What's got eighteen legs, a Jansport backpack and a boner for thrash metal? Not me. I've only got Rat Tat Tat, a fast- paced, indie rock ride through Retroland.

I first popped this disc in the car disc player on a snowy winter day. No more than five minutes later, I was spun out in the ditch with "Oh Goodness" appropriately pulling out its full- stereo action. I didn't get out of the car, though. I was enjoying the warmth of these kids' style. They played like they didn't give a fuck; they made it look easy to write and perform songs that even your grandpa would bob his head to. From the spaztic "Come On!" (whose chorus, despite its shockingly simple lyrics-- "Come on/ Come on/ Come on/ You're putting me on/ You're putting me on"-- is catchier than a goddamn baseball glove) to the drained- of- all- hope beauty of "Carmen Cross," Rat Tat Tat restores the excitement you vaguely remember from skipping classes in junior high.

-Ryan Schreiber