Sealed 2007 US Original, With Custom Hype Sticker On Shrink. Their Debut LP On Warner Bros. Records. Produced By Howard Benson And Mixed By Tim Palmer, Known For His Work With Artists Like Mark Knopfler, Dead Or Alive And The Mighty Lemon Drops. He Also Produced David Bowie's Self-Titled Debut With Tin Machine In 1989. "A Name Like Mêlée -- With All Its Complicated Diacritics, With Its Suggestion Of Violence -- Suggests That This Orange County Quartet Is Standard-issue Modern Punk, Perhaps Even Being A Band That Tends Toward The Harder, Brutal Side Of Things. Names Can Be Deceiving, However, Since Their 2007 Major-Label Debut, Devils & Angels, Is Something Entirely Unexpected: A Genuine Pop Album, One That's Informed By New Wave But Winds Up Sounding Like A Good Rock Record From 1985. Much Of This Sounds Learned Second-Hand From Ben Folds But Mêlée Is Notably Lacking In Folds' Perma-Smirk. Even The Cover Of Hall & Oates' Classic "You Make My Dreams" Is Done Sans Irony: Unlike Many Punk Covers, This Is A Celebration Of Song, Not Cheese. If Chris Cron, Like Many Of His Peers, Has A Voice That's A Bit Too Thin To Be Memorably On Its Own Accord, It Works Well With The Band's Exuberant Feel And It Delivers The Hooks Simply And Cleanly. Plus, They Have A Way With Hooks, Particularly On The Exhilarating "Frequently Baby (She's A Teenager Maniac)," Which Would Be A Smash At Any Time There Was Either Pop Radio Or MTV. It May Be The Best Moment Here, But The Rest Of Devils & Angels Proves That It's No Fluke As It Showcases The Rare Punk-Pop Band That Places A Greater Emphasis On Pop Than Punk To Often Addictive Results." AMG - Stephen Thomas Erlewine.