Like the rest of the world, needed to find some way to busy himself during the global pandemic of 2020. He opted for a series of covers he dubbed "No Fun Mondays," its name nodding at the glum realities of quarantine as well as the day he debuted his versions on the Internet. The project got off to a slow start. A version of ' "I Think We're Alone Now" went up in April and a cover of 's "Manic Monday" featuring a cameo from was unveiled in May, but it wasn't until he posted 's "That Thing You Do!" in late August that the series gained momentum. From there, he posted covers on a weekly basis, all leading up to the late-November release of . As a collected album, is a bit of a lark, unexpected in its energy but not its contents. With two notable exceptions, chose tunes that stay well within his punk-pop and power pop wheelhouse, balancing standards by ("You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory") and ("Whole Wide World") with slightly cultish selections from ("Corpus Christi"), ("Not That Way Anymore"), and ("War Stories"). There are a couple of fun ringers like 's sugar-coated "That's Rock 'n' Roll" and "Amico" by the Italian singer , but the album's heart lies in the fuzzy, hooky three-chord pop that's been 's stock-in-trade since the early days of . The two exceptions -- 's "Gimme Some Truth" and 's "A New England" -- aren't remade as power pop so much as bent a bit in that direction, so they fit in while still sounding a little bit different than the rest of the crowd. They're also the only moments that make a passing nod to the turmoil of 2020, which is fine: sometimes, it's better to have an album attempting to conjure some fun in isolation than to wallow in the darkness. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine