Jeff the Brotherhood/Cy Barkley/Black Puddle Noise

As the band name suggests, JEFF The Brotherhood is a fraternal rock duo comprised of Jake and Jamin Orrall. Thanks in part to production from The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who’s no stranger to two-piece super-stardom himself, Hypnotic Nights, the band’s major label debut last summer, was its crispest, poppiest effort yet, comprising 11 pert little paeans to listless summer fun (“Six Pack,” “Country Life”) and half-assed stoner reveries (“Mystic Portal II,” “Region of Fire”). The sound itself is indebted to the tossed-off slacker hooks of’ 90s college rock like Sebadoh, Superchunk and, most transparently, Weezer, but pseudo-ironic ’70s shamanistic overtones (sitar effects, anyone?) are a thoroughly 2013 turn. If you hate good pop music, their adorable mop-tops and onstage bro banter might just win you over. (Hannah Franklin)