The Blurries: Paper Cuts

Sometimes it all just kind of comes together. Jangly guitar pop-rock is certainly something we’ve all heard plenty of, but the Blurries manage to make it interesting again, three minutes at a time. “Pretty Knife” is a terrific tune built around thin-but-expressive vocals and – wait for it – jangly guitars, while “Your Love” benefits from plenty of straightforward verve. The four-piece never strays far from the guitar-bass-keys-drums template, but as someone famous once said, it’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it. The Blurries excel in the melody and harmony departments, and their multi-section songs obscure (mostly) their fairly pedestrian musicianship. There are occasional duds, like the unmemorable “For the Night” and “Clear,” but a greater number of compelling, melodic rockers like “Wintertime Blues” and “Paper Cuts” are waiting just around the corner. Guess what, kids? Rock and roll is here to stay, at least for another three minutes.