While Boston's "The PushStars'" latest release, "After the Party," isn't uncoventional or revolutionary, it still does the job of producing melodies that are likable. "Any Little Town," the album's opener, has the good-natured jangliness of a Smiths' song sans the cynicism. "Everything Shines" is in fact a bright and short song, which seems like it would be fitting in a party scene in a "Friends" episode, and bears some similarity to the tune of R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World."

More somber songs like "Meet Me On Main Street" and "Cinderella" seem to take themselves a little too seriously, but still possess lush, sweeping melodies that crash and sway. "Back To The Party" is a quietly quirky arrangement mixing Mazzy Star-ish haziness with plucked guitars and ingeniously offbeat vocals. It is by far the best song on the album, and stands out stylistically from the rest of the album, which follows a kind of standard format for contemporary "serious" pop bands, like Counting Crows or Verve Pipe, with its strong male vocals and heavy layering of emotions.

Overall, the CD does deserve credit for good song writing, but not too much for originality.