Spymob's debut is the sound of a finely honed bar band weaned on Todd Rundgren, Kansas, Steely Dan, Elton John, and other richly produced 1970s radio rockers -- minus the grandiose sense of self-importance. (Score's first single, "It Gets Me Going," is written from the point of view of the family dog.) Spring-loaded guitar chords uncoil on "Thinking of Someone Else," frisky piano pogos through the blue-eyed soul of "Stand Up and Win," and the title track features a potent classic-rock cocktail of squealing keyboards, falsetto vocals, and shuffling handclaps. Hip-pop crowds slithering to the Neptunes' watery beats won't find much overlap with Spymob's pristine pop rock -- except in the way both parties successfully create music that's undeniably fun, infectious, and completely deserving of massive success.
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