Single File

Common Struggles

[3.5/5]



There’s plenty to enjoy on Single File’s major-label debut, from crisp hooks with a bit of sheen to the Denver trio’s playful, sometimes-geeky attitude. The punchy power-pop recalls Ludo more than Fountains Of Wayne, though at times they descend into Dashboard Confessional melodrama (“Airports”) or lose the thread in manic retro-wave bounce (“Don’t Hate”) that’s more appropriate to Howard Jones than producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Saosin). Like releases by Phantom Planet and Something Corporate, you could quibble with the number of pleasant yet innocuous tracks, however, Common Struggles gains steam as it goes along, highlighted by last-half odes to womanizing (“Miss Cherry Lipgloss”), the undead (“Zombies Ate My Neighbors”) and a distant, lying lover (“Dear Meghan”). While the tracks immediately following sparky, Cars-biting opener “Mannequin Loveseat” pale in comparison, there’s incentive to stick with it for the final half-dozen tracks. (REPRISE) Chris Parker