Power pop is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It originated in the mid 1960s as young music fans began to rebel against the emerging pretensions of rock music, and developed mainly among American musicians who came of age during the British Invasion. The genre typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and "happy"-sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, or despair.
After the stopgap Blues Pills Live in 2015, the international rock quartet returns with Lady in Gold, a proper sophomore full-length. It also marks the studio debut of drummer André Kvarnström. When the title track single was issued, some fans of the Blue Cheer-meets-Janis Joplin attack on the first album were taken aback by its embrace of rocking soul. Some even went so far as to accuse vocalist Elin Larsson of trying to emulate Adele. Evidently, they'd either forgotten – or didn't know – that Adele derived her singing style from Aretha Franklin. Larsson is a rabid Queen of Soul fan.