The Resonars - The Greatest Songs of the Resonars (2013)

Matt Rendon started the Resonars in the early '90s and quickly answered this question of what would the Hollies have sounded like if they were a '70s power pop band, instead of a '60s beat group. Taking that band's impeccable vocal harmonies and pristine songwriting, then boosting the tempos, guitar fuzz, and energy to an almost fever pitch, the Resonars' recordings have been an under-the-radar power pop pleasure for a long time. This collection, which takes songs from the group's long career and presents them chronologically, shows that the band started off nearly perfect and stayed that way. The songs from their 2012 single for Trouble in Mind have all the energy of their early work, and Rendon's skill for crafting insanely hooky three-minute pop gems hasn't dimmed at all. His true strength is writing jangling midtempo ballads that'll catch you unaware with their poignancy ("If He's So Great," "She's in Love with Her") and bowl you over with the choruses ("Definitely Crescent Ridge," "World's Apart"), but he's equally adept at songs that'll make you want to frug the night away ("No Black Clouds Float By") and at super-charged, slightly psychedelic rockers that have an impressive amount of lo-fi power ("Long, Long Thoughts.") The Resonars are a hidden treasure kind of band, and The Greatest Songs of the Resonars is the best kind of hits collection. It works as a standalone album but also will inspire anyone who listens just once, or is any kind of fan of '60s melodies, '70s dynamics, and catchy guitar pop at all, to start a mad search to track down all of the band's albums.