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Superhopper

Party Killers

(Guilt Ridden Pop; US: 2006; UK: Unavailable)

Energetic, fun, bouncy, and good, and energetic! Oops, already said that. Anyway, Superhopper are chock full of rock that is some sort of mad scientist mix of Wolfmother and the Mooney Suzuki. “Kermit Hates Music” nails you over the head with a great hook and a very tight chorus fuelled by lead singer Kermit Carter. Fans of Guided By Voices would also revel in the punchy “It’s Alright, It’s Okay”, as Carter brings to mind Mr. Pollard before reaching for his 14th beer of the evening. The only problem the band faces is that there isn’t enough here for a full-length album. Things slow down slightly for “Excuses on Parade”, which is a somewhat mid-tempo but powerful pop-rock nugget. The group shines from start to finish on this effort, particularly on the fantastic “When You’re Down And Out (In Minneapolis)”, which would never kill any party ever. The Minneapolis band brings to mind another Minneapolis rock band called the Replacements circa Tim in that there’s not a weak or filler track here. Mind you, there’s only eight, but tracks like the galloping “Bling Bling” and the delightful “All Tomorrow’s After Bars” are hard not to enjoy. The best of the best, though, could be “Friends”, which has a certain snarl working for it. To cite the last track, “Eye of the Tiger Applies to Everything”, this is the way that victory sounds!

Rating:

Originally from Cape Breton, MacNeil is currently writing for the Toronto Sun as well as other publications, including All Music Guide, Billboard.com, NME.com, Country Standard Time, Skope Magazine, Chart Magazine, Glide, Ft. Myers Magazine and Celtic Heritage. A graduate of the University of King's College, MacNeil currently resides in Toronto. He has interviewed hundreds of acts ranging from Metallica and AC/DC to Daniel Lanois and Smokey Robinson. MacNeil (modestly referred to as King J to friends), a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan, has seen the Rolling Stones in a club setting, thereby knowing he will rest in peace at some point down the road. Oh, and he writes for PopMatters.com.


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