Inevitably comparisons to The Cure and The Smiths aside, this New Zealand quartet has a more upbeat outlook even if they share a danceable rock style and moody, obsessive lyrics. They back up the buzz with a solid album. The music, with its tight production and radio-ready sound, may seem disposable at first. The quality is borne out by repeated listening though. With Phil Spector and Brian Wilson sited as influences, the band says they have been making music in the bubble of New Zealand. Some of the sweetheart lyrics (“Oh Girl”) bear this out. Think pop-punk without the fear of sounding too polished. Then, there are a couple of songs in second half of the album where they rail against false faith and an inattentive god.

All FCC Clean
* 1. (3:34) Catchy lead single with driving beat.
2. (2:58) Punkier verses with poppy chorus backed by solid drumbeat.
3. (3:24) 60s love song in double time.
** 4. (2:59) Spiraling guitar hook and handclaps plus hooky lyric = dance hit!
***5. (3:05) Punchy song with strong lyrics lifts itself above their formula.
* 6. (3:39) Acoustic guitar, then symphony strings with huge choruses. See Brian Wilson.
7. (2:53) A strange, almost spoken-sung tale of taking advantage of the faithful. Haunting, yet lacking poetry.
8. (3:09) Thumping bass drum, oooh-ahhh backup vocals. Another one for the disco.
***9. (3:05) Their best mix of old style pop, up-tempo beat with a deeper subtext.
10. (3:04) Electric guitar intro a synths pushing up the chorus.
* 11. (4:06) Reverb-soaked guitar and single drumbeat. Bird songs in the crescendo. Radio station flipping and stactic in the outro.
12. (3:19) Simple guitar picking and free form lyrics. Background noise of children playing (?) interspersed. The other anti-religious song.