If, like me, you have a soft spot for Bad Sauna, here's a spinoff. Rosa Jules sings and plays guitar with drummer Aliisa Keränen and bassist Santeri Hytönen from that Finnish outift, and the results are impressive. I'd say Lala Salama edges a bit more to the pop side, but all of these pieces are punchy winners.

Lala Salama Miltähän me näytettäis yhdessä (All that Plazz)

Finnish lyrics abound (don't let a couple of English song titles fool you). Clearly based in punk, but with a sincere appreciation for the power pop of the 90s and today's revisiting of shoegaze sounds. Like many restatements from across the pond, this sounds a lot like many American bands, but with certain twists (beyond the language, of course).

Like Bad Sauna, this is best played loud. Preferably with the top down on a sunny day. And when a stop-and-start banger like the third track (I'm not even going to attempt to transcribe a song title with eight umlauts!) kicks in, the tension tingles.

I'm pretty sure Bad Sauna is a continuing concern, but Lala Salama deserves a few more trips to the bar as well. Raucous, joyous and even truly grungy at times, this album blisters its way through more sonic ideas than seems possible. And all in service of glorious hooks, fuzzed-out wonder and punchy kicks that never quit. Summer arrived early this year, and I'm not complaining a bit.

Jon Worley