Koufax

With 50 years of rock n’ roll at their disposal, most young bands often take the easy route of imitating (and in turn defiling and bastardizing) their heroes under the guise of "homage." Luckily, there are a precious few who process the sounds of their youth, and strike at the heart of what made their heroes’ music so timeless. In these so-retro-it’s-modern (post-Strokes) times, it takes considerable ambition and determination to fly in the face of convention – to be your own barometer of cool.

Aptly titled Social Life, this is the Midwest/Detroit quartet’s second full-length for Vagrant/Heroes & Villains and, most importantly, the sound of a young band growing exceedingly comfortable in their own skin. On the surface, this skin might seem antiquated, but there’s no debating that this skin is entirely their own, and flawlessly executed at that. An autumn soundtrack if there ever was one, Social Life is characteristic Koufax – infectious as the clap, free of pretense and pomposity, and exuding wit and wisdom well beyond their twenty-something years.

With drummer Dave Shettler and bassist Ben Force providing the backbone to their bubbly bluster, frontman/guitarist Robert Suchan and pianist/keyboardist Jared Rosenberg make for an immediately immeasurable songwriting duo – call them the Elton John and Bernie Taupin of the MTV generation. While Rosenberg is busy tickling the ivories, Suchan punctuates his simultaneously self-deprecating and aggrandizing lyrical acumen with an unmistakable voice and mini-rave-ups of power-pop guitar.

From urgent opener "Let Us Know" to paisley-draped closer "So Long To Good Times," Social Life is the everylad’s romp through murky metropolitan cityscapes and shady college-towns alike, with bad relationships, bad parties, and bad drugs taking their toll on one’s threshold. Koufax show that these forces threaten to stifle the hope for a brighter tomorrow, yet their songs are always underpinned by a hard-knock-life acknowledgement of lessons learned and situations to be avoided.

Ironic? Hardly. Too smart for their own good? Smart, yes, but not smart-ass. A damn fine pop record? Absolutely. A veritable dark horse destined for critical acclaim? Without question.