Page France: And The Family Telephone

Countless singer-songwriters want to be Bob Dylan, but Michael Nau of Page France must be the first to emulate Sonny Bono's impersonation of Dylan. On Page France's excellent third album, And The Family Telephone, Nau has the same vulnerable gawkiness Bono displayed in the trashy mid-'60s folk-rock classic "Laugh At Me"—it isn't exactly pretty, but it's pretty darn likeable. Starting out as a revolving cast of musicians that brought Nau's childlike, vaguely Christian songs to life, Page France has evolved into an actual band steeped in '70s bubblegum pop, a nice spoonful of sugar to go with Nau's witty philosophical musings. Unlike Bono, Nau wants you to laugh with, not at, him, and the joyous And The Family Telephone has plenty of fun to share.