic charm of "Will You Spin For Me" may be the single most irresistible track. Shoes' airy, almost artificial sounding vocals actually make for a decent fit to the approach here, so if you don't mind pure pop with an electronic heartbeat, I'd recommend Silhouette. –Ben

The Quick “Mondo Deco” (1976)

The Quick's 1976 debut, and only, LP is hands down, no arguing allowed, the best powerpop album ever recorded. Song after song, side after side, this record delivers on so many levels it's almost comical. Danny Wilde's (yes, THE Danny Wilde from the Rembrandts who penned the ultra annoying 'Friends' theme song..) vocals are so high pitched they occasionally make Russell Mael from Sparks sound like Bowser from Sha-na-na. The guitar tone is pure glitter/punk and the drums and keyboards are trashy and pounding. Lovingly produced by Earle Mankey (Sparks, Dickies, 20/20, Paley Brothers) and Kim Fowley (everyone else in L.A.), this record truly is the sound of glitter and punk, on speed, colliding in the heat of Los Angeles. The lyrics are that perfect mix of gum chewing, over sexed, punk smartass and theater major, that somehow, when sang in a 14 year old girl falsetto, sound even more manly..(scientists are still scratching their heads at this phenomena...). Out of print for years on vinyl, and never legitimately issued on cd (aren't major labels SO COOL??!!), masterpieces like this LP and Milk and Cookies one and only LP are finally available. Fans of old punk take note, the Dickies classic 'pretty please me' is a Quick cover. Between the shimmering beauty of Kimono My House and the golden pop culture trash heap that are the the first two Dickies LP's lies this diamond. It does not need appraisal, its cuts speak for itself. –Richard