Sonny & The Sunsets

Hit After Hit Fat Possum ****

In a different time and different place, Sonny Smith would be king of pop's purest frontiers. Of course, that coronation might require smoothing down some of The Sunsets' rough edges and perhaps adding more shapes to their casual playing. But Smith and band, like many other garage-pop combos rolling out of San Francisco at the moment, understand that the essence of great pop begins with great songs. On his second album, Smith throws more of these commodities around with nonchalant abandon, lighting fires with bashful sunny- side-up nuggets such as I Wanna Do It, getting you high with delightful surf-a-rama on Home and Exile, and breaking hearts with the bitter-sweet depths of Pretend You Love Me. For those who dig pop with a lot of jangle, here's a band to fall in love with. See sonnysmith.com

Download tracks: I Wanna Do It, Pretend You Love Me