Thirty seconds into "Absolute Zero," the opening cut off My Favorite's debut album, I turned off the stereo. I was talking to a friend, and I said, "Hold on, I'm going to turn this off 'cause it sucks." It seemed overly poppy and synthesized. Had me thinkin', "Not a chance in hell."

Later in the evening, I turned it back on. I had to. I mean, I had to review it. I found myself putting it off, dreading the opening synth-o-melody, the sequenced- sounding rhythm section and the singer's uncanny Tom Bailey impression. Hardening my heart and arming myself with all the bad vibes I could muster, I started the little bastard spinning. Fifteen seconds in, I still hated it-- the neer- neer- neer- neer of the melody sounded like a whinier knockoff of the Cure, circa Japanese Whispers. After thirty seconds, I nearly turned it off again. How does this guy think he can still get away with singing like this? Forty seconds and, wait, there's a girl singing now, and this isn't such a bad chorus, really. Hey, there's a guitar in there. Wow, that guitar really sounds like early Smiths. After just over one minute, I had six friends on a conference call, screaming: "Guys, you have got to hear this! God! This is so sweet! Come over right now! Come over and wear your creepers! Yeah! My parents are out of town! We're gonna go out on the roof and smoke!"

Thankfully, my pals managed to calm me down and remind me that I don't live with my parents anymore, that I've never smoked, and that my footwear these days is about as goth as Strom Thurmond. But they did come over, and they listened, and 7 out of 7 aging ex- Wavers agree: My Favorite is the shit.

Like the best of the recent new wave revivalists, My Favorite makes blatantly '80s- influenced pop with no trace of irony or simple- minded retro posturing. But these guys offer something that, say, Orange Cake Mix doesn't: you can really dance to My Favorite. I mean, maybe even break a sweat. You could pogo all over your living room with 'em, and then maybe do a little of that weird, flowy arm waving, and then do that one move where you're bent over and sweeping one arm and leg back and forth like you're looking for a contact lens. And then go back to the table for a little while and catch your breath and just lip- sync.

The same caveat applies here, though, as to Orange Cake Mix-- if you didn't like it the first time around, you probably still won't like it today. But if you did, you will. You just have to get past the first 30 seconds.

-Zach Hooker