Deliberately misleading tongue-in-cheek title aside, the fourth album from the Brett Rosenberg Problem only moves slightly away from the Boston-based power popper’s preceding records, but it’s enough to show some creative growth. Rosenberg’s obvious affection for Graham Parker (on the clanging rocker “Not Attracted,” he seems to be going for an all-out impersonation of Parker’s needling whine of a vocal style) and various artists orbiting around the Rockpile axis of rootsy U.K. pop (Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Elvis Costello, Squeeze, etc.) remains at the core of these 12 songs, although Rosenberg does also throw in a few other stylistic detours. “Call Me Over” has a welcome hint of Flamin’ Groovies, “Do You Wanna Come Over?” lopes along much like the Pernice Brothers’ country chamber pop, and the mocking “You’re Gonna…” (the rest of the chorus is just rude enough to be unprintable) plays like a parody of any mopey emo band you care to mention. Less successfully, the psychedelic dub of “TGIF” loses its initial coolness over the course of two and a half minutes, and the overlong “She’s a Skank” is middling bar band boogie. Those misfires aside, Speed Metal from Montreal reveals an encouraging disdain for the increasingly strict stylistic confines of the American pop underground. – Stewart Mason
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