L.A.-based singer-songwriter Adam Marsland has spent much of his life over the last 10 years on the road, working in a literate but somewhat clichéd style similar to early Ben Folds Five (without the piano gymnastics) or more obscure contemporaries like World Party and The Negro Problem (an L.A.-based band that Marsland played in for a short time, before lead singer Stew went solo and eventually placed a show on Broadway). While Marsland is a pianist, his songs tend to be more guitar-based, upbeat power-pop, with consistently catchy melodies and sing-along choruses.

Marsland seems a little young for a greatest hits collection, but that’s just what he’s playing in support of this tour, a 20 track collection called Daylight Kissing Night. The album goes back to 1996, when Cockeyed Ghost — Marsland’s band throughout the mid ’90s — released their first album, and ends up in 2007, for a few new tracks recorded specifically for this collection. Cockeyed Ghost played a high-profile tour or two (one with another alt-rock band with short-lived appeal, Shonen Knife), but much like Marsland as a solo act, never quite broke through on either the charts or in critical circles. Recognizing the similarly under-appreciated, Marsland released the live album Long Promised Road: Songs of Dennis and Carl Wilson in 2007, honouring those less celebrated songwriters in the Beach Boys.

But long delayed recognition is still sweet. Paste contributor Andy Whitman, writing in a blog on the magazine’s website, called Daylight “the best power pop album I’ve heard this year.” And that was in June, so that’s a good six months of inferior power pop that’s already hit stores this year.