Just like any genre Power Pop had its heroes, while Cheap Trick may have played the forerunner and Big Star played the underdogs; there were more still that got even more overlooked by the ravages of time. For all its sugary sweetness I just can't help but have a pretty big soft spot for the perfect combination of guitar crunch and saccharine harmonies. Thankfully the reissue circuit is coming around to rectify the past.

	Shoes - Present Tense Shoes released a couple of great independent bits and pieces and then got a lucky break when garage stalwarts Bomp! Records picked them up for a single which eventually lead to a contract with Elektra. The band stuck it out
with three solid albums that didn't really receive the attention they, or the label thought necessary and as with all labels in the face of commercial disappointment the band were dropped. The setback would prompt member Skip Meyer to leave the group but they continued on through the nineties with their own indie label Black Vinyl. Since then they've been credited with an underlying influence on power pop leaning indie bands along with operating the Short Order Recorder recording studio. Which all things considered leaves them in much better standing than many from this era. However the band still should have received more attention on their release as they balance perfectly the buzzy power of new wave and true harmonic pop. Download: [MP3] Shoes - Tomorrow Night [MP3] Shoes - I Don't Want To Hear It Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	Milk N' Cookies - Milk N' Cookies Milk 'N Cookies came out of the CBGB's set but since the band's sound was much lighter and sweeter, and their average age much younger than their contemporaries; they don't tend to get lumped into that scene. In
fact the band often get forgotten altogether. Despite their youth (which really comes through in their lyrics) the band had an uncanny knack for catchiness and translate the sugar high of high school love well into song form. This is just now getting picked up as an influence by bands like Cheap Time and other garage/power pop revivalists and its easy to see why. The album stands as an almost perfect gem of this genre and its damn hard not to let a wide grin spread across your face with each listen. The current reissue has tacked on some nice bonus tracks that are equal to the album material as far as an essential picture of the band. This stands as most of the output of the band but in quality vs. quantity the ratio just works out; sometimes it's best to know when to quit while you're ahead. Download: [MP3] Milk N' Cookies - Chance To Play [MP3] Milk N' Cookies - Typically Teenage Support the artist. Buy it HERE