Power pop is to music as comedy is to movies: The better it is, the more deceptively easy it appears. Power chords, hand-clapping rhythms, and catchy hooks are at their best when they seem to be tossed off like an effortless bit of fun (even when that “fun” has a bittersweet longing). It’s easy to take the genre for granted.

And it’s easy to take a band like 2nd Grade for granted too. Now five albums in, this project of songwriter and producer Peter Gill has become this decade’s premiere source for power pop bops. The band’s latest record—once again featuring Catherine Dwyer and Jack Washburn of Remember Sports—ups the ante, though, by adding a quirky framework to the proceedings:  10 songs about girls, 10 songs about boys, half sung by a female, half sung by a male, for an album titled, Girls and Boys. 

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On first hearing this concept, I worried that 2nd Grade was leaning too far into gimmick or novelty. After all, the only thing that curdles the sweetness of power pop is when a band gets too cute. And on top of the concept, they announced the album was also going to have an unconventional release strategy: physical only on October 30, then digital via Lame-O Records on December 4. Oh no, was this charming band falling into an overly twee trap?

Thankfully, no. These 20 songs rank alongside the best of 2nd Grade, further showcasing Gill’s ability to craft melodies that evoke nostalgia without feeling dated. The jangly guitars and gentle harmonies on singles “Anywhere Girls” and “Cellophane Girls” could stand alongside those of the dBs or even Tom Petty, but they race ahead faster than it feels like they’re supposed to. The drums bring a more contemporary frenetic energy that pushes Gills’ and Dwyer’s deliveries into a series of hypnotic tongue twisters. Similarly, “Glacial Boys” mixes two great sounds that you don’t hear enough together: a Big Star-ish vocal melody with a fuzzier, chugging baseline. Meanwhile the male and female vocal interplay on “Upstream Girls” makes me realize Belle and Sebastian is actually power pop adjacent, yet also features these little looping moments that feel very 2026 indie rock. 2nd Grade makes sure to put their own stamp on the expected tropes while still delivering on them.

Gill finds a new spin on lyrical tropes too, frequently managing to be clever and pop culturally specific without ever becoming kitschy. Lines like “I want to throw a chair like Oliver Reed in the 1970s” or “They put up a new McDonald’s where the old McDonald’s used to be” immediately hop out and attach themselves to my brain. Hell, the line “Phone keys wallet charger headphones, I guess I’m ready to go” might be my new leaving the house mantra. Yet, overall, there’s an anxious stream of consciousness vibe to the lyrics, like we’re hearing the nervous thoughts of men and women desperately trying to keep smiles on their faces despite, well, everything.

Yes, each song manages to simultaneously be a reassuringly bright and subtly dark earworm. And there’s no danger of getting sick of this formula since each song is also under three minutes, frequently even under two. 2nd Grade understands what makes power pop and are so good at doing it here on Girls and Boys that—to bring it back to the top—they make it look simple. But it’s not. They’re just that talented.

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