Bubble gum and pop music have a lot in common: They're sweet, sticky, and the taste tends to linger. And sometimes the tummy ache (or the hole in your pocket) is worth getting your fix of the sugary confection. It's this kind of relationship that led to the label "bubblegum pop," which is often associated with the teen pop acts of the 90s, specifically teary-eyed boy bands and peroxide blonde girls with heavily choreographed dance numbers. Of course, pop has come a long way since the days of "Genie In A Bottle," embracing genres such as new wave-inspired electropop, blue-eyed soul, and recently, emo.

It's a craze that first took the nation when My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy stormed Billboard charts in 2005, without knowing that they would be onto a new trend. Pop-rock was no longer about sensitive guys with acoustic guitars. There was a new era in pop music being ushered in, and it has given way to the success of bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Paramore, and, most notably, a group of Bostonian pop-punkers who call themselves Boys Like Girls.

The group's eponymous debut album is a textbook example of "super catchy pop-punk." Guitarists Martin Johnson and Paul DiGiovanni supply hooks that would make Fall Out Boy jealous, while drummer John O'Keefe and bassist Bryan Donahue keep the sugar rush moving. Johnson also delivers an enviable falsetto over most of the album, practically a staple in emo music.

Listening to the album is like walking into a candy store, where there's all kinds of sweet things you're bound to enjoy. "Thunder" steps into rather Dashboard Confessional-esque territory, while the bouncy "Dance Hall Drug" is reminiscent of Bayside's "Blame It On Bad Luck." "Learning To Fall" is the quintessential pop-rock mid-tempo ballad, and the album's lead single, "The Great Escape," could very well be the soundtrack to your summer vacation--chances are, it probably was.

Boys Like Girls prove that you don't need some watered-down beats and overtly suggestive lyrical content to sell records. They do it the old-fashioned way: by writing good music. Mission accomplished? Looks like it.