With beautifully hurtful lyrics and smart, tongue-in-cheek arrangements, the newcomer Austin-based band incarnates the human experiences that make you squirm and the scabs you love to pick.

Their debut album, Songs About Friends (Good or Bad), has all the urgency, rawness, and gut-wrenching melody of fellow alternative pop rock bands such as Bright Eyes, Violent Femmes, Ben Folds Five, and XTC. ... more