A band whose sludgy indie rock and '90s slacker spirit work well in tandem with leader Madeline Link 's moody, irked introspection, PACKS grew from a solo project to a quartet before recording their debut album, Take the Cake . With a run time of around 75 seconds, opener "Divine Giggling" establishes the songwriter's out-of-focus, multi-tracked vocals, which are a constant on the album and a key component to the group's heavy-eyed sound. Angular, off-key guitar riffs and skittering drums drift by alongside muttered observations like "logically clouds rain down" from the track's street scene. It leads into the catchier, dissatisfied "Clingfilm," a song inspired by dating after a breakup ("I am ageless, but I'm rotten from the inside out/I am faithless, but I'm kissing you without a doubt"). Given the songs' consistent murkiness, a string of improbably infectious tunes follow, all under three minutes in length and interrupted only by the unplugged improvisational interlude "My Dream." Among the rest is the particularly grungy and Lennon -esque "Hold My Hand," an arguably chorus-less entry that makes room for a guitar solo. Elsewhere, the metal-injected "Silvertongue" strives to move on, while the poppier "Two Hands" is also concerned with trying not get stuck ("I pull my pantlegs high/So I don't get caught in the quicksand/Don't know the reason why/I feel like I'm wading through some swampland"). Throughout , put an intimate, warped spin on what are fundamentally great rocks songs. The result is a debut that's likely to compel return visits. ~ Marcy Donelson