Lost Boy? - Canned (2015)

Lost Boy ? used to be the bedroom project of Davey Jones, a Long Island loner intent on bringing back the tropes and tones of '90s guitar rock. After half a decade of singles, EPs, and LPs recorded by himself, his 2015 album Canned adds a band, adds some power, and hopefully adds Lost Boy ? to the short list of go-to artists when making a list of the best '90s revivalists around. Made up of songs he'd recorded solo before, now ramped up to full band treatment, there's not a single note on the record that would lead anyone to believe that the members of the band have heard any music since 1996, but that's OK in a weirdly satisfying way. It's like a warm welcome-back hug to lovers of almost punk, almost grunge, always guitar-heavy and hooky alt-rock, with the band dropping track after track of Weezer-riffic sugar and crunch. Sometimes the guitars pull back a little, giving the record a more indie rock circa 1994 feel; sometimes they just thunder along in that kind of quiet-verse/loud-chorus way just like they were stolen from the Pixies. Bobbing along on the waves of overdriven guitars, Jones has one of those voices that sounds perpetually boyish, singing tales of loneliness, ennui, and disaffection with just the right blend of slacker snooze and quirky charm. Paired with the reliably hooky tunes and those guitars, the vocals are just right and Canned works well as a slice of very ripe revivalism, and might even sound good to kids too young to remember the '90s and who just want something loud, weird, and catchy as can be.