PLOSIVS

Ever since the notion of the rock & roll supergroup became a thing in the 1960s with the rise of acts like and , most of them have been dogged by the same problem: how to navigate the tricky balance of egos and ideas that occurs when several people with the talent and imagination to be headliners have to share the stage. is one such band, featuring several hotshots from the worlds of punk and indie rock -- of , , and ; ; and . On their self-titled debut album, do a great job of giving the members their own space while allowing their contributions to overlap in satisfying ways. began as a writing project between , and the material reflects their mingled outlooks -- the propulsive guitars that chime and growl at once are right out of ' playbook, and the angular melodies and detourned pop hooks sound very much like 's work. This is smart punk with pop sensibilities, not pop-punk, and the difference is vital. takes the lead vocals here, and ' occasional verbal interjections bring a touch of welcome grit to 's impassioned clarity. A good band needs a good rhythm section, and are just that -- the former's drumming is tight and explosive without too much showboating, and the latter's caffeinated bass lines bridge the gap between the taut melodic shifts of the guitars and the orderly chaos of the drumming. If the album has a failing, it's that 's vocals tend to be low in the mix, so what he says is often overwhelmed by how he says it. In the context of the performances, there's enough soul baring in these tunes that such things matter. But what had the potential to be just another side project from musicians who (for the most part) already have plenty, turns out to be a good bit more satisfying: On , these guys have learned to sound like a band, not folks who happen to play together, and this is an encouraging first salvo from a quartet with cool ideas and the skills to make something from them. ~ Mark Deming