Aviation Blondes: Edge of Forever

Pittsburgh’s Aviation Blondes are a hard group to categorize. Although Edge of Forever‘s Pop-Art cover hints at ’60s mod cool, and the local garage-punk label Get Hip is touting it as power-pop, the band seems musically conflicted between taking off in the direction of the crunching drive of label mates Paul Collins Beat, or setting course for the smooth jazz-pop stylings of, say, Sade or the Style Council. Thankfully, neither path is a bad one, and plenty of both are found in these seven tracks. However, this makes for a somewhat disjointed listening experience, and the songs might have been better served if Edge of Forever had been split into two separate projects. Nevertheless, there are highlights, including the muscular, garage-soul rocker “Crash and Burn” and the sunshine power-pop of “Pretend, with the latter showcasing the tight harmony vocals of Lexi Rebert and Jen Fischer to great effect.