3 out of 5

 Label: Self-released

Produced by: Martin Feveyear, The Presidents Of The United States Of America

This is me, 20+ years after marveling at the catchiness of Lump and Peaches but wondering if that’s all there was to PUSA: chuckles and riffs, reporting that, yeah, that’s all there was.  And yet, retrospect has removed some judgement on that, given that the dudes managed to knock out five discs of equally entertaining, two to three minute silly little anthems, with enough variation stretched between them such that it’s worth it to listen to them all.

That’s the marvel: three chord composition enthusiasts tend to exhaust the pool of song options pretty quickly, but Chris Ballew and crew kept figuring out how to make it fun, and maybe occasionally add that bit more that made you gleefully realize there was a lot of smarts fueling this stuff.  Some years back, there was maybe a peak of smart and silly on These Are the Good Times People, and then it was time to go.

But hey, we said: if you got more riffs, come back any time.  With Kudos to You!, they did just that, not missing a beat six years after the fact.  If anything, PUSA gained some steps: while not mistakable as math or anything technically mind-bending, the sharp interplay of the crew is notable, particularly as the disc heads into its middle stretch of songs, which step slightly away from their bouncy sing-song to knock out some unique chord progressions and tunes.

As a return, though, there is a dearth of urgency.  Everything on here is light as air and carefree.  Which, don’t get me wrong, is great for just putting it on and tapping your toe, but the tracks do fade from memory pretty quickly.

Still – they came, they went, they came back and it was all good.  They are, once more, welcome back anytime.