With SMILERS, the woman who came in on the crest of the New Wave with 'Til Tuesday in the 1980s and helped make power pop cool as a solo artist in the '90s, moves one step away from her overt pop tendencies towards a more '70s singer/songwriter sound. While there are plenty of elegantly unfurled melodies and carefully constructed tunes here, these songs are less centered on hooks and snappy guitar riffs, and lean more towards a reflective, acoustic-based approach. Tunes like the sunny, synth-laced opener, "Freeway," will slake longtime Aimee Mann fans' pop thirst somewhat, but a 47-year-old troubadour sometimes has more in mind than a catchy refrain, as the soul-searching likes of "Thirty One Today" (which admittedly also sports some snazzy synth) and the almost Elton John-ish piano ballad, "Medicine Wheel," make clear.