Stuck In Your Head is another album the Cypress Lake music community can take great pride in.

I probably created my own self-demise by being so danged enchanted by the group's last release, Coming to Terms. I worried the follow-up would be hard to top, and a year later, that's where I find myself while listening to one of my all-time favorite groups. This happens when you love something a whole lot; it's almost easier to find patches of disappointment amongst the beauty.

This release is still full of magic, and almost assuredly for these students, a lot of growth as musicians. Honeymoon Avenue demonstrates the lofty goals TAG sets — the technical prowess required for the runs and flourishes, those stratospheric parts in the back half, the quick-spitting percussion — this isn't typical high school repertoire, it's like university-sponsored repertoire, and that it sounds so capably delivered shows how much work this group puts in. We're so far past the fundamentals of vowel matching and section balance with TAG, it's nearly a master class here.

The youthful, snappy energy that TAG manages to capture release after release makes the group's music endure, and it's the main reason I'm drawn to TAG. Canyon Moon is a nice example of this soundscape; I don't think you can recreate this past the high school years. Those last "going home" shouts from the tenor? Yep, that's the good stuff right there. And another mainstay of TAG releases: the original song (or two, or three, but this time one), landing in the track number three slot. Losing Game is wildly demanding to sing. Add to it the voice leading, the build, the palette of vocal colors — and now it's not just a new song, it's art. But Human is my favorite offering here. The soft, alluring opening. The amazingly captivating rhythmic patterns coming from the lower voices, nearly primal. The intimate ensemble singing. In the words of high school English teachers, this is a complete story: there's a beginning, middle, and end.

Then we shift into a three-pack of songs that all have notable moments, but also feature leads who are straining in either the lowest or highest part of their registers to execute their turns with precision. Still super great musicians with dazzlingly bright futures? Absolutely. Should they have been given these solos? Absolutely. Could minor arrangement adjustments have occurred to smooth those note boundaries before recording? I think so.

Stuck In Your Head turns toward home with loads of finesse in the final three tracks. The confessional song Pancakes for Dinner is so moving, perfectly suited for the late teen years with nicely crafted cascading backgrounds in this arrangement. I'm sure these singers hum this one all the time. Leave the Door Open gets a big burst of freshness by creating a duet — an absolutely delightful pairing. Going out with Disney-level fireworks, TAG queues up soloist Aubrey Barnhouse for Hypotheticals; folks, Barnhouse is the real deal. The strength in these pipes is iron clad.

Listen, this album is wonderful, and has its own place in the remarkable history of The A Cappella Group. That place sounds a little different than I expected, but when you're in a league of your own down there in Florida, the expectations are simply higher. Mostly sincerely, I can't wait for the next round, TAG…

It's always a pleasant surprise when the song that stands out the most to me as I'm listening to an a cappella album ends up being an original composition. Losing Game is lovely addition to TAG's arsenal of original songs; soloist and songwriter Kristen Noble is to be commended for a great song and heartfelt performance here, and the arrangement has a beautiful ripple among the backing voices, which gives the song movement and momentum without distracting from Noble's voice. Tom Anderson wrote the arrangement of this song and almost every other song on Stuck In Your Head; the consistency of his style across the album adds so much to the album's overall cohesion.

The rest of Stuck In Your Head is a pleasant and very enjoyable listen. Human in particular starts out with a whisper and maintains an intriguing hush, which adds so much intensity to the song. It's the one track here that really stands out for not being an uptempo pop ditty; the complementary solos of Gabby Cabai and Colin Smith add such intrigue to this song, and the restraint of the backing voices (and, again, of Anderson's arrangement) maintains such a chill and understated vibe here. And speaking of chill vibes, Pancakes for Dinner does a beautiful job of switching from sweet, simple verses to lilting, cooing choruses; it's a bit of a different sound for TAG compared to the rest of the album (and recent releases), but it works well for the group.

The songs that sound different from TAG's typical sound are the strongest moments on Stuck In Your Head, and it's awesome to hear the group really nail sounds that are different from the uptempo, bright, contemporary pop tunes that have made up most of TAG's recent albums. But I do wish that TAG had filled Stuck In Your Head with a greater range in dynamics and emotion. Sure, the uptempo numbers are probably more fun to sing — and many of them are SO GOOD; Honeymoon Avenue and Hypotheticals in particular are really outstanding, and it was smart of TAG to bookend the album with these two strong tracks. But I'd love to hear more breadth from TAG. The group almost gets there with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but the performance doesn't quite stick the landing; it's too literal, especially if you realize that this is a song their grandparents once listened to — I wanted it to have more drama, more emotion, more quiet whispers, and more booming dynamics.

Don't get me wrong: if you've heard TAG before, you won't be disappointed with Stuck In Your Head (and if you haven't, this is still a great place to start!). It's a really solid album full of beautifully-performed songs. But the most memorable tracks here are the ones that start to veer off in a different direction from where TAG's wheelhouse has historically been, and I hope that the group continues to broaden its sound and dynamic range.

Another year, another delightful release from The A Cappella Group. If you've frequented this site, you know that RARB is no stranger to this group and the level of excellence these high school students consistently reach. Stuck In Your Head is no different.

The upbeat tunes of this album give off vibes reminiscent of a small child playing with the family's brand new puppy. If you don't believe me, just start by listening to Canyon Moon. The energy is absolutely radiating through the speakers. Soloist Colin Smith gives a presentation that is acting as the focal point for the energy. The solo isn't meant to be overpowering, but rather to put words to the emotions that are being felt. The music is dancing and I can't help but tap my toes as I listen to it. The album ends with Hypotheticals, which gives the same excitement without being overpowered. Aubrey Barnhouse tells the tale of a schoolyard crush absolutely wonderfully. The treble voices even harmonize the bridge. It's a tightrope walk to keep harmonic balance and blend while keeping the energy, and the group is dancing on that tightrope and having a collective ball doing it.

However, the best part of TAG's identity is the pure sweet sincerity they have in their ballads. If you don't believe me, listen to Pancakes for Dinner. Chloe Lowman's voice is perfectly delicate and sincere, giving an absolutely adorable admission of love. However, the group lays the foundation perfectly. The arrangement dances and sways perfectly and gives the perfect foundation for the solo to simply float over the top. Tom Anderson has penned many great arrangements for this group over the years, and this song joins that list. This track alone makes the album worth the purchase.

If there's one thing the group struggles with, it's the modern R&B pop grooves. Honeymoon Avenue has some very cool dark cluster chords throughout the piece. However, the group's defined brighter sound leaves something to be desired. The bass is less driving than it needs to be. Paired with the fact that this song is over five minutes long, it just sets the wrong tone for the album. Leave the Door Open has many of the same flaws, producing roughly the same effect. Neither song is bad by any means, but these songs are the first and penultimate tracks, resulting in what I feel are the two worst songs as end caps to the album. A pointed effort from the group to have a different tone or even just a song order change to help the pacing would drastically help the group and the overall vibe of the album.

Stuck In Your Head does exactly what the title claims to do. You will walk away from this album with a few earworm rhythms and a smile on your face. While there are a few missteps along the way, this album is a welcome addition to any a cappella collection. Give it a listen, dance with unbridled glee, embrace the melancholy of young love, and enjoy every second.