In Guards We Trust

If you like your indie rock dipped in bright neon colors, with shout-along, arm-waving crowd choruses sung by yin-yanged boy/girl voices and melodies that linger for days—well, welcome to the Guards party! How about pealing church bells, cartwheeling tambourines, and verses that drip with youthful, melancholic desire? Come on in. Nearly every song on In Guards We Trust is dance-worthy, with perky guitars, soaring codas, and a celebratory fuse burning from the get-go. Songs like "Heard the News" and "Nightmare" have the swagger (in a sweet, fist-pumping way) of a teen boy after his first real kiss, with keyboards and guitars full of effervescent energy. There's also a wholesomeness to this New York group that's uniquely refreshing: "Silver Lining" has so much winsome bounce and layered vocals that it recalls vintage girl-group pop in its shiniest moments, as frontman Richie Follin pines: "I wanna have a happy home/a home for you and me." Family-tree note: Follin is the brother of Madeline Follin of the duo Cults, and their stepfather is Paul Kostabi, a founding member of the hell-raising horror band White Zombie. This apple rolled pretty far from the tree.