Program, Evil is Job One

Being a pop band in Houston seems to be a hard road to travel. I dunno what it is — the air, the water, the electromagnetic radiation from all the powerlines — but over the years, the bulk of the poppier bands I’ve run across in this town have been, to put it a bit harshly, only somewhat “eh” at best. For some reason, truly great pop-rock musicians from H-town are few and far between; the hardcore/emo/noise bands outnumber the Arthur Yorias and Mike Haagas of this city by a factor of ten.

It’s partly because of that dearth of good, solid, poppy music that discs like Program’s Evil is Job One feel like such a breath of fresh air. Don’t be fooled by the album title — the songs are earnest, occasionally bitter, and unrelenting pretty and bright, all while never lapsing into sappiness or using the “it’s just a pop song” excuse to be lazy about the songcraft. The band definitely worships at the altar of folks like The Smiths and Keane, taking those influences and melding them with a touch of emo-ish desperation (the excellent “Vulture Pub,” “Sent by God”) and some Weezer-esque rock guitar for a sound that’s poppy but not light or dismissable.

The guitars jangle, Byrds-style, the keys burble and bump, the lyrics are sweet in an insecure, shy-boy kind of way, and the vocals hit all the right notes (especially when guest vocalist Liz Wason steps in). The result’s a nicely woozy concoction that blends Wolfie’s manic energy and synths with Material Issue’s more deliberate songwriting, and it’s frighteningly addictive. The band saves the best track, “Zebra Zebra Tiger,” for last — it’s a low-key, wurlitzer-heavy (courtesy of guest musician Derek Dunivan, who also throws in a fiery guitar solo) bit of pop that could’ve been ripped right off of an XTC album, and it’s freakin’ incredible. If that’s what Program’s got coming later on down the line, I’ll definitely be listening.