They made pop records out of my Research Turtles!

Director Wes Anderson’s influential hand has touched the music world over the past three years. There’s the alt-rock band Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos. There’s the British indie folk act Noah and the Whale.

Now Louisiana has its own band whose name winks at the work of the acclaimed filmmaker: Research Turtles.

Unlike the other aforementioned groups, the Lake Charles-by-way-of-LSU band isn’t aiming for the love of East Coast hipsters. Research Turtles’ true modus operandi is supplying crowds with bursts of pop-rock, the kind of songs you wish mainstream radio would play, but know they just don’t anymore.

The band’s self-titled debut has an equal mix of fuzzed-out, riff-filled choruses and slowed-down, jingling verses, sounding like OK Go with a secret Southern wink. Then they throw in just a little grunge for good measure.

Though Research Turtles is busy now playing shows in support of the record, the guys first had to slum it as a cover band for a couple of years. Drummer Blake Thibodeaux and guitarist Logan Fontenot joined the brothers Joe and Jud Norman (singer/rhythm guitarist and bassist, respectively) of Flamethrowers.

“After a year of playing straight cover shows, Jud taught us the songs he had been writing,” Fontenot says.

The band was all for going original. “We didn’t want to end up 35 years old and wearing wigs on stage,” says Jud Norman, perhaps putting it in the best perspective possible.

But their fan base wasn’t as receptive as the band would’ve liked.

“We tried to take advantage of the fans we had, but they completely dismissed us,” Norman says.

After the band changed its name to Research Turtles, the crowds began to notice. Soon Norman’s new songs were more than background music for time between bar tabs.

Now the band has its debut album, produced by Justin Tocket, who has helmed the boards for other well-known Louisiana acts like Marc Broussard and Sons of William. Tocket’s arranging and songwriting experience helped the band steer towards a fuller power-pop sound in the studio.

“He would help confirm if a song’s structure worked,” Fontenot says. “He really made sure all the songs flowed together well and made sense.”

The band called Tocket a “father figure” who wanted the members to look back on recording as a fun process.

That levity shows on the album. Songs like “Damn,” “Mission” and “Cement Floor” show that Research Turtles no longer have to worry about wearing wigs when they turn 35. myspace.com/researchturtles