11.
Operator Please
Yes Yes Vindictive

Back to bouncy fun rock, then. Operator Please are a female fronted Australian pop-punk outfit. This record is pretty much perfect if what you want is well crafted poppy rock songs that clock in at around the three minute mark. The band has a violinist, which is rare for this type of stuff (though I guess less rare in the post American Idiot/The Black Parade world). It has enough to it to set it apart, but is also fairly familiar and is hardly challenging. Equally, it’s venomous enough to get the blood pumping, but not based on any real bile or vitriol. Stand out tracks include ‘Get What You Want’ (which reminds me of Smash era Offspring), and ‘Two For My Seconds’ (a mellow moment that’s very Beatles indeed), but they’re all pretty darn good. If this album had come out in around 1994, I would have played it to death. As it is, I’ve still played it a fair bit… Another one to file in the ‘shallow but fucking fun’ category.