If there's one thing to be said about the Minneapolis indie rock scene, it's that they sure like jangly pop with a subtle country-ish edge. So much of this type of thing used to come out of Minneapolis, it's surreal. It was that underlying Big Star influence that the whole city seemed marinated in. And the Hang Ups were always as guilty of shameless Big Star fandom as the Love Cars, Dylan Hicks, Willie Wisely, and Rex Daisy. The difference is, these guys can still do it well.

The Hang Ups have been together since 1990 and, along with 12Rods and Kopacz, are your best bet for Minneapolis rock. They've always been a solid, reliable band that could be counted on for a decent show and a great album, but they've never exactly cranked 'em out. Their last release came with 1996's So We Go, an album that was almost unanimously considered to be their best. Now, almost four years later, they're offering up Second Story. I'm excited.

Second Story is a step away from the slightly more fey stuff on So We Go, but the band is now somewhat less distinguishable from their "Minneapolis Sound" peers. The songs here are definitely more straightforward, traditional pop, and Don Dixon and Mitch Easter's production work, while slick and technically impressive, is perhaps a little too polished.

The most noticeable difference between Second Story and the band's earlier work, though, are the occasional full-on rock songs. The band sounds more influenced now by the Beatles' Revolver- era, especially on songs like "Pretty B.A." and "Party," than ever before. I'm not used to turning on the Hang Ups and having a song like the classic rock radio- ready "Out of Touch" thrust on me. But, in many ways, that element of unpredictability is a nice change of pace. Not only do those songs give the album some added personality, they're also surprisingly good rock songs for a band that's usually so equated with gentle, orchestral pop.

Second Story might not be as immediately welcoming or as flawless as So We Go, but it's nice to see that the band is still capable of recording a really good record once every three years. Sure, their sound is a bit out of style for indie rock, but as far as Minneapolis residents (current and former) are concerned, this stuff will never get old. It's good to see someone's still out there keeping this sound alive.

-Ryan Schreiber