Review: Okay Paddy | The Cactus Has A Point

It seems like everybody is sleeping on the debut full-length from Okay Paddy, much as we were until Sunday evening when we finally popped the disc in. And whoa -- the Scranton, PA-based quartet's The Cactus Has A Point, which streeted today, is our first great surprise of the year. Okay Paddy's sort-of surreal power pop is framed in interesting production and wallpapered with irresistable, swaying pop hooks that reference or recall things like The Beatles, Weezer ("Your Bar's On Fire," particularly), Teenage Fanclub ("Gas Money"), the late lamented The Bigger Lovers -- basically all things indie, pop and delicious. This description of the record's contents from the coffee-loving band's site is so great we're just going to reprint it verbatim: "The songs are about things like non-verbal communication, going on thinking the whole time, worrying near to death, and exchange rate feelings." All that in 10 tracks clocking in at about 28 minutes. You can stream four tracks at the band's MySpace yert, and you can download three cuts from the band's web site here. Definitely try to track down the mellow strummer "You Never Worry" and the Matthew Sweet-esque stomper "Where's The Taste." Really, you should just buy the record. The band has a handful of dates over the next couple months, so if you are just gonna sit there and wait for the record to arrive anyway, try to get out and see them if you are situated in PA or NY.

03/03 -- Khyber -- Philadelphia, PA
03/04 -- St. Mary's Center -- Scranton, PA
03/11 -- The Bog -- Scranton, PA
03/12 -- Pete's Candy Store -- Brooklyn, NY
03/18 -- The Globe -- Bethlehem, PA
04/06 -- M Room -- Philadelphia, PA
04/20 -- Temple Ambler -- Ambler, PA