International Pop Overthrow
Released
Material Issue burst from the midwest power pop scene onto the national stage with this, their 1991 debut album. Produced by Jeff Murphy of Shoes, it features a couple of bona fide hits (“Valerie Loves Me,” the blissfully tuneful “Diane”) but plenty of other strong tracks as well. Singer Jim Ellison has a powerful tenor voice and the kind of vaguely British vocal inflection that marked much of the music of this ilk, and the trio’s sound is tight and sharp.