Sheer Mag have labored to carve out a discernibly singular position within the canon ofcontemporary rock: toggling with ease between the refined flourishes of a “connoisseur’sband” and the ecstatic colloquialism of populist songwriting—yet displaying no strict loyaltyto either camp—their sound, while oft-referenced, is unmistakably and immediatelyrecognizable as theirs alone. On Playing Favorites, Sheer Mag’s third full-length and firstwith Third Man Records, the band capitalize on a decade’s worth of devotion to their owncollective spirit—a spirit refined in both the sweaty trenches of punk warehouses and thelarger-than-life glamour of concert halls—emerging with a dense work of gripping emotions,massive hooks, and masterfully constructed power-pop anthems. This is the record thePhiladelphia rock and roll four-piece has always been destined to make.