I was a pudgy kid who couldn't throw worth a monkey's patootie, but I nonetheless possessed the instinct to survive gradeschool kickball and dodgeball - played with those ugly rubber spheroids fabricated to rebound easily off young flesh. Miller basically cleans up the Impatients' rougher edges, wisely doing little where little needs to be done. And yes, the result fits right into that whole Miller-ish school of clever power pop.
Most pop music is stuck over there forever.
What counts are the grand, bold lurches into the realm of the pure, perfect pop song. I'm looking forward to hearing what the Impatients do next. The cover features some nerdy kids who probably got picked last for everything. Been there, done that. The Impatients will not be picked last in pop kickball, though.