Jason Falkner’s Bliss Descending EP marks the end of a five-year wait for more powerful pop from one of the leading figures on the guitar pop scene. Oh, he’s been busy with various projects but this is the first release under his name. From the sound of it, the EP could have been recorded the week after 1999′s Can You Still Feel? It has the same hook-happy songcraft, clean but not slick production, and vocal purity. The only thing slightly different is a bit more reliance of synthesizers (as on “They Put Her in the Movies”). All five songs would have sounded great on an album, no filler to be found. Best of the batch are the textured ballad (handclaps, harpsichord, rich vocal harmonies and swirling synths) “Moving Up,” and the hard-charging rocker “The Neighbor.” “Lost Myself” is pretty swell too with dynamic shifts and a super dreamy chorus. Really, the whole EP is on par with the high quality of all of Falkner’s work. The only downside is that this isn’t the way overdue full-length record. Then again at least we Falkner fanatics have this EP to wave over our heads like the flag of the pop underground nation. That’s fine consolation. – Tim Sendra