When we last visited The Modbeats in August, they had put out “Frankie,” a song actually better than anything its subject (Frankie Avalon) ever did. Now the band from Cherry Hill in Camden County that blends a 1960s British Invasion feel with surf-rock and power-pop has come up with another winner:  “Midnight Train” (listen below). It’s been a fan favorite at gigs.

In that odd netherworld of pre-Beatle rock history, when the original spark of rock’n’roll seemed dead, a vacuum was created. In the early ‘60s, Little Richard had joined the ministry. Chuck Berry was in jail. Elvis was in the Army. Buddy Holly was dead. The Everly Brothers went country. Jerry Lee Lewis was ostracized for marrying his 13-year old cousin. Up stepped some freshly scrubbed teen idols with paltry bubble-gum white-bread pop songs to fill the void. Fast-Forward 60+ years: The Modbeats.