World Leader Pretend - Punches

Genre rock Publisher Warner Bros. External Links Official Website Warner Bros. Records

Arguably the best band named after an R.E.M. song, World Leader Pretend has had an almost meteoric rise to the forefront of critical praise. After their 2003 debut on Renaissance Records and extensive touring, WLP caught the attention of the big labels, thus allowing them to release Punches, a wonderfully lush and cryptic album worthy of their namesake.

Punches is solid throughout, with nary a down moment in the entire mid-tempo collection of layered and well-excecuted songs. Going into the listen, you would think an indie or upcoming band would just run roughshod, all sloppy energy and little control. However, World Leader Pretend put some serious thought into song structure, producing a number of sounds that are typically missing in the work of younger bands. From the intermingling of the keys and finger picking forming a dance of melody, Punches bears only a passing resemblance to R.E.M.'s Reveal in terms of quality.

World Leader Pretend kick thins off with the familiar, yet striking, "Bang Theory," a verse of which sounds like a cousin to R.E.M.'s "All the Way to Reno." Keith Ferguson does his best Bono impression on "Dreamdaddy," which isn't a bad starting point for an aspiring front man.

Belle and Sebastian would presumably be the muse of choice on "New Voices," a lush number featuring the aforementioned keyboards and finger picking stylings that lend a mysterious aura. The beat and tempo is very B&S, but the breakdown is purely WLP, and the two styles mesh well.

Glimpses of their New Orleans upbringing surface, especially on the heavy, yet fun "BADABOOM." There isn't much the album lacks aside from the obvious hit single (though "Tit for Tat" comes closest).

Solid all the way through, World Leader Pretend's Punches deservedly warrants attention. Swoon if you must.