Pop music has often, especially in recent memory, fought a civil war when it comes to image and authenticity. Think of Poison and Mötley Crüe: glitzy image with seemingly no authenticity. As a reaction to such bands, Nirvana and Soundgarden hit the scene with an unkempt slacker image just oozing with authenticity (real or contrived, depending on your viewpoint). In the 2000s, The Strokes were denounced for their garage band aesthetic but upper class backgrounds while choreographed boy bands filled the airwaves with formulaic songs of love and longing. As we enter the 2010s, danceable music, from MGMT to Ghostland Observatory to Girl Talk and everywhere in between, has become as ubiquitous as ironic moustaches. All that to say this: it’s always refreshing when a band can be oblivious to what’s trendy and just write good pop songs. Rogue Wave has accomplished just that with their most recent effort, Permalight, which is set for release on March 2. 
On Permalight, Rogue Wave manages to find a balance that seems to elude so many bands. Songs like “Stars and Stripes” and the title track are happy without being sugary-sweet, fun without being hokey, catchy without eventually becoming annoying. Of course, pop songs are always more rewarding if there is some substance beneath the toe-tapping surface. Many of the lyrics are hard to pin down, forcing the listener to commit attention and thought to what are otherwise effortlessly enjoyable songs. With the notable exception of “Good Morning (The Future)” – an upbeat tune with heavy synthesizers and electronic drums – the pacing of this album is on an incredibly even keel. Many albums are compared favorably to a roller coaster ride; this album is much more of a Sunday drive with the windows down, cruising familiar roads with good friends. New territory need not be explored when covering old territory is this much fun.
In the liner notes of Ben Folds Five’s album Whatever and Ever Amen, the Folds glibly states that “The lyrics or text were created to detract from the repetition inherent in modern instrumental pop music.” Permalight seems to have taken the opposite path, pushing the vocals out front in every song and making the melodies and lyrics the focal point of each track, so much so that the instrumentation often seems like an afterthought. This point is not meant to deride; in fact, Rogue Wave has the ability to hide their weaknesses (unremarkable guitar work, for instance) under their strengths (infectious melodies and intriguing words).
There is very little (if anything) about Permalight that doesn’t work; the production is slick, but Rogue Wave is not a garage band. There aren’t any shredding guitar solos, instrumental breakdowns, guest star rappers, foreign accents, color-coordinated outfits, interesting facial hair, or 4-track-in-my-grandmother’s-basement production values. Instead, we are given 12 tracks of well-crafted pop music that should not go unrecognized. Of course, a collaboration with Amy Winehouse couldn’t hurt either.
Track Listing:
1. Solitary Gun
2. Good Morning
3. Sleepwalker
4. Stars and Stripes
5. Permalight
6. Fear Itself
7. Right With You
8. We Will Make A Song Destroy
9. I’ll Never Leave You
10. Per Anger
11. You Have Boarded
12. All That Remains
