Album: The Dreaming Spires, Brothers in Brooklyn (Clubhouse)

Supra-referential power-pop like this was fashionable in certain strata in the late-1970s, and you can see why.

It's clever, fresh-faced, melodic and it believes. And while the Spires' masters are probably Big Star, that doesn't mean they're slavish; any more than they're slaves to The Zombies and Cockney Rebel. Sound? Slightly coarse jangle and clankage. Themes? Girls, career, influences (Teenage Fanclub get name-checked). Not there yet, but highly promising.