Well, this is just great. Straight from Santa Cruz, STARPOWER arrive in ALL CAPS! Their debut EP TO THE TOP. VOL 1 is seven songs of explosive garage pop that hits like a sugar rush: immediate, addictive, and way more fun than whatever you were doing five seconds ago.

A lot of the frequently used adjectives on this site apply here: scrappy, catchy, punchy, punky, etc. The band is a gang of five, which means they can make some noise, but also have plenty of limbs to add cool touches to their music, like harmonica and keys. Listen to the instrumental Rocket that marks the midpoint of this seven-song EP, or to the closing, again instrumental but this time very bluesy, But it’s opener Small Wonders that really got me. That guitar lick is pure ear candy, and I have zero defense against it. Even the jam-like middle section—something I’d normally roll my eyes at—works here because STARPOWER earn it. They know when to get weird and when to bring back the hooks.

STARPOWER sound exactly like the band you’d want to stumble into at a basement show—sweaty, chaotic, and reminding everyone in the room why garage rock’n’roll exists in the first place. Count me in on the hype train.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp