Written by: Dan Coffey

UPTIME!, the new album by DTCV, is a recorded distillation of summery good times and wistfulness. You’d be forgiven for mistaking the album for one by a more reflective version of the Breeders – singer Guylaine Vivarat occasionally channels Kim Deal, but she encompasses so much more territory. Listening to UPTIME! and the way Vivarat’s vocals complement the twin guitar statements (attack is such an overrated word), it’s hard not to stop your mind from bouncing to every corner of power pop since the 80s. The spirits of Chrissie Hynde, Brix Smith, even Hope Sandoval, arise from the magic dust that accompanies the clash of Vivarat’s and Jim Greer’s guitars.

Get past all the referents, though, and you’ll find that UPTIME! is its own beast. Songs like “Early Alone” and “Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Song” are simply beautiful bits of music made by two musicians who have taken advantage of the results of their particular alchemy. Much more direct than last year’s fantastically sprawling Hilarious Heaven, UPTIME! seems carefully crafted to be a particularly potent earworm for those looking for great new power-pop that knows its history.

Proof? Have a listen: