The Green Room: The Click Five

The Click Five are as chock-full of contradictions as rock'n'roll itself.

They are former music students, mad for a melody, yet really love rocking out.

They specialize in heartfelt, tuneful pop in a world where guys in smart suits, playing guitars, are about as popular right now as the "Reservoir Dogs" would be in your savings and loan.

Their reputation in the States is still a little sketchy. But overseas, they go down like Cheap Trick at Budokan.

And when they bring their tunes, hooks and songs from their new album, "TCV,", audience members will hear influences from The Beatles, to Elvis Costello, to various indie bands.

"What we do is craft-ridden, but it's a kind of hybrid, rock and pop," band member Ben Romans said. "We like to think we're an inspired band. We don't want to be associated with the sort of middle-of-the-road rock you hear so often."

Don't worry. There's no chance of that.

Roaring out of Boston in 2003, The Click Five introduced  young audiences to the pleasures of power pop. With haircuts and chord changes that bespoke Beatles, the inventive boys also sported trace elements of The Cars, Modern English and other smart, snappy bands from the New Wave era. Their first album was a smash, the second -- as worthy -- not so much. They associated with everyone from Ashlee Simpson to Fountains of Wayne; found pockets of American fans and stadiums full of screaming girls in Indonesia and Australia.

"We originally had a good relationship with [first label] Atlantic Records. But when the second record didn't build, commercially, on the momentum of the first, we lost our deal with them," Romans said. "Still,  it was kind of funny. We were backstage and we got told, 'Hey, you're off Atlantic.' 'We're like, 'That's cool.' See, we were about to go out to a huge screaming audience. It didn't really faze us."

Their new album may be their best, combining their hook-filled choruses with a rocking, ready sound.

"People are always surprised when they hear us live,"  Romans said. "Pleasantly so, I think. They always say, 'You guys sound so poppy on your records. But live, you really rock.' We tried to get that sensibility on the new record whenever possible. It's sparsely-produced and a lot of stuff is tracked live."

As enamored as they are of classic rock, Romans is always "tuning in" to the radio. Which he feels is getting a worse rap than it deserves. No pun intended.

"Think of Katy Perry and her newest song, 'Firework.' That has one of the most memorable pre-choruses I've heard in a while," Romans said, with both a kids enthusiasm and a muso's vocabulary. "Also, there's Mumford and Sons and Bruno Mars. Good stuff. I think the radio is getting better. And would be better still, if we were on it more often."

If there's any justice, or an angel that looks out for pop bands, The Click Five will be all over the airwaves soon. Songs like "I Quit! I Quit! I Quit!" and "The Way It Goes" are ear candy that come with a great sugar rush, but without the letdown so often felt after such songs are over.

Romans says the fallout with Atlantic sent the band into a period of "tricky paperwork" that kept it from recording for two years. But on a small label again, it seems indie suits them just fine. As does their touring schedule.

"We have a great blend of venues," Romans said. "Big places overseas, cool little clubs, like Jammin' Java and (Hoboken's) Maxwell's, in the States. It's just fine. We know how to modulate the sound to accommodate whatever place we play. We're going to go out there and just win our fans over, a gig at a time. Hey it worked for Bruce Springsteen and Cheap Trick. No reason why it can't work for us."

The Click Five will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Jammin' Java. Tickets are $15. For more information, visit Jammin' Java or  call 703-255-1566.