It’s like punk turned on its ear. I guess it’s post-punk. It’s spare and dark and claustrophobic in its spookiness. This is The Cure. I can’t say the boys sound terribly proficient, or even really familiar with their instruments at times, but with the rolling bass lines and staccato guitar, it certainly sounds relatively modern in its retro-ness. There’s some swinging Brit pop (a la Blur–but way before Blur) in here too, which seems a little weird given their darker leanings, but they’re perhaps still feeling their way through things. This was really their introduction to the US–and what a debut! The thing is all sorts of cool. I mean “Killing An Arab?” Whoa. It’s sparse and angular and prickly, but has melody and panache. I almost cry when I hear this thing–so f you!