Futureheads

The only thing I don't mind about the annoying low-carb craze is the rise of Splenda. It's a quick way to add punch to sweets without being too heavy. You could say I like Futureheads' debut for the same reasons: Futureheads is crammed with sweet, poppy sounds that bounce off the walls in dozens of directions, and yet the stuff is very light, averaging two minutes a song. Of course, that's not to say that the British quartet is some sort of twee band, as their panicked fusion of The Jam, XTC and Talking Heads bucks conventional song structure, while vocals, spread across the four members, combine to meet somewhere between abrasive and melodic. Shout-alongs "Carnival Kids" and "A to B" are rabid pop songs that could put any square into a dancing fit, and "He Knows" is a heaving, harmony-soaked epic that sounds as manic as its sex-starved protagonist. Lyrics are often more anthemic than poetic, although anti-corporate "New Job" and progress-hating "Robot" shine with wit. In a perfect world, all 15 songs on Futureheads would be No. 1 radio hits, but in an annoying low-carb world, listening to the CD over and over will have to suffice.