The music industry is all political, let's face it. Unfortunately a side effect of this is numerous "Terry Malloys", artists we may never hear about. Wannabe musician Neil McCormick even wrote a book on the subject called "Killing Bono" (a fantastic read by the way).

Khalid Hanifi, the brain child behind Michigan pop outfit Maypops, use to be one such person. Having had the rough end of the pineapple from the A&R department more than a decade ago, Hanifi has stuck it out and we have been blessed with a rich pop sound on 'Spirits Of Agnew'.

Because of years of experience plying their trade, The Maypops come off as seasoned performers. Advantage Hanifi!

Pitching in somewhere around solo McCartney (minus the social standing but with far better material!), Maypops is actually close to the recordings of New Zealander Tim Finn post-Split Enz.

Taking a few songs to find it's groove, 'Spirits Of Agnew' is littered with hook laden tunes that will have you whistling at the most innapropriate times. Some advice: Don't listen to this just before a funeral.

'Summer Thunder' is by far the standout. Like a hip Don Henley number (hard to believe I know) it is filled full of great quirky lines like: "You swear on a stack of Hustler, you don't really want that."

Elsewhere, 'Hangman' is all sleaze and Jagger (pretty much the same thing come to think of it) while 'Ready To Crawl' is unabashed British Invasion.

Finishing proceedings with the sweet "Listen Sound Off', The Maypops seem to cover the entire spectrum with the greatest of ease. With this second chance in the music world hopefully The Maypops shot at the title won't be short lived.