Headaches and Moodswings

Since the Mr. T Experience is on an extended hiatus, what with Dr. Frank off being best-selling young-adult novelist Frank Portman (actually, read King Dork, it's really very good!) and everything, there was an opening for "Most Adorable Punk Band In The World," and lo and behold, the 20 Belows showed up to fill it. And this Copenhagen-based quartet's not giving up the crown without a fight: these guys could be the cuddliest group of pop-punks ever. The key is lead singer Ulrich Basler's boyish, high-pitched voice, which is the textbook definition of "winsome," to a degree not seen since the first EP by Mitch Easter's Let's Active back in 1983. The uniformly lovelorn lyrics, with titles like "This Boy's Giving Up" and "The Happy Songs," almost sound like they were designed to appeal to the nascent mothering instincts of Manic Panic-wearing teenage girls the world over, at least long enough to let the 20 Belows cop a quick feel. There's also no evidence of the adolescent gross-out hijinks so common to similar bands in the style like the Queers and Screeching Weasel. Nope, it's just 13 killer punky power pop tunes, one after another, making Headaches and Moodswings a major league mood elevator despite the title. ~ Stewart Mason