They don't make pop records like this anymore, pal. "Like what," you ask? Like 14 songs, each one a ringer that's impossible to shake. Like a young guy who clearly has a passion for the classic pop music of the '60s, '70s and '80s. Like a talented tunesmith and clever lyricist who oozes charisma and confidence with every note he plays.

My Favorite Revolution is stuffed with song after song of what they used to call power pop before someone decided that term was a dirty word. Edwards' tunes manage to be both powerful and graceful at the same time, often exuding a near-punky edge ("At Your Place") and other times revealing a singer/songwriter with a soft heart (on the ode to a first love, "I'd Like to Think So"). The Plimsouls-like "Victim at Bedtime"---about a woman caught in a spiral of ongoing physical abuse---is one of the best tracks here, fighting for top spot with the Hard Day's Night era-flavored "Congratulations, My Darling" and the powerfully Who-like opener (think "My Generation") "Your Own Nightmare." ("Nightmare" contains one of Edwards' finest lyrical moves: "Between silence and a drink/will you just take the fifth?") Possibly eclipsing all of these, though, is the pulsating title track (love the drums!), which is a musical love letter to an old friend: the vinyl record.

My Favorite Revolution is literally overflowing with a whole slew of winning, energetic, guitar-based, powerful pop rock. With a dash of early Costello here (check the vocals on "Victim at Bedtime" - pure E.C.), some Squeeze-y overtones there and a pop vision all his own, Eugene Edwards stands poised to take over the (pop) world with his debut record. While Gene looks to the past for some inspiration, his record is fresh and vital and completely in the here and now. An early contender for Album of the Year for 2004.

- John M. Borack