The Inversions

While less British-sounding than their previous work, Sacramento noisemakers the Inversions still manage to keep their limey charm; take for instance, the quirky “I Don’t Believe You” or the subdued “State of the Union,” two tracks that carry themselves on sheer simplicity and tidiness. Their whimsical personalities run throughout the disc, exemplified well on “Wishful Thinking,” a sigh of a song in the vain of the Violent Femmes. Ultimately, it’s the band’s element of surprise which keeps the album fresh: What begins as a lazy riff might end as a meandering rock track with witty lyrics and a driving beat. The Inversions at their grimiest are like an unscrubbed Wilco (as on the masterful “It Makes Perfect Sense”), and at their most pristine, they’re an eclectic quartet that indie fans and labels lust after.