Kevin Bronson on May 30th, 2017

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Like a lot of the power-pop greats, Punch Punch Kick deliver a wide range of emotions — anger and frustration, triumph and bliss — with celebratory, nerdy charm. The L.A. quartet’s debut album, “Punch Punch Kick” (out Friday on Lolipop Records) crashes through five decades of rock history, reverent to what kids with guitars have always done: turn whatever is on the tips of their tongues into something sweet.

The foursome — Ryan Malloy, Reade Pryor, Chris Miranda and Phil McDonald — eschews modern pop and all its gimmicks in favor of a back-to-the-basics approach: “We don’t play with a computer in the background. I’ve gotten sick of hearing quote-unquote indie bands that are just playing electronic pop music,” says drummer Pryor. “It almost feels subversive to be a rock band, or at least to just have guitars, drums, bass and vocals.” The quartet found an ally in longtime L.A. power-pop luminary Linus of Hollywood (aka Kevin Dotson), who worked with the band on and off for four years on the record.

The resulting 11 songs arrive with crunchy, laser-guided guitars, crashing cymbals and starbursts of harmonies — the sonic touchstones are artists like Cheap Trick, Redd Kross, Material Issue and Weezer. The production is crisp; the sentiments are raw. “We try to write pretty straightforward songs, and the lyrics are often heart on the sleeve,” singer-guitarist McDonald says. “Hopefully that feeling of vulnerability and raw emotion comes across in an honest and clear way that will resonate with others.”

Not that “Punch Punch Kick” is bubblegum. Exemplary is the single “What the Kids Don’t Know,” a dart aimed at the cynical world of reality TV and social media. “At the top of every list / ignorance and bliss,” they sing, and sometimes it sure seems like it.

||| Stream: “Punch Punch Kick” in its entirety

||| Live: Punch Punch Kick open for Nerf Herder and Ozma on July 18 at the Troubadour. Tickets.