BMX Bandits: Theme Park

Rumors of BMX Bandits—the 10-year-old Scottish pop band that at various times has featured members of Soup Dragons, Eugenius, Teenage Fanclub and Superstar—have been drifting across the Atlantic for some time now, with the band's American output limited to expensive, elusive imports. The domestic release of the year-old Theme Park is a step toward remedying this situation, and a fine demonstration of why the group's absence here is such a shame. Produced by Kim Fowley—who has worked with KISS, The Byrds and John Lennon, and who also co-writes a good portion of the album—most of Theme Park sounds like an alternate-universe incarnation of Teenage Fanclub that grew up on The Raspberries instead of Big Star. While power-pop doesn't come any breezier, or much better, than "I Wanna Fall In Love," "One Big Heart" or "Love Makes The World Go Round," it's some of the less immediately noticeable stuff that sets Theme Park apart. Abbreviated pieces like the instrumental "Teenage Slaughtertime" and "Evel Knievel" cast a darker light on all the cheery Beach Boys harmonies, and the reggae-ish "Before The Blue Moon" is a nice departure, even if the band doesn't dig into the form as deeply as even Blondie did. But to complain about this sort of pop being somewhat slight misses the point; for pure pop fans, BMX Bandits should be a welcome, albeit long-delayed, arrival.