Charly Bliss are a very unique-sounding power pop act and honestly, an acquired taste. Vocalist Eva Hendricks will either lure you in or turn you off with her high-pitched voice (which a friend likened to Laura Stevenson on hard auto-tune). Be that as it may, Hendricks' voice works for me, because it conveys a wide range of emotions, not just lyrically, but in terms of tone -- all amid a flock of poppy melodies and catchy riffs. Guppy as a debut does have room for growth but it's a distinct statement that matches the highs that Hendricks hits and the ambitions of a band whose cult following surely expanded this year.

Influential bands like Weezer and even indie peers like Tancred pop to mind, especially with the synth bombs dropping here and there to sound off something you can tell wasn't made in a big-time studio. In terms of this rough indie sound, take in "Westermarck", "Ruby" and even the slower "Gatorade". I love how Charly Bliss, as with these songs, manage to flow through various tempos and rhythms so effortlessly, pumping brakes most of the time to keep things at a head-nodding, foot-tapping tempo, but still doing enough to jag you with its cute pace. 

Then you've got "DQ" which feels like a tempered-down Paramore track that should have been out when MTV played music videos and truth be told, speeds things up with a mainstream flair. In fact, this track more or less signals why Charly Bliss won't stay underground for long. A little more anger and roughing up is needed for their musical style, but undoubtedly, one of Brooklyn's best-kept secrets is out now with Guppy swimming among the masses.