Seattle-based singer/songwriter Matt Bruno is part of the post-grunge pop flowering of that musical metropolis. His '60s-inspired guitar pop shares much more of an affinity with the Posies or the Young Fresh Fellows than Nirvana or Pearl Jam. After 19 years of writing and performing around the Pacific Northwest in vain search of that elusive major-label record deal, Bruno self-released his debut album, Punch and Beauty, on his own Pop's Away label in the summer of 1999. Response in the Internet-driven power pop underground was strong enough for Parasol Records to pick up the record, which they reissued in augmented form in 2000. ~ Stewart Mason