An amazing debut from a great new band. I haven’t been this impressed by a “first try” since, well, since Vampire Weekend came out. If you’re not hooked by the opening power chord undertow of “Floating Vibes,” then don’t bother with the rest. But if you let yourself float a little further out, here be dragons: great harmonies, handclap percussion, reverberating guitars, jangly solos. And, if the REM influences haven’t crashed over your head by then, they will on “Twin Peaks.” Be sure to hang around for the flawed, stream-of-consciousness beauty of closer “Catholic Pagans” with its goofy allusions to bomb shelters and Barack Hussein Obama. Grade: A-
