Wow—The Pure from Indonesia make some of the finest lo-fi pop noise I’ve heard in a while. The brainchild of Ame Ahmed, Wasted Years rips through ten songs in roughly thirteen minutes, further blurring the line between EP and full-length. With buzzsaw guitars and a production style that sounds like it barely survived a pair of computer speakers, the first half will hit hard for fans of early Tony Molina—pre-jangle, all urgency and instinct.

Like Molina, Ame knows how to write a sharp hook and squeeze maximum impact out of minimal means, wasting none of your time. The back half of Wasted Years is less focused, but definitely intriguing. There’s straight-up punk (She Wants, Love Hate), a grungier turn (Regret), an indie-rock instrumental (Leave), and a dip into indie pop (Wasted Days). It’s a bit scattered, sure, but it also hints at a project still figuring out how many directions it can run in.

Wasted Years is out now on Faster Records, and I doubt this will be the last time The Pure shows up around here.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp