Save Pluto: Age of Lowered Expectations

New York power pop trio Save Pluto play well within their genre on their debut, Age of Lowered Expectations. That’s the good news. The bad news is that their music is the baseline example of power pop. Song to song, chorus to chorus, note to note, Save Pluto play exactly what you expect them to play. Fortunately, a couple of tracks manage to stand out a little from the pack. Very catchy opening song “Impressed” shares its appeal with Joan Jett’s remake of “Crimson and Clover”. And mid-album rocker “Red Letter Day” gives us more grit than we would have guessed, especially following the limp “What If”. Most of the album, however, just doesn’t stand out enough to make Save Pluto all that special. Still, Age of Lowered Expectations is a pretty good album, and hardcore power pop fans will likely be pleased.