*** The Hi-Fives

AND A WHOLE LOTTA YOU!

(Lookout)

Everything here -- from the suit-and-tie outfits to the mod graphics on the cover of and a whole lotta you!, to the kinetic Kinks-style guitar riff that kicks off the disc's wholesome opening track ("It's Up to You") -- harks back to the clean-cut sound of the early-'60s British Invasion. The Hi-Fives are nostalgic for the few post-Meet the Beatles years when groups who were ultimately less important -- the Herman's Hermits and the Gerry and the Pacemakers of the day -- shared the charts with Lennon and McCartney, when American garage bands like the Shadows of Knight did their best to imitate the hot new sound.

It's not that far off from what the Ramones might have come up with in '76 if Johnny hadn't had a distortion pedal: simple, fast, and jangly, 1-4-5-based pop nuggets. Hi-Fives singer John Denery even shares Joey Ramone's love of Buddy Holly-style lovelorn ditties and '50s rock embellishments. (One of the catchier tunes, "No-No," trails off in a chorus of "Golly golly gee now, you're so sweet now," and the disc is peppered with nifty doo-wop-derived background vocals.) Best of all, the Hi-Fives know their stuff: their kick-ass version of "Tainted Love" owes everything to the Standells and nothing to Soft Cell.

-- Matt Ashare