History is a fickle and often unreliable narrator. When it comes to thinking about the Britpop movement of the ‘90s, it usually goes Blur vs. Oasis and… some other bands. History has a way of shuffling the non-marquee names quietly to the side. Yet from a purely logistical level, it takes more than two bands to make a movement. There were a number of acts that were making noise then that have been relegated to footnote status. One such band was The Boo Radleys. While they never got a good foothold in America, with the release of their fourth album, Wake Up, they were at least mentioned in the same conversations as the heavy hitters in the UK. But the band lost that momentum and after two more records, called it a day. Leader and songwriter Martin Carr launched a solo career and operated under the moniker of Bravecaptain for a number of years before shedding the costume for his own name and a “proper” solo release in 2009. Now he’s come back again with his latest album, The Breaks (Tapete Records).

Sadly, The Breaks isn’t a rock recasting of the Kurtis Blow classic of the same name. Instead, it’s Carr in unapologetic pop mode. With Carr, there’s a always been a bit of a wildcard factor as to what’s going to come out of the speakers when the needle drops. The Boo Radleys moved from shoegaze to Britpop to more experimental sounds without a slight pause. Every album was a new thing. Then, as Bravecaptain, he took the opportunity to jump wholeheartedly into experimentation, adding electronic music, free jazz, and hip-hop production into the mix. So it’s almost radical that he plays it straight by delivering a guitar-driven pop record. But that’s a question for the eggheads, as Carr seems  bursting with song after glorious song. The one-two punch of opening tracks “The Santa Fe Skyway” and “St. Peter In Chains” has enough energy to put the listener back on their heels. It’s an almost visceral relief when Carr shifts gears and tempos with the gently sardonic “Mainstream.”

The Breaks is a really smart and well–put together record. Full of songs that bounce from AM transistor beach gold to quiet acoustic moments, it covers a lot of sonic ground. It’s also the type of record that can balance sincere moments with goofy thrown out observations like, “If Jesus ran a chip shop, all our fish would be free.” Carr’s writing is tight, but playful and creates pocket-sized universes over the course of the album. It’s a fairly densely written record as pop albums go because Carr still believes in the power of a verse as well as a hook, no matter how unlikely. And it surprisingly always works. On paper, it’s hard to take a song called “Mandy Get Your Mellow On” seriously, but one spin and it’s just as hard to fight it. The Breaks may not be the record that The Boo Radleys’ fans were probably looking for, but hopefully it signals a breakthrough for Carr’s next act.