Plain White T’s broke out of Chicago’s thriving ‘00s emo underground by pulling a rather un-punk move: releasing one of the decade’s sweetest odes to young love with 2007’s warm, strings-laden embrace, “Hey There Delilah”. Like Green Day’s acoustic smash “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” a decade prior, the bubblegum ballad exposed the soft, melodic middle of a band rooted in bright, bouncy pop-punk. It helped lift them out of Illinois, where they formed in 1997 and self-released two albums before signing to Fearless Records. The indie punk label released their 2005 full-length, All That We Needed, a frenetic set of fidgety power-pop, punctuated by the aforementioned “Hey There Delilah”. For their Hollywood Records debut, 2007’s Every Second Counts, the band re-recorded that track, lacing it in syrupy strings, and suddenly found themselves at the top of the charts. Proving it was no fluke, they’d return a year later with “1, 2, 3, 4”, an equally sentimental heartwarmer. Love—in all its sadness and splendour—has remained singer/guitarist Tom Higgenson’s greatest muse, as the band continue to stretch their wings beyond romantic ballads and pogo-bopping rhythms. Their catalogue has become an eclectic grab bag—including giddy folk-pop romps (“Rhythm of Love”, “Dance Off Time”), carnivalesque rock experiments (“Welcome to Mystery”) and throbbing electro-pop anthems (“Light Up the Room”)—all while they preserve the youthful punk pluck of their beginnings.