M Ross Perkins makes fine Midwestern power pop and his 2025 album What's the Matter, M Ross? is filled with songs that pull of the neat trick of being relaxed and peaceful, while never being boring or trite. Throughout the record he balances peppy, jangle-infused tracks like "Hey Man/Hey Self" and "Baby, My Bad" with laid back songs that are drawn from sources as varied as bossa nova ("I Feel So Dumb") and pastoral folk ("A Date for One.") There's also a strong vein of country rock running through the record along with the occasional rocker to keep things interesting. The rumbling, rambling "I Don't Wanna Be So High" is a fine example of the latter, while "That's Fine" has some twang in the guitars and some drawl in the vocals. best of all are the songs where Perkins jams all his influences together to come up with a sound that's not exactly brand new, but it doesn't sound box fresh. In other words. he's not reinventing the pop rock wheel, but he can sure roll it real nice. "Gone (In the Morning)" is probably the hookiest song on the album and if anyone ever does a best power pop of the 2020's collection, it would be a shock if it was omitted, "Crying in My Sleep" is a beautiful folk rock ballad with all the 12-string guitar one could hope for, and "Spiritual Kick" gives the old barroom rock template a gentle kick in the ribs, knocking out all the posturing and just leaving fun in its place. The whole record is a bunch of fun, even considering the theme of uncertainty that runs through some of the lyrics and the spoken interludes that drop in a few times. M Ross Perkins might not be a household name, but if one lives in a home that includes records by the likes of Matthew Sweet or Wilco or any artist who loves mixing power and pop, jangle, and twang, they might want to add What's the Matter, M Ross? to their record collection. ~ Tim Sendra