Tinted Windows

Tinted Windows

Tinted Windows is easier to take seriously than most supergroups simply because it’s not all that super. To what part of the population would an ultrapeppy power-pop band featuring Taylor “MMMBop” Hanson, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Fountains of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos come off as a mouthwatering proposition? The oddball combination works better than you’d expect, but operates in a narrow stylistic range that might have worked better in a one-off single or EP.

The band offers hooky, lovelorn bubblegum rock, driven by Hanson’s soaring vocals. Punkish lead track “Kind of a Girl”—riddled with whoa-whoas, fuzzy guitar jangle and airtight melodic contours—tells you pretty much all you need to know, though the disc also includes a respectable stab at a yearning, radio-friendly ballad on “Back with You.”

If there are few outright duds on the 35-minute album, getting through it is still a chore. It’s admirable that these musicians bothered to cook up 11 songs in these digital-single-driven times, but they should have considered going with the flow.—Hank Shteamer

Tinted Windows plays Mercury Lounge Mon 20.

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