In The Music

Trashcan Sinatras don’t do anything quickly, but -- perhaps consequently -- they seem to consistently do almost everything right. They were born of the mid-to-late-‘80s U.K. guitar-pop world that included such peppy, tuneful charmers as The Bluebells, The Woodentops, and The Housemartins. A combination of music-biz woes and their own sonic fastidiousness found the band taking eight years between their third and fourth albums, and right on schedule six years later, here comes the fifth. Partly as a result of this glacial pace and partly due to their own solid sonic sense, the Sinatras have maintained their deceptively simple, irresistibly melodic grown-up-pop style through the decades, and that remains true here. The most potent weapon in the band’s arsenal is an unerring knack for the well crafted hook, and they let loose with one after another on In The Music, but the details of the clean (but never cold) arrangements add up as well, like the electric sitar line on “Easy On The Eye,” the harmonies on the chorus of “People,” and the Burt Bacharach-like melodic motif on “Oranges And Apples.” Eight bonus live acoustic tracks are appended to the recording, showing that the band’s folkier inclinations have grown over time and presenting another, equally attractive side to the Sinatras’ sound.