The Submarines are Bostonian power-pop duo Blake Hazard (the great-great granddaughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald trivia fans) and John Dragonetti. The course of their true love did not run smooth, but it did generate their debut album Declare a New State two years ago. They had split but kept up a professional relationship as the band, only to find the act of recording the songs they had written separately fuelled by the breakup brought them back together. Those kids from Fame Academy were right: music conquers all! Make-up, marriage, and relocation to LA later, their follow up is obviously less emotionally cathartic, but not to be dismissed as frothy ear candy. It’s an almost completely enjoyable romp through perfectly measured left-field synth-psych-poppy arrangements mixing mild electronica beats, sunny boy-girl harmonies (more heavy on the girl), brazen tambourine, and fizzing indie guitar in an intricate winning collage. In fact, minus those big-toothed vocals and the odd bit of xylophone, its crafted sound may not be too much of a stretch chart-wards from the likes of The Notwist, Mates Of State, or even Tilly And The Wall.This cynical reviewer doesn’t often listen to such unashamed pop much these days but is not above admitting to past affections reaching as far into the sickly sweet honey pot as Abba (whilst being totally secure in his sexuality thank you very much). So, it did take a few listens for this aural love bomb to hit home and for me to get my hop, skip and jump groove on. It was the more reflective final track ‘Brightest Hour’ that bit first. Then with my defences lowered, a whole upbeat bunch of possible singles flooded in to take up residence in my brain. Actual first single ‘You, Me and the Bourgeoisie’ has been chosen to soundtrack the Apple 3G iPhone ad campaign, so may or may not be familiar. That corporate collaboration only emphasises the irony contained in the lyrics ”“ the hypocrisy of enjoying life in the first world whilst contemplating the whole overblown consumerism of it all. Driven by ‘London Calling’ chopping guitar, it sounds like Jenny Lewis fronting Good Vibrations Beachboys and produced by Brian Eno.However, ‘Wake Up Song’ gets my vote for most addictive slice of the apple pie. Dragonetti takes lead vocal, and there’s an element of a smiling New Order stuffed full of uppers in its pumping bass beat (a common feature elsewhere too). Slotted in amongst the giddy belters are two dub workouts: the spooky zombie-plod of ‘1940’ and anti-folky ‘Fern Beard’, which is another reference to their garden garage studio setup alongside the metaphor for tangled love found in ‘The Thorny Thicket’. Dragonetti has a magic touch in mashing all the diverse components together to keep the ear entertained throughout by pristine textures and enchanting melodies, everything in its right place to create a strong coherent feel for the album without wringing the life out of it all. The lyrics also bear up to repeated listens. In performance they’re a lot of fun too, souped up with a living breathing drummer and fusing their pre-recorded tricks with enthusiastic performances ”“ bordering on engagingly hippy-chick dippy in Hazard’s case. If anything, the mix of her sweet, airy vocals on record lack the extra pep she can deliver in person.All that the best breezy pop bliss has to offer: pure, warm and heartfelt, and yet not so simple. The best of its kind I've spent time with for quite a while. Let this touch you and you will become infected. Go on, I know you want to: shoe gazing is so over-rated. Best of all, you get to have a guilty pleasure and Simon Cowell et al don’t get a penny out of it.78%The Submarines on MySpace The Submarines Official Site