Empress Hotel: Empress Hotel

It’s a nice place to stay. Patrons range from Brian Wilson to Brian Eno. Brilliant harmonies and song structure reside next door to complex layers of keyboards and patches on this debut from the New Orleans-based indie pop act Empress Hotel. The result is a familiar, modern sound with catchy hooks and a general sense of wellbeing. Life is good listening to this EP.

Empress Hotel presents a wide range of sounds in just five songs. Lead-off track “Bells Ring” opens with a guitar part reminiscent of early Weezer and quickly evolves into an array of harmony carried atop an aggressive groove. No two songs are alike, each moving through a maze of different feels, syncopation and layers of instrumentation. All of these parts weave around simple hooks, giving one the fast-paced feel of modern electronica with something fun to sing along.

Essential tracks: “Bells Ring,” “Here Comes the New Challenger”

Recommended if you like: Animal Collective, MGMT, the Campanile.