Apples in Stereo — one of indie rock’s happiest sounding and most enduring pop bands — have always been a prolific lot. This 14-song disc is comprised of bits and bobs that have showed up on B-sides and other obscurities over the past 13 years. While the songs all carry that unmistakable Apples sound (for the uninitiated, that means bouncy, sugar-high, impeccably produced pop that’s been equally welcome on college radio stations and children’s TV shows), one has to wonder if a compilation like this is really necessary.

Electronic Projects follows the band’s above-average 2007 album, New Magnetic Wonder, and most of its songs are good enough to appear on any of the Apples’ proper albums. The problem when a band has this strong of a signature sound is that their songs quickly start to sound the same, and none of these are standout enough to be coveted by anyone other than diehard super-fans. The notable exceptions are the silly but jubilant “The Apples Theme Song” and the much-talked-about “Stephen, Stephen,” Apples’ leader Robert Schneider’s ode to Stephen Colbert (which he performed on The Colbert Report last year). Both are interesting enough for an iTunes download, but probably not worth ponying up for the entire CD.