Weep: Worn Thin

Perfect little pop songs are hard to come by. Here’s a dozen of them. Weep plays a synth-heavy, guitar-inflected kind of pop reminiscent of the 1980s, but far catchier than much that actually comes from that era. (Don’t believe me? Go watch VH1.) Singer Doc Hammer has perfected a kind of heavily-inflected, faintly arch delivery, rendering such songs as “Snow Scenery” and “When I’m Wrong” irresistibly catchy. Slightly heavier, more sinister tracks like “The Time I Thought That” and “Worn Thin” lend the album the thematic and emotional heft absent from some of the other, more dance-friendly tunes. A cover of Jesus Jones’ “Right Here, Right Now” makes perfect sense in this context; it’s pop music for people who (ahem) might be surprised at how much they enjoy it.