Bellevue

Making an album that appeals to the hit-hungry masses and discerning music snobs might be the most difficult task a modern band will face. Perhaps the last time it was done perfectly was in 2000 when Danny Michel's old band, Starling, released their Sustainer debut, a radio-friendly disc about relationships and rejections that somehow managed to carry indie cred. Toronto's Bellevue make a serious run at Starling's trophy on this sophomore album. The disc was recorded in a cottage on the north shore of Lake Huron on Canada Day weekend and it really seems to embody that holiday's prideful spirit. Lyrically, it's uncomplicated (but not patronizingly so). Musically, it's full of deceptively simple guitar hookery. Most importantly, The Road To Recovery is just plain fun. So fun, in fact, that it's enough to make a non-dancer get up and shake his ass.