Kevin Bronson on October 2nd, 2012

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It’s no insult to call long-running L.A. quartet the World Record a dyed-in-the-wool power-pop band. That’s because the wool is such strong cloth – it’s the same fabric from which Big Star, the dB’s and the Records (and artists like the Posies, Fountains of Wayne, Nada Surf and Brendan Benson who followed) were cut. And every time you hear the World Record play, or revisit their muscular but underdressed album from four years ago, “Guitars Forever,” you’re reminded of the music’s staying power. Singer-guitarist Andy Creighton is as faithful and persistent as he is prolific. The World Record’s new album “Freeway Special” is a double-LP with a staggering 17 tracks, most of which contain guitar pop’s three major food groups: crackling licks, chunky rhythms and relentlessly catchy choruses. Creighton still sounds like a kid with his heart on his sleeve, especially on “Be Nice” (“Be nice / if only for the exercise”) and “I Met the Girl (I’m Gonna Leave Your For).” That adds a lot to the charm, and in concert with his current lineup of Aaron Ballard, Jacob Dillan Summers and Brain James, the frontman sounds as fearless and unaffected by today’s musical currents as ever. Which has to be some kind of record.

||| Download: “She’s Not a Liar”

||| Live: The World Record celebrates its album release with a show at the Echoplex on Thursday featuring a big roster of local favorites including Francisco The Man, Seasons, Geronimo Getty, the Damselles & The TC4 and Adeline & The Philistines.

||| Also: Stream a seven-song sampler.