Have you heard the new Hanson album? It's really good.

This isn't a joke. Just look at the album credits for Underneath — co-writes with Matthew Sweet and New Radicals' Gregg Alexander, guitar work by David Garza, engineering by Joe Chicarelli (American Music Club, Tori Amos). Not to mention the collaborations that didn't make the record, from the serious (Carole King) to the surreal (Ed Robertson from Barenaked Ladies).

Sure, Underneath is spotty in places (usually when brother Taylor isn't manning lead vocals), and while it's not high art rock a la Radiohead or Flaming Lips, it is fine pop music, the kind you wouldn't mind running across on the radio.

But, as you are probably aware, there are numerous obstacles these three young guys will have to tackle before mainstream music fans take them seriously. But no matter your preconceptions, these guys are for real. They are honest-to-goodness, actual real-life musicians, who play and sing and write songs. Maybe that's why their latest single, Penny & Me, sticks out on the radio like a Dylan record on the dance floor. It's a simple but bold musical maneuver that the trio hopes will help turn heads all the way around, Exorcist style, to see what the MMMBop band is really all about.

Hanson performs at 7:30 p.m. today at Ryman Auditorium, 116 Fifth Ave. N. Ben Jelen and Michael Tolcher open. Tickets are $25.50 and $32.50, available through Ticketmaster: 255-9600, ticketmaster.com.

Jason Moon Wilkins, The Rage