Hey all,

For my money there are no two better pop albums this year than
Pop4 -- Summer, and Pugwash -- Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends).
I can make that claim because I've spent my money on both recently and
they are fantastic in every way.

Pop4 is a collaboration between power pop geniuses Andrea Perry,
KC Bowman, Kirk Adams, and Scott McPherson. The four have been
friends for a long while but curiously not one has ever met any of the
others in person. The album was made entirely by sending files around.
You'd never know it because every song shimmers with the great melodies,
harmonies, excellent lyrics, and superb musicianship you'd expect from
a band that has jammed together for years. 

Here are two of several glowing reviews:
http://www.powerpopaholic.com/2015/08/pop4-and-wade-jackson.html
http://www.babysue.com/2015-Sept-LMNOP-Reviews.html#anchor110015

The brand new Pugwash album may just be their best yet, and that's saying
something because their other five have been nearly faultless collections
of songs by the brilliant Thomas Walsh. They too are masters of melody,
harmony, excellent musicianship, and great lyrics. As usual, the album
features guest appearances from Neil Hannon and Andy Partridge. But
this time you can add Ray Davies and Jeff Lynne to the roster. Hey,
if all those guys thought it was worthy of dropping by to chime in,
how could you go wrong? 

Scroll down a bit further on the babysue review posted above to see
the Pugwash review, and here's another rave:

http://elobeatlesforever.blogspot.com/2015/08/review-play-this-intimately-as-if-among.html

Mitch