It's time to rock like a bandit! Well, actually, it isn't, even. But it is time to listen to some carefree, happy- assed pop music. Today's slice of cream du popeir comes straight outta Melbourne-- it's Laura Macfarlane's Ninety Nine.

Macfarlane, who drummed for Sleater-Kinney's before Quasi's Janet Weiss took over, presents here a brand of rock that isn't really anything new; it's a touch of Stereolab, a pinch of Beekeeper, a dash of Sebadoh, and a smidgen of Yo La Tengo, stirred up with some lo-fi garage rock and emo-core. (Still with me? Good.) The thing that makes Ninety Nine stand out is Macfarlane's innovative use of non-traditional instrumentation-- when was the last time you heard vibraphones, xylophones and glockenspiels integrated into pop songs as though they were equally as important as the guitars, bass and drums? That's right-- 1966, with the release of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.

But if there's one problem with 767, it's that Macfarlane's influences are often blatent; songs like "Manga Girl Cut," "Exponential," and "Pandemic," great as they are, almost sound like homages to Stereolab, the Breeders and Cat Power, respectively. But if it looks like Macfarlane likes the same bands as you do, you can pretty much count on this sticking around your record collection for a good, long time. Hope you like numbers.

-Ryan Schreiber