Archie Powell & the Exports send up music for playing hooky on their debut album, Skip Work. They’ve been compared to the Replacements, Elvis Costello (in the Attractions days), and Weezer, but you can’t deny that there’s a twang going on here landing them in the AltCountry camp (think the Old 97′s and the Drams filtered through another heavy dose of Minneapolis garage rock). Things start off with the sing-songy “Milkman Blues,” an acoustic-led foray into pop punk. Then fuzz guitar immediately kicks things into a new gear for “Enough About Me,” reminding me somewhat of Ted Leo & the Pharmacists or maybe even the Mood Elevator. There are riffs and hooks here. There’s gang singing on the choruses for a rousing good time. There’s enough energy to burn the whole place down. Plus, there’s just enough rollicking piano to keep that twang swaying (“Loose Change”).

Archie Powell & the Exports