Laminated Menu is Sophia Jackson and Neal Santelmann, Denizens of New York’s Hudson Valley who got to talking about music at a party in summer 2009, hooked up to jam a few weeks later and clicked.

She plays a shimmering silver Telecaster, he a placid blue Strat. She sings most of the leads, he most of the backups. Both write music as well – vivacious power pop, blistering rockers, and just-the-other-side-of-acoustic numbers characterized by clever lyrics, colorful imagery and occasional rhythmic twists. Together, they’re striking on stage, always standing, rarely still.

A promoter who lined up Laminated Menu as an opening act summarized their sound as “BroNo intelli-pop.” A talented musician who caught them live enthusiastically observed: “Your composition reminds me of the third Velvet Underground album, but your sound is like the first.” Either way, they’ll take it...