2nd Grade

The Philadelphia band 2nd Grade combine hooky indie pop, sprightly power pop, and gentle indie rock ballads into brief songs that sound like Guided by Voices taking a crack at the Teenage Fanclub songbook. The group's leader, Peter Gill, imbues the songs with an innocent, happy-go-lucky appeal, and albums like their first full-length, 2020's Hit to Hit, its 2022 follow-up Easy Listening, and 2024's multi-fidelity pop scrapbook Scheduled Explosions are breezy and sweeter than lemonade.