Lesser (Known) Lights #1

Mike Viola – Lurch

It’s been barely six weeks since I first learned of the existence of Mike Viola, and two albums in I can certify actual fan hood. You’ve heard him already even if you didn’t know it: he was the voice of the lead singer of The Wonders in “That Thing You Do!”, including the Oscar-nominated #41 (I remain stunned that this glorious tune wasn’t even a top 40 hit) title track. I won’t judge his whole ouvre here – there are six more albums waiting for me on Spotify – but “Lurch” is a gloriously sunny pop record. He was pals with the late Adam Schesinger of Fountains of Wayne (who wrote “That Thing You Do!”), and sometimes plays in the same pool as FoW, with bouncy melodies and clever lyrical turns of phrase. He uses odd instruments at times – I swear there’s a glockenspiel on one track – but it is always in service of the song. I don’t think there’s a dud on this, but “The Strawberry Blonde” is a true standout, as are “So Much Better”, “When I Hold You In My Arms”, “You’re Alright But You Never Admit When You’re Wrong” and “Something Electric”. This is crisp, breath-stealing, should-be-on-the-soundtrack-to-an-indie-coming-of-age-love-story power pop, and a record that will end with you thinking of going back to the beginning to listen to the whole thing over again.