Fifth Hour Hero

Summer's upon us, finals are over, school is out. It's bike weather and bare ankles as far as the eye can see. Swim trunks and park picnics, making trouble like teenagers in haste -- it all makes for a motion-picture soundtrack, and Fifth Hour Hero is the feel-good hit of the summer. The Canadian punk outfit has the pop awareness of a group that would play a house party in a teen movie. Sans the plastic Mohawks and fake aggression, the Heroes do angst like late-'90s alt-rock. They exude a rock-femme quality that recalls That Dog, if that band showered less and spent more time on the road in a beat-up van. Driven by the dueling vocals of guitarists Genevieve Tremblay and Olivier Maguire, Fifth Hour Hero is a complement to other mature punkers such as Face to Face or Hot Water Music. A fresh album, Not RevengeŠJust a Vicious Crush, is due from No Idea Records any day now, and the timing couldn't be better.