Isn't it great when someone comes along and shakes things up? On Seconds, Atlanta- based Seely's first release (just reissued on Beggars Banquet in the US), we find the band swimming in uncharted depths. And they aren't just treading water.

Steven Satterfield and Lori Scacco, who share vocal duties, combine to form a hippie- like singing duo, often times singing vocal parts over each other that contrast, while simultaneously complementing each other. Scacco's dreamy, hazy soprano sounds fine, but Satterfield has some strange vocal quirks (singing with an English accent even though he's from Georgia), like a cross between the Alexis Arquette character in "The Wedding Singer" and Robert Smith. Together though, Satterfield and Scacco sound remarkably peaceful and at ease with each other, intertwining like latticework.

Some songs, like the instrumental "The Sandpiper," are wonderful examples of how musical structure should be used and not abused. Other standout tracks, like "Letters to Ramblers" and "It's Your Day, Karen" use the vocal counterpoint to accent the melodious instrumental parts. The instrumentation is not an afterthought, as every guitar strum and every drum "whack!" is meticulously planned out.

My only gripe about Seconds is that there's enough drama and tension engrained in the music to fuel a whole season of "Party of Five." If I want to feel nervous, I'll watch an old episode of "The Dennis Miller Show." But then, that dourness is what drives British pop, and Seely is definitely the most British Atlanta band I've ever heard in my life.

-Lang Whitaker