Zookeeper

Chris Simpson began his musical career with Austin emo legends Mineral, a band as well-regarded (if not quite as widely known) as Jimmy Eat World or the Get Up Kids, and worth a trip to the record store — sorry, iTunes — for anyone with a Fall Out Boy poster on their dorm room wall. After a few years with indie-rockers the Gloria Record, Simpson now fronts a loose collective of musician friends known as Zookeeper, whose new album Becoming All Things balances the freewheeling jocularity of Blonde on Blonde (one song is called "Al Kooper's Party Horn") with the melancholy pop that often shows up when two Grey's Anatomy characters are making out. It's nowhere near as mawkish as the Fray, but if Becoming All Things gets a lucky break or two, Simpson could become something else: unlikely pop star.