When the slight-handed mischieviousness of rock'n roll intersects with the innocent pathos of penchant pop music, the result is infectious. Powerpop exposes the flawless sincerity of juvenile sensibility, where everything is either the “best in the world” or the worst. The middle ground, where most of reality falls, is never something worth singing about. It's anomalous and fleeting charm is that it captures a period in our lives when everything is immediate and affecting, and our sentiment towards anything was as tender as the zits on our noses. The paramount early-eighties powerpop act The Shivvers, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin capture the archetypal pop sound in their recently exhumed collection of songs available on Hyped2Death's Teenline series, a tag taken directly from a Shivvers' song. Forming in the latter part of the late seventies, the band reached minor success with their debut single “Teen Line” backed with “When I was Younger.” Receiving stellar reviews in both BOMP! and NY Rocker, and going on to open for such acts as The Romantics and Iggy Pop, they were sure to make waves outside of Milwaukee, but somehow managed to slip through the cracks. Frontwoman, Jill Kossoris' magnetic and acrid voice is the model intonation for the genre, and her raspy and sweet-hearted delivery underscores the raw naivety and unfaded appeal of their songs. Breezing through 20 tunes that outline the short existence of the band, including live tracks and enhanced to include video footage of the band in their heyday, this is an essential piece of powerpop history. Check out some songs HERE, pick up a copy of the enhanced CD HERE and check out a video from the same disc for "Please Stand By"...
