The debut album by long-time Los Angeles musician/songwriter Jensen Bell -- called “Modern Dating Tips”, incidentally – will be, in all likelihood, an instant classic in the oft-uninspired power-pop genre. Fans of the Three B’s – Fountains of Wayne, Owsley, and Teenage Fanclub – will certainly find the music comprising “Modern Dating Tips” to be thoroughly entertaining – if not downright comforting -- for all of the hallmarks of classic power-pop are present and accounted for: jangling 12-string guitars, effervescent vocal melodies, and lots of lovely, layered background vocal harmonies, all driven by a pulsing backbeat. To call it “catchy” would be an understatement; to call it “inspired” would be much closer to the truth.

Jensen Bell has had a long history of hands-on involvement in the Los Angeles power-pop scene, having formed the buzz-band The Bell Starlings (featuring the everywhere-at-once Robbie Rist on bass and former Muff Jim Laspesa on drums) during the heyday of the Bubblegum Crisis/Poptopia madness of the mid-1990’s, and writing, recording, touring, and performing with several notable bands (including The Rails and Chuck E. Weiss, among others), with varying degrees of success and recognition. Tours in Europe, miscellaneous recording projects -- even a stint as a music instructor -- kept Jensen Bell busy in the ensuing years, yet he remained artistically unfulfilled, nurturing an unrelenting desire to write The Great Power Pop Album he knew was lurking somewhere deep inside.

That album, waiters and gentlemen, is finally here.

Over much of the past two years, Bell conceived and recorded “Modern Dating Tips” at the now-legendary Lincoln Lounge in Venice, California, engineered and co-produced with behind-the-scenes maestro Steve Refling (Cockeyed Ghost, Receiver, The Negro Problem). The album is a triumph of melodic imagination, confidently staying well within the established guidelines of post-Beatles power-pop, yet embellishing these admittedly simplistic art-form limitations with interesting, unexpected chord progressions and great leaps of melody, performed with passion, inspiration, and complete finesse.

The album is a song-cycle of sorts (okay, call it a “concept” album) detailing the finer aspects of the trials and tribulations of dating. Lyrically, Bell really reaches out and takes chances, as some of the scenarios detailed on “Modern Dating Tips” are quite personal and revealingly intimate. Most people will easily relate to the feelings – which can range from crippling confusion to sky-spiraling exhilaration -- that often go hand-in-hand when attempting a connection with the object of one’s desire. It makes for quite an interesting listening experience, with Bell never taking a heavy-handed approach, instead letting his well-crafted lyrics speak for themselves.

Some of the musical highlights in this collection of stand-out tracks include the Matthew Sweet-esque opener “Asking You Out”, the humorously upbeat duet “Happy Chocolate” with main Muff Kim Shattuck, and the pistol-whipping “Possible Jane Situation”, with its’ clever lyrics and relentlessly jangling guitar hooks (and killer bass-line courtesy of monster musician Robbie Rist). Mention must be made of the gorgeous album closer, the magnificent McCartney-esque “Love Stained Eyes”. Sounding like a long-lost George Martin “Revolver”-era production, “Love Stained Eyes” details the all-too-commonplace reality of a relationship doomed to failure. A gorgeous string arrangement paints a musical picture of regret and melancholy, mirroring the sadness and longing echoed in the lyrics; underneath, a plaintive piano melody provides a foundation for Bell’s evocative, yearning vocals. Truly a spine-chilling moment, one of many to be found within this album.

All in all, “Modern Dating Tips” is an amazingly cohesive musical and lyrical debut, one that proves this emerging artist not only has a comprehensive grasp of the melodic rock idiom, but is also uniquely able to imprint his own original spin on the genre. Four out of five dentists.