"If you stretch your memory far enough, you can probably remember a time when "pop" was still a three-letter word.

Before TRL and Ryan Seacrest and teen actresses-turned-singers, pop was actually a legitimate art form.

For the members of Chula Vista, California, band The Power-Chords, it still is. And if it isn't, that's your problem.

These guys take pride in stuffing 10 pounds of melodies into a 5-pound bag. In fact, from the sound of their debut single, "Unattached Strings" (out November 7 on Mean Buzz Records), these guys eat, sleep and breathe pop hooks.

"We don't like to stray too far from the rock and roll pop song format because it's a common language, although we try to twist it a bit by throwing in a weird chord here or there," says singer/guitarist Jon Hammer.

"But let's face it, the kids today need some energy, the kind of energy that was being exerted in the late '70s, as exemplified by bands like the Clash and the Ramones, punk bands that started playing fast.

The Buzzcocks are revolutionary for essentially making op-punk' long before it was a generic term for modern commercial-radio punk music." What makes the music of The Power-Chords so striking is the band's ability to channel the grimy, blood-and-piss-soaked anarchy of '77-era punk through the solid song structure of influences like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and the Zombies.

The result is something of an anomaly in the punk world - music that sounds as wild and carefree and couldn't-give-less-of-a-shit as The Queers, but is bound tightly with thought-out chord changes and melody lines so sweet they could give you a cavity.

It's simple and smart, rebellious while proudly adhering to traditional form. The name "The Power-Chords" couldn't be more, or less, ironic.

In the band's short career, The Power-Chords have already raised eyebrows up and down the west coast.

The boys have been nominated for a San Diego music awards in each of their three years together.

But as their music suggests, winning accolades is hardly the goal for The Power-Chords.

"For me, playing shows to people exited for our music is the highlight," says bassist Craig Barclift.

"It's a great feeling to see someone going crazy for the music that you're playing." "Nothing can touch the fact that a few kids have told us that we gave them hope in music today," Hammer says proudly.

As The Power-Chords prove on their debut release, there is hope indeed." 12 simply amazing power-pop-punk pearls speak for themself.

"... think I'm a gonna" is a true must have for all friends of euphoric, two minutes pop anthems and fans of bands like THE BUZZCOCKS, UNDERTONES and ADVERTS