Hey! Album
The Marvelous 3 is a band with an urbane name and a brand of pop-rock to match. Lead singer and guitarist Butch Walker often sings suspended notes in a timbre resonating heavily with nasal Bowie-ness. Drummer Slug and bassist Jayce follow suit with riffs that stop just short of grungy aggression, tempered with a polished reserve. Sound like the perfect Brit band? You'd say yes when you hear how Walker rounds out his words with proper British diction. But this trio from Atlanta would have you fooled. Maybe they're poseurs? Who cares. With lyrics cheekier than Ben Folds's and hooks far more memorable than Third Eye Blind's or Matchbox 20's, their songs are refreshingly structured and predictable in a way that is wholeheartedly gratifying. A combination of '90s noisy guitar rock, '80s pacing, and '70s glam,Hey!is unapologetically radio-ready and a hell of a lot of fun.--Beth Bessmer