Portico’s tripwire intensity may straddle the gulf between indie and post rock, but neither descriptor does the band justice. The former leads to too many trendy, unsatisfying comparisons and the latter, while speaking to Portico’s complexity, completely undermines their accessibility. This is a band that deals in pop hooks that deliver intricate emotional ideas in the form of regretful anthems and broken-hearted love songs.

First Neighbours is a stunner from the first note, using staggered rhythms and epic crescendos that demand attention. Even more impressive the album plays as a pseudo concept album, with nearly half the record exploring our country’s cultural heritage. Most bands can’t take a junior high social studies curriculum and turn it into a sonic mindblower, but then again, most bands aren’t Portico. Whether they’re recounting the tragedy of “Frank Slide,” “The Battle of Duck Lake” or something altogether more personal, every song paints a harrowing and vivid portrait. Finding the ideal balance between form and content, Portico have made the first perfect album of 2009.