FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS

More Than Just a Dream

[Elektra]

Like any music junkie, Fitz and the Tantrums frontman Michael Fitzpatrick is well aware of the second-album curse. He responds by filling the follow-up to his band’s 2010 debut, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, with a few new styles and sounds, attempting to outrun the backlash he fears is coming. And for the most part, Fitz and the Tantrums stay one step ahead. More Than Just a Dream is more dynamic than Pickin’ Up the Pieces, but the glossy synth-pop isn’t as refined as the retro R&B the sextet channeled on its first album. Still, Fitzpatrick, who sounds like Daryl Hall, is a shrewd music connoisseur, so Dream’s dozen songs roll out like a shuffled playlist of assorted gems. “Out of My League” recalls that period when early-’80s New Wave gave way to mid-’80s MTV pop; “Break the Walls,” like Pieces’ breakthrough hit “MoneyGrabber,” packs a monster hook along with handclaps; and the blue-eyed soul of “Fools Gold” casually slips into the group’s comfort zone. –Michael Gallucci