Somewhere in the library’s collection, amongst a scattered handful of local bands, hidden behind Minor Threat and Joni Mitchell, or, as the band itself once put it, somewhere between Mocksville and Harmony, are the Mockers. And in real life, just as in the library’s collection, the Mockers exist almost entirely under the radar.

To start with, the notion of an honest-to-goodness, ridiculously talented local band performing original songs in the power pop (or pure pop, or guitar pop, or whatever you want to call it) tradition seems too good to be true. Like the elusive dream of ever getting a professional sports team in Hampton Roads, it just ain’t gonna happen, right? Great music doesn’t happen here, or so the myth goes. And when you consider that one of the band’s songwriters lives in New York City, their strongest following is in Spain, and only on the rarest of occasions do they perform in Tidewater (a certain house party in Pungo circa 2001 comes to mind), calling them local might seem a stretch. But Seth Gordon, one of the two primary songwriters and quite possibly the prime mover of the band, lives and operates out of Ghent, so why not?

Although they’re relative unknowns, the Mockers, who took their name from a line in the movie A Hard Day’s Night, are no strangers to, well, at least near success. Their first album made a Billboard Critic’s Choice list back in 1995, they’ve racked up glowing praise in such high-profile places as Popmatters, enjoyed airplay on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, and even had a song featured on Love Monkey, an ill-fated series on CBS that only lasted for a few episodes back in 2006. And recent years have found their ranks joined by Robbie Rist (as guitarist/producer), who played Cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch. So yes, they’ve flirted with fame and made a few dents in the mass consciousness, but the Mockers are still a long way from being a household name.

That said, the lack of a complete breakthrough Stateside hasn’t stopped them. Their first album took off in Spain, a haven for more traditional forms of rock’n’roll and pure pop, and they continue to cultivate a following in that sun-drenched nation to this day.

As for their sound, music is such a subjective thing, but the Mockers’ neighborhood is an easy one to describe. Probably the touchstone for all power pop bands, the Mockers’ hooks, melodies, use of bright, ringing guitars, and conciseness/economy of sound are all going to remind you of the Beatles. Harmonies are on loan from one Mr. Brian Wilson. Their second album, Living in the Holland Tunnel, was produced by the legendary Mitch Easter (of REM and Let’s Active fame), and that should tell you something, too. Comparisons to Matthew Sweet or the Rembrandts wouldn’t be wrong, and yet the Mockers’ songs are all their own. The music is expertly crafted, gives a nod to its influences without sounding derivative, and Seth has quite the knack (musical pun intended) for wordplay and the sardonic in his lyrics:

The saddest part is that you think you've been anointed/
Because you've got a few friends that seize upon your every word

You walk around and make believe that you're King Arthur/
When it seems to me that you're more like Richard the Third

Their third album, The Lonesome Death of Electric Campfire, shows the band expanding its boundaries with an infusion of Ramones-like, amped-up intensity, but it doesn’t sacrifice the melodic qualities of their previous work. The song "Willoughby Station," for one, with its horns and driving guitar, is one of the crunchiest pieces of baroque pop these ears have ever heard.

And yet, despite the quality, here these albums sit, not exactly begging to be heard (because the Mockers wouldn’t embrace that sort of desperation), but certainly worthy of an audience. If you’re curious, I’d recommend starting with the more intricate, lush-sounding Holland Tunnel, which may say something about me: I’ve always been a sucker for the craftsmanship of pop over the spontaneity of rock. Either way, though, you can’t lose. The Mockers’ first album is long out of print and their next one is still in the works, but the two the library owns are both fantastic and worth well more than a spin.