Album Review: What's the Secret of Impossible Hair?

There's a heavy Guided by Voices influence, though the recording's cleaner and crisper. The band's harmonies are imperfect but full of heart, and the songs have just enough quirk and off-kilter rhythm to remind you that this isn't power pop. From the bright, mid-tempo "Accidental Claustrophobes" (told you there was a GbV influence) to "My Little Brother"'s sparse, bass-led hooks, the record has purely poppy moments, but its take on classic pop (The Beatles, Buddy Holly, etc.) is rarely pure. That bass line on "My Little Brother" gets overrun by jolts of jagged guitar and random intervals, and the goofy new wavisms of "X-Ray Man" let you know that this band doesn't take themselves too seriously.

They also harken back to some local sounds, with a good bit of hard-driving Fugazi on the drums, and the angled, fuzzy riffs of The Oranges Band (whose front man Roman Kuebler also plays bass with the Hair). Other D.C.-Baltimore connections abound -- drummer Sammy Ponzar also plays with The Andalusians and guitarist Jim Glass used to be in the infamous Charm City new-wave outfit Buttsteak.

I'll spare you the "this band doesn't exactly break new ground, but..." speech. It's a caveat used far too often to apologize for solid bands able to pull together the different strands of rock history we love and sing them in their own voice. This is not an easy or simple feat, but it's one Impossible Hair pull off particularly well.

Impossible Hair kick off a world tour tonight at the Black Cat backstage with a CD release party for What's the Secret of Impossible Hair? The Caribbean and Olivia Mancini and the Mates will open. $8, Doors 9 p.m.