Army Navy’s hooky, jangly guitar pop seems stuck around the mid 90s and that is no bad thing. There are echoes of pre-‘Stacy’s Mom’ Fountains of Wayne, Superchunk, even a hint of smoothed out Buffalo Tom, circa Big Red Letter Day.

The Superchunk reference is especially prominent in Justin Kennedy’s high register vocals, at times reminiscent of Mac McCaughan minus the smoke and whiskey rasp. Where, at first, some listeners might wish Kennedy’s voice had a bit more grit, repeated listens dispel such wishes and it becomes an integral tick in Army Navy’s plus column.

They might wear their influences on their sleeves – and by the time the record ends some might be rooting out their copies of Girlfriend or No Pocky For Kitty – but this LA quartet never sound dated or derivative. They’ve simply learned the right lessons from the right people. ‘Saints’, ‘Slight of Hand’, ‘Snakes of Hawaii’, the hooks come thick and fast. This could possibly be the most infectious record of 2009.

Mark Grassick