Drowners

Named after a Suede single, this Brooklyn-based, Britpop-emulating quartet do everything they can to recreate the excitement they experienced upon first hearing the bands they're often compared to. Welsh transplant/frontman Matthew Hitt lends credibility to the "Brit" part of their sound, while the remaining Stateside-bred trio blast through these catchy songs that have earned them nods in the directions of The Smiths, The Strokes, The Vaccines, The Libertines, and The Crookes. Keeping song lengths mostly under three minutes (and several under two), Drowners capture that enduring pleasure that’s achieved by focusing your attack on a smart guitar hook and a humorous lyric. “Unzip Your Harrington” and “Pure Pleasure” kick the tunes up a gear in the spot where most albums start to lag—and even if they didn’t have a Welshman in there to authenticate the British references, this would still be a thoroughly enjoyable ripoff of a scene that never made strong enough inroads in the U.S. to be considered an actual era (except on college radio, where frustrated U.S. kids always looked for imports). Derivative? Yes. Fun? Absolutely!