Let's get this out of the way: If you're actually listening to the music, retro nights usually suck. Most people will find a way to dispute the above statement, by claiming that it:

a. Hates fun, and that retro nights are a fantastic excuse to whip out the headbands and lens-free glasses, or that

b. The Smiths needn't be lumped in with Flock of Seagulls.

Fair enough, but I'd still rather spend my time listening to slowed-down Olsen Twins tracks that sound curiously like Afroman. But every now and again, retro nights have those moments. You know them — that point when an excellent, ever-familiar song comes on, but you're unable to place it. And give it to Edmonton's Cygnets — its debut LP, Bleak Anthems, is a record that feels full of those moments.

Indeed, Bleak Anthems performs nostalgic new wave competently enough that it'd fit in on any retro night playlist (and that's barely editorializing). Accordingly, the usual-suspect comparisons all apply; sure, there's some New Order here, some of Morrissey's dreamy croon and yeah, the synths veer into laser-show territory at times. What goes on under the hood, however, is much more interesting: "The First Time She Came"'s simple, sleepy melody roars out of the gate with the power of Loveless's "Only Shallow"; album opener "Hey Alexandra!" is a tastefully restrained track with near-hardcore dynamics, with an infectious, shout-a-long chorus and a swirling, overpowering breakdown; "The Dawning Age," for its part, possesses a sprightly jangle and a thundering, chanted bridge that hints that the band's plenty learned in proto power-pop, too.

Indeed, this will likely garner plenty of choose-your-own-new-wave-band comparisons. But that's not fair to the band, or this record; in 2010, Cure records don't grip as immediately — or as forcefully — as Bleak Anthems. But then, we'll let you decide if that statement's true.

:::::::::: MP3s (taken from Cygnets website)

Sycophant Girls

Let's Make a Video

The First Time She Came

Fucked Like Us

And, if you're sufficiently impressed, download the full album here. Bleak Anthems gets the proper release treatment on November 20 at the Pawn Shop in Edmonton.