Alert Today Alive Tomorrow

Album Review

If it's a hummable, whistle-able tune you'd like to teach the world to sing, then here's a disc of candidates, with a few cuts to spare for a hip marching band. A really hip marching band, that is. This Muffs album is essentially the same one they've released three times earlier — with different songs each time — except Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow is even less complex and more memorable than ever, if that's possible. Although they insist that they're pop-punk, they're really just Cyndi Lauper with a two-pack-a-day habit and a three-chord repertoire that keeps the street lively but musically safe for everyone. Kim Shattuck's growly vocal range actually refers to softer times in pop-punk music, when singers may have felt they had less to prove, perhaps. Shattuck is welcome to relax much more, as she does with charming effects on "Your Kiss," a sweet guitar-centered song that would make Brian Wilson proud. The album closes with a surprisingly sophisticated instrumental, "Jack Champagne," invoking the Ventures and warming your car radios' souls. Although little takes place here to shatter the earth or tumble the walls, there's nothing to shatter your spirits, either. A comforting pop record from a less-than-outraged punk band.