What's most surprising about 4 is not that the guitar histrionics of the Ed Mundell-era are gone. Anyone who's been keeping up with either what the band has done or what I've had to say about it knows that as soon as Mundell left and Core's Finn Ryan stepped in, The Atomic Bitchwax has been making a concentrated effort at writing songs as opposed to (admittedly awesome) jams.

The kicker here is that if III, the band's debut with Ryan, bridged the Bitchwax of old with Black Nasa, bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik's other (late) band, and the three tracks off of the studio part of Boxriff continued that journey, 4 goes beyond, even further into poppier territory. In fact, the best songs on 4 are the ones that lay on the gloss (“Revival,” “Wreck You”) or are unabashed in their love of harmonies and good-time choruses (“Sometimes Wednesday,” “Daisy Chain,” “Run”). Instrumental workouts like “Super Computer” and “Giant” seem more like throwback offerings to those who demand that sort of thing. Good tunes, to be sure, but nothing really unexpected. It's not like they're telling us anything we don't already know about the technical prowess of the band. As for the cover of Pink Floyd's “Astronomy Domine,” it's a workmanlike job that doesn't equal III's cover of Deep Purple's “Maybe I'm a Leo.”

No, it's the polished approach that delivers on 4. Strip away the backing strings and keys on “Revival” and it'd still be a good song, but the more-is-more approach gives it a little bit more kick. I doubt “Daisy Chain” would've even made it out of the jam room back in the early days, and if it did, it wouldn't have sounded so joyously peppy. And sure, the solo at the end of “Wreck You” is killer no matter how you slice it, but when coupled with the absurdly strong vocal hooks, it's even more effective. I'm generally wary of bands that over-produce – rock is meant to be primal and raw – but damn it, it works on 4.

At this point, there's not much in common with the band that wrote “Birth to the Earth” (even drummer Keith Ackerman has moved on; Monster Magnet's Bob Pantella is now manning the kit), but that's going to be a deal breaker only for those who've pledged eternal allegiance to those first two albums. Me, I care about songs that I can remember after listening to them. 4 has that in spades. Recommended.