The Pleasers: Thamesbeat (1977-78/1996)

Tied up today, so just a quick hit, a little choice nugget from the power pop bin. The Pleasers were a British group who recorded a series of singles early in the skinny tie era, much more on the power pop than the new wave side of the equation. These were collected a couple decades later on Thamesbeat, the title of which leaves little question about what's inside -- nostalgic British Invasion guitar pop, straight out of the pre-Rubber Soul Beatles/Dave Clark Five/ Gerry and the Pacemakers playbook. There's a spot-on cover of the Who's "The Kids Are Alright," and a gender-swapped take on "My Boyfriend's Back," and most of the package is produced by Tommy Boyce, half of the songwriting team responsible for a number of the Monkees' biggest hits--so, yeah, it sounds exactly as you'd expect. Which is pretty damn great. Loads of fun, knock yourself out.

Here's "Lies":

Here's their take on "The Kids Are Alright":

 ...and an audio rip of "Troublemaker":