Settle

The title of Settle's debut album is a telling line. With their diverse sound it's safe to assume they often feel like visitors playing alongside genre-specific bands, or being on a label like Epitaph. But there's no indication of embarrassment over the 12-track album, which glides from power pop, à la early Ozma, to ballads complete with whistling ("Sunday, Morning After). The high points on this album come when they're able to combine their pop influences with aggression ("Kick. Win!) or deadpanned, indier-than-thou vocals ("Naked At A Family Function"). There's certainly enough choice over the 40-plus minutes to please most partygoers but not enough cohesion to breed true fanatics. File under "fun" on your iPod so expectations don't rise beyond that.