Better Than Ezra: Friction, Baby

Better Than Ezra's 1995 debut Deluxe was a warm but disposable bit of earnest, lightweight pop-rock. And like Gin Blossoms and countless bands of that ilk, Better Than Ezra is routinely knocked for its sterility and relentlessly commercial sound, but there's no denying the band's buoyant pop appeal. The new Friction, Baby is essentially Deluxe Part II, with a few tricks tossed in: "Normal Town" coasts on a flute-tinged hippie jam; "Scared Are You" is a hyper-melodic, radio-ready ballad; "Desperately Wanting" features singer Kevin Griffin doing his best impression of Live's Ed Kowalczyk; and "Still Life With Cooley" even features a smattering of white-boy funk. The end result is a batch of low-impact pop cheese that's too mindlessly catchy not to be likable.