Boston-based Señor Happy’s long-delayed sophomore release, I’m Sorry, is an immediate stew of grungy riffs and sunny hooks. While their presence on Q Division, Boston’s best pop record label, and the band’s occasionally sunny choruses may get them branded power pop, Señor Happy are a band whose sound leans more heavily on the attack of bands like MC5 or the Stooges mixed with the cinematic wash of late-’80s/early-’90s shoegaze-y Britpop like Swervedriver or even the Darling Buds. As usual, Mike Denneen gives everything a sharp, aggressive production, making the best songs — “Got You” and “She’s New” among them — jump off the page. If Señor Happy have a flaw, it’s that they sound strangely faceless: there’s very little on this record that wouldn’t sound at home slotted onto a latter-day album by Nada Surf or Boston’s own Francine or Loveless. I’m Sorry is filled with fun, chunky guitar pop, but — like the cake being smashed on the album jacket — seems just a bit loaded with empty calories. – Jason Damas
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