Two Cheers and Hero Jr.

Two Cheers’ new album, Splendor, is thirty-six minutes of hysterically blissed-out rock and roll, administered in radio-ready shots of fluorescent pop. Unanimously hailed by indie blogs upon its release, the wholly self-produced record harmonizes a taut, DIY ethos with hi-fi gloss. Unsigned & Unleashed’s Amber Bettis hears in Splendor “more of an event than an album, a good time with friends that you wish wouldn’t end,” zeroing in on the band’s penchant for “infectious choruses caressed lovingly by rollicking melodies, just the right amount of self-reflection, and a perfect pinch of nostalgia.” Chiming in at Property of Zack, Ashley Aron set aside precious barbecue/firework time over her Fourth of July weekend to anoint the album’s “reverb-drenched vocals and cascading, hazy guitars” as “the audio embodiment of summer.”