Elbow Beach Surf Club

With quirky arrangements that shift from crashing punk energy to introspective indie rock, Elbow Beach Surf Club are surprising on this storming debut. The band’s guitar-driven songs are occasionally reminiscent of the Dead Kennedys or Sonic Youth, as they shift between the sturdy force of the street tough "Surf Theme” and the insistence of "The Letter” to the pop sloppiness of "Wonder Worry Wart,” which makes deceptive pit stops along its way. Vocalist Lindsay Roe plays peek-a-boo in the mix, purring slyly on jazz-infused oddball track "The Waltz” then asserting herself on the joyous "Our Hood.” Her band-mates aren’t afraid to push a mess for all it’s worth, as the art rock build-up of "Scales for Bones” segues right into the smattering of voices and noise that is "It’s Not Working.” There are interesting ideas around every corner of this auspicious record by Elbow Beach Surf Club, a great young band exploring poppy punk structures from interesting angles.