Toronto’s The Old Soul aren’t going to give you anything easy. The exuberant indie-pop band begin their sophomore album, Gold, with a three-minute track on which they repeat their name through a vocoder to a borderline obnoxious beat, but once you get past that, the band is able to focus their Animal Collective-like boundless energy in a more positive way.

The following three tracks feature the band on an apparent sugar high, with an everything-goes attitude that fails as often as it succeeds. Consider this a further test of patience, as Gold’s best songs are back-loaded into the second half of the album, including the celebrity send-up “Not a Real Tan, Just a Bronzer” and “Fear is a Man’s Best Friend,” featuring Andre Ethier on vocals.

The band is impressive when they’re moving at full speed, as they do through most of the album, but it’s Gold’s quieter moments that stand out. “Fight Us Titus” is the best example, though it’s by no means a slow-paced song. Removing some of the extra instrumentation that’s present in other tracks, “Titus” showcases the band’s talent for hook writing and sugar-coating.

The Old Soul fight off some real negatives here, like their inability to calm themselves down and lead singer Luca’s paper-thin vocals, and come out on the other side with a truly enjoyable album.