Scott Gagner – Sweet Tooth

Scott Gagner’s eighth album, Sweet Tooth, arrives just in time to resuscitate a somewhat slow summer for power pop. Released on July 28, this ten-track collection highlights Gagner’s gift for writing big, sugary hooks. Recorded in perhaps the most tumultuous place in American, Minneapolis, it would have been easy for him to gravitate toward the negative. Instead, we get an irresistible collection of pop delights.

The optimistic “Beyond the Blue” starts things off with positive vibes and a memorable chorus. Lead single “Sugar Rush” is a bouncy, dopamine-fueled anthem built on jangly twelve-string guitars, stacked harmonies, and a delightfully solo featuring electric sitars. Gagner sings of bouncing off walls and having “sugar for brains,” turning a simple sugar high into a metaphor for choosing to look at the proverbial glass as half full.

“Purple Heart” continues this theme with warm analog synths, irresistible choruses, and lush male/female vocal layers. “Nothing Left to Lose” is another gem with a poignant message, lovely harmonies and a marvelously memorable chorus.

The arrangements are tight, the melodies stick, and the entire album clocks in as a cohesive, 30 minute feel-good journey. A more than worthy follow up to 2023’s Reverse, Sweet Tooth is his best since Hummingbird Heart, this site’s #1 power pop album of 2019. Release date is July 28 but you can pre-order it at Scott’s Bandcamp page.