Review - Left End Girlfriend

Perhaps helping to usher in a new wave of power pop (along with upstarts Semisonic and Shift), Central Florida's Fizzbin has delivered its first full-length effort with fairly successful results. More polished than the group's live performances, the disc opens with the buzz-pop of "Supermarket Tabloid Sunday." The tune is melodically driven, with enough quirks and breaks in the arrangement to keep it from droning on or sounding canned. "Sleeping On A Beach" is ripe for top-40 airplay, with infectious hooks and a catchy rhythm that could be this year's theme song for "Friends." The band explores themes of bingeing and purging ("Then the Cake Came Out Of The Girl"), thieving aliens ("X-Girlfriend") and twisted whimsy ("Lemonade").

One disappointment is the omission of "Life In A Northern Town," a Dream Academy cover that the band considerably punks out in concert. But with this debut, Fizzbin has produced a radio ready, sonically friendly and lyrically edgy effort.