My 15-year-old daughter loves this CD and it is one of the few we can put on in the car and all enjoy. Quirky lyrics and fun upbeat tunes. It is definately a great album for the whole family to enjoy.
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My first impression upon listening to this cd is that it really rocks. Forget descriptions like power-pop or retro, this is a major work by a bonafide modern rock band with a punk pedigree. Kimberly Trip fans have come to expect well crafted songs with witty, intelligent lyrics, perfectly played & sung by the exquisite voice of Kimberlina.
While this cd delivers all that & more, I must confess that I missed most of the words during my first listening.
I was too busy enjoying the big sound of it all, from Sierra's rhythmic basslines & Bractune's powerful drumming to Jeffry's catchy guitar riffs & Misha's techno keyboard flourishes, with Kimberlina's magnificent vocals floating above. Once I put on the headphones & listened more closely, I discovered these to be my personal favorites - the high energy lament to lost love "Shy Girl From Orange County", the hilarious techno tribute to Myspace geekdom "I Wanna Date Your Avatar", the darkly funny & weirdly cool "Your Creepy Ex", the softly humorous anti-emo song "He Wore Pink", the childlike innocence of "Flat Stanley" (any relation to Paperboy?) & the powerful & haunting "Second To Fade". If it were up to me, Kimberlina would win every music award possible for her incredible & passionate vocal performance on this song alone. The cd concludes with "The Send-off/42" (a 42 second instrumental.) "The Send-off" is quite a departure from the band's usual style both musically & lyrically. Along with the usual Kimberly Trip sound & the ever-present Garbage influence, there is a definite trace of Evanescence creeping into the mix. The lyrics are not merely woeful & full of regret but are direct, bitter & confrontational (For example - "Bubblegum words from a razorblade tongue, that's the way your evil comes"). Even Kimberlina's usual honey sweet voice contorts momentarily into a pained growl. It is the most devastating break-up song since "Special" by Garbage. Overall, while there are still touches of humor & fun to be found throughout, Popularity Contest may be the bands most serious effort to date. 
One thing is for sure, the Kimberly Trip are playing to win.
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This is the fifth release from Californian quintet the Kimberly Trip, and it proves to be real treat. Inventive, clever and cliché free lyrics are the perfect accompaniment to the blend of punk-ish edged pop and rock.

The imaginatively titled "#1 With a Mullet (80's Hair)" is less about the hair styles of the decade and more about fading teenage dreams and lost hopes - a touchingly told tale that is perfectly counterbalanced with bittersweet humour, and is as fine an example of fresh and sophisticated mid-tempo pop you could wish for. "Shy Girl From Orange County" is solidly in the punk camp, and one you could easily imagine Debbie Harry or Gwen Stefani wanting to get their vocal chords on. While "Flat Stanley" has a Kinks/Ray Davies air to it with shifts in tempo and melody when you least expect them.

"I Wanna Date Your Avatar" and "Your Creepy Ex" are a couple of sharply observed tracks about the 'romantic liaisons' of the times we live in -computer dating and stalking rather than love and marriage. And "Second To Fade" is a song that is beautiful, haunting and mesmerizing in equal measure, with vocalist Kimberlina demonstrating that she can handle gentle and subtle ballads with style when the occasion arises.

Not only is the music energetically and enthusiastically performed, they even sound like they're actually enjoying themselves. It is the sort of music that is heartening to hear and makes you want more. And while on the outside they may border on pure geek, on the inside they are positively sub zero cool.
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This disc has a different attitude about it. Upon first listen it sounds very cohesive, but I wonder if that was an afterthought to the production because this collection of songs is just that; a collection of SONGS. Far more reminiscent of an early Beatles record for it's direction of showcasing individual songs as singles, than of say a Pink Floyd album where the focus is on the whole, any one of these tracks could be a potential 'hit'. I have not heard such attention to detail in actual songcraft since the 80's...not that this album is all that retro in sound, but there is a definite vibe of fun and catchy-ness that ruled that era's airwaves. The musicianship is superb, the production can go head to head with any major-label release, and the vocals...well, the haunting and gorgeous voice of Kimberlina resonates in my ears long after the CD has ended. On any other record, the quality of these vocals would completely eclipse every other aspectof the band. Fortunately, she is partnered with some of the best songs I've ever heard. Highlights are many, but my favorite tracks are "Second to Fade", "Shy Girl from Orange County", and "#1 with a Mullet".
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