Power wave pop rock like MTV played in the early days.
To list all the bands the Autograph people play in would require a separate column. To name just two: Destroyer and Hard Drugs. The four of these busy people founded Autograph to play wave rock for nerds: vintage-themed videos, songs between The Cars and The Motels, halfway between power pop and synth rock, in any case you can see an extremely thin tie , full hairstyles and sunglasses. Rivers Cuomo from Weezer also tries every now and then to transfer what was considered cool in the 80s into the present. It does not always work.
And even at Autograph you get the feeling that a band of studio cracks is pursuing a concept that is too self-absorbed. “Born Losers” deals with cliché verses about constantly losing and escaping. But it’s not the end of the world, the lyrics say – and the song sounds so succinct. “Hey Allie” is much better because power pop dominates here, but how much better the composition would sound if Autograph had recorded it as a garage band and not in that MTV retro style. It’s quite possible that the four of them are a great live band. The record doesn’t lack knowledge of pop and rock music, but rather the dirt in between.