With the release of their second album, “Dancers,” Houston’s own Ashbury Keys has moved one step closer to fame. This punk-pop band lists a wide range of influences including the Beatles, Radiohead, and Weezer and this CD is a testament to their musical diversity. Each of the songs on the album is musically different, yet strangely similar. Take for example the first song, “Angry.” It sounds vaguely like something you might hear from Deep Blue Something. The next song, “Out of my Hands,” reminded me a great deal of “My Hero,” from the Foo Fighters. It should be noted here that these are my favorite songs off the CD.After my trial run of the CD, I was unimpressed. Nothing on the CD stood out and I was ready to toss it into the wannabe band category. So with great apprehension, I played the CD again days later. To my astonishment, instead of hearing the same no-talent irritating band, I had stumbled onto a group that gets under your skin, takes root, and blossoms into a sound you can’t get out of your head. I still feel the first two songs are the best, but I find myself singing along to others as if I had owned the CD for months. I set my mind to figuring out what it was that I suddenly liked about “Dancers.” I knew it couldn’t be the simplistic and mostly unoriginal lyrics. I knew it wasn’t the lead singer’s unique voice. As I listened I found Ashbury Keys takes influences from many modern rock artists and does the unthinkable . . .mixes the music with a splash of 1980s pop rock! This realization was the missing piece to the puzzle. David’s singing style melds with the music, making the two into one instead of putting one on top of the other. The lyrics, while not impressive, allow the listener the opportunity to take in the album and all its parts as one entity. This is the same technique that The Cure uses and it works for both bands beautifully. Do yourself a favor and add this CD to your collection.