Air Stereo is a reminder of the period, circa 1989, when rock radio hadnt yet discarded Bon Jovi and hadnt yet discovered Nirvana. Those who hadnt given up on the possibility of something good and new encountered dubious but immediate relief via Del Amitri and late-period Replacements. Air Stereo also qualifies as the Damnwells sincere attempt to establish musical credentials beyond the rawer sounds on their 2003 disc Bastards Of The Beat. Mostly they succeed, especially because singer Alex Dezen has a voice thats melodically and romantically persuasive without being too beautiful for its own good. The songs, from the polished, foursquare Ive Got You to the loping piano ballad Heartbreaklist, are so catchy and savvy that Ryan Adams should want to hear them as challenges. (Could be, since ex-Whiskeytown drummer Steven Terry is a Damnwell.) And any track would brighten up a rock radio stations playlist.