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Sounding like jolly good lads dumped out of Tolkien apocrypha and into the Brooklyn indie underworld, Kush El Amin, Josh Wise and brothers Nick and Lawrence Stumpf of French Kicks emerged this summer with one of the most rewarding albums of the year, Two Thousand, and they make their way to Spanish Moon on Sept. 23.

Two Thousand is a tricky record for a tricky band, the kind that pulls 180-degree turns with each successive release. Worst of all, French Kicks were lumped in with New York neighbors The Strokes and The Walkmen long before they sounded anything like them. But on Two Thousand, the group finally puts its post-punk tendencies to good use in the pop format, while also refining its sound to the point of near mimicry of The Walkmen’s stellar 2003 release Bows + Arrows. It’s not like Oasis copping Beatles chords, but the similarities are there and beg the obvious question, “So is it better?” In some cases, like spiky soul opener “So Far We Are” and lilting epic “Keep It Amazed,” the answer is an unexpected “yes.” frenchkicks.com.