Mount Zero

Mount Zero

Alternately soft and spiky indie rock guides this Adelaide quartet. On their debut album, Swapmeet deliver jagged bursts of noise alongside quieter stretches of introspection. That alternating sensation of spiky and soft makes the Adelaide quartet consistently engaging throughout Mount Zero. There are also multiple vocalists and songwriters swapping instruments and sharing self-production duties, which means that several distinct voices might pop up during a single tune. That only adds immediacy to a record kick-started by “I Know!”—an instant anthem that sweetly distorts both its ringing hooks and Venus O’Broin’s half-couched singing—while also evoking the warm, somewhat communal indie rock of bands like Yo La Tengo and Broken Social Scene. Swapmeet are at their unruliest on the closing “My Heart Breaks II”, a song that unfolds in sharply varied sections. Ranging from a dirge-like crawl to crashing melodies and whirling layers, it plays like a compact demonstration of the band’s multi-faceted sonic identity.