Hey Thanks! Hometown: New Orleans, LA Album: Start/Living, out May 27 via Iodine Recordings RIYL: Permanence. Gratitude. Pop. Featuring an appellation that would be un-Google-able in the Midwest and Southern U.S., Hey Thanks! is what you’ll say immediately after listening to Start/Living. There’s is a broad-spectrum brand of pop that somehow miraculously aims for substance over sheer sunniness, despite screaming to be played at the loudest possible volume the second summer hits. Though I have no idea their religious beliefs, Start/Living reminds me of a particularly Christian brand of alt/pop that was popular when I was growing up—Anberlin, Acceptance, The Juliana Theory—but with a sheen and focus that feels totally alive and unique. This is pop music first and foremost, but it’s clear...