Flush with the feverish and desperate zeal of youth, if
Be Your Own King
, the full-length debut from French indie pop outfit
Concrete Knives
, were a living thing, it would smell like a sweaty handful of unused drink tickets. All gang vocals, left-field rhythmic shifts, and kinetic yet willfully melodic indie pop non-swagger, the Normandy five-piece wants to be
Talking Heads
,
Vampire Weekend
Arcade Fire
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
, and fellow countrymen
Phoenix
all at once, which can make for an exhausting listen, but a predilection for brevity and simple pop craftsmanship ultimately tempers their more obstinate tendencies, resulting in a smart, well-executed set of staccato dance-rock anthems that flirt with excess, yet never overstay their welcome. There is a pixie-ish (the impish creature of folklore, not the feral Boston alt-rock gods) undercurrent that runs through album highlights like "Brand New Start," "Wild Gunman," and the "Magnificent Seven"-era
Clash
-influenced "Greyhound Racing," but it's the aforementioned
David Byrne
Win Butler
, and
Ezra Koenig
who lord over moodier cuts like "Wallpaper" and "Africanize," the latter of which capably reproduces, albeit in a darker fashion,
's hipster Soweto. Elsewhere, the instrumental "Roller Boogie," with its easy, heavily chorused guitars and sci-fi synth lead, feels just right in the sixth slot, the propulsive crowd-pleaser "Happy Mondays" hints at the group's notoriously energetic live shows, and the dreamy closer "Blessed" wraps things up in a hazy, well-earned hangover glow. ~ James Christopher Monger