[3.5/5] You can actually hear the sunshine on California band Sherwood's second record, most of which they unsurprisingly penned in even sunnier Mexico. Their jangly pop songs, which sound far more refined and mature than they did on their 2005 debut Sing, But Keep Going, shimmer with an optimist sensibility, even when they descend into hushed, ballad-esque numbers like "The Simple Life" and closer "I'm Asking Her To Stay." The record's hopeful tone, like its choruses and melodies, is catching; the blissful moments resound with a kind of undeniable contagiousness and the band make even the darker sections seem desirable. "The Best In Me," a shining, bouncing pop number neatly decorated with hand-claps and carefully placed "Oh-oh-ohs," sums up perfectly the album's positive mindset with a feel-good chorus of "You're bringing out the best in me." Here's hoping they hang onto to whomever this song's about because that sentiment seems to ring true about the entire record. (MYSPACE) Emily Zemler
 Official Website: http://www.myspace.com/myspacerecords
|
