Album: The Mae Shi, HLLLYH (Moshi Moshi)

The Mae Shi sound like they don't know what they are any more than we do, and that's fantastic. Put as simply and briefly as I can, 'HLLLYH' (no, me neither) sounds like old school heavy metal one second, Toys R Us synthpop the next, a carnival marching band after that, then nosebleed rave. Or, in the case of "Pwnd", an orchestra catching fire while a pimp quotes The Shangri-La's. This LA quartet have gallows humour and hooks to burn, and I defy you not to love an album which ends with what sounds like the Polyphonic Spree chanting "Don't you worry, it'll be over when you die" to the tune of Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark".