Friday, October 30, 2026

Softjaw - Love Can't Kill You


An epic year for power pop is now starting to flirt with legendary status. Softjaw's self-titled compilation album, released earlier this year, can be called power pop perfection without even a slight hint of hyperbole. When it comes to that Big Star/Nerves/Raspberries lane of power pop, this Long Beach–based band is setting the new standard. Songwriters Tanner Duffy and Dustin Lovelis had their work cut out for them as they set out to make a proper debut album. But clearly, they were up to the challenge. Out now on Dandy Boy Records and Bachelor Records, Love Can't Kill You more than lives up to expectations — mostly because it doesn't try to be anything more or anything less than a classic pop rock 'n' roll record.  

Love Can't Kill You, while still very much a quintessential power pop album, is far from a rehash of Softjaw's previous output. Over the course of a full LP, you get to hear the band trying some new things and exploring an even wider array of influences. But the main approach has remained unchanged. Guitars, melodies, and hooks reign supreme in this band's world. Granted, that is essentially every power pop band's MO. But not every band power pop has this kind of talent. Beyond their shared love for certain bands, Duffy and Lovelis are exceptional songwriters and naturally gifted harmony vocalists who thrive as a creative tandem. Rather than trying to recreate any specific era of music, they approach power pop as a living, breathing style with a rich history and a bright future. 

Love Can't Kill You is rooted in timeless sounds running the gamut from The Beatles and '60s pop to '70s rock to classic power pop to '90s and 2000s indie/punk guitar pop. I freaking love that the band chose to open the album with the wall-shaking arena rocker "You May Be Right." It was a ballsy move to throw a curveball on the very first pitch, and it definitely paid off. The song is a reminder that Softjaw is, above all else, a rock 'n' roll band. Elsewhere, "Poor Disguise," "That's Alright With Me," and the title track will have the power pop fanatics jumping for joy. "Go Mad" and "My Broken Heart" show how fresh and exciting Beatlesque guitar pop can still be when the songwriting is inspired and the execution is brilliant. "Million Different People" is the song you always hoped to get from a band whose origin story involves a Big Star t-shirt. "Pandemonium" is a snappy, toe-tapping rocker that will surely be stuck in your head all week (I speak from experience). "Flying High," which finds the band leaning into jangly, harmony-laden psych-pop, is a majestic album closer.   

I'm trying to imagine how I would have reacted if I had heard an album like Love Can't Kill You in the late '90s when I was at the peak of my classic power pop obsession. I would likely have sent the band psychotic fan letters and penned a 25-page review of the record that I would have published and distributed at my own expense. I might have even gotten a Softjaw tattoo. This really is one of those rare ten-out-of-ten power pop albums. And even with the self-titled comp record setting such a high bar, Love Can't Kill You does not fail to wow. It's not like those singles and first EP could have been a fluke. But an album like this leaves no doubt that Softjaw is the real deal. You could drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of why so many great albums of this general style have come out in this particular year. My advice is to not even bother. Just thank the music gods for the bounty of power pop treasures and enjoy it with full vigor. And then when I'm 80 years old and still reviewing records, I can talk about how I love bands that remind me of the music I loved in the 2020s.

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