Novillero — Aim Right For The Holes In Their Lives

These Winnipeg mod-lovers crank up the retro pop hooks on their unstoppably jubilant second disc. Seriously, anyone who resists this huge sounding rock 'n' roll party of a record probably has difficulty spelling "fun." The quartet's brass-happy, jaunty piano-backed gems are imbued with Motown romps ("The Hypothesist") and enough ooh-ooh harmonies for ceaseless California dreamin' — it's almost questionable whether these guys are really from the 'Peg. And just when it seems as if they've exhausted their happiness, they throw in a righteously romantic classical piano solo over a crash of guitars and cymbals (on "Insomnia") like a bunch of power-pop Axl Roses.

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