Midwestern good-time rockers Archie Powell & the Exports join the likes of A.C. Newman and Ted Leo in carrying the power pop torch into the aughts. Singer/guitarist Archie Powell had taken up guitar by age 11 and had begun writing songs four years later, but it wasn't until he graduated college that he formed AP&E. The band name was inspired by the Export brothers who rounded out the lineup: bassist/singer Adam, keyboardist Ryan, and drummer RJ. Their first recording, the Loose Change EP, arrived digitally and for free in 2009, expanding their audience to a national level, followed a year later by the heartstring-plucking debut full-length Skip Work. Sophomore record Great Ideas in Action was released in 2012. ~ Chrysta Cherrie