Kevin Bronson on December 1st, 2014

1

There’s a 15-year-old inside me that wants to love “Karaoke,” the new single from Smallpools, despite its heavy scent of formula, lyrics seemingly cribbed from a schoolgirl’s notebook, its assembly-line tidiness and the overall aura, thanks to the onslaught of bands like Fun., Passion Pit and Foster the People, of Been There Done That. But … I will dutifully report here that the L.A.-based quartet of Sean Scanlon, Mike Kamerman, Joe Intile and Beau Kuther, who stormed out of nowhere with 2013’s hook-filled “Dreaming” EP, figures to have a huge 2015 – their full-length debut for RCA is due to arrive in February. Confession: Karaoke has never been my thing, either.

||| Stream: “Karaoke”