Atlas Genius, Smart And Snappy

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 1, 2013 9:20PM

Photo by Frank Maddocks

Most are probably familiar with Atlas Genius through their breakthrough track "Trojans," which seemed to pop up all over the place near the end of last year. Based on the EP it came from, we thought the band showed promise, but we also thought they could just as easily fall off into the land of one-hit mediocrity. Their debut When It Was Now puts those fears to rest and shows a band confident in their skills, and those skills surpass our initial expectations. It's particularly telling that "Trojans," included again on this album, isn't the strongest song the band has created by far.

The band hails from Australia and creates in the same vein of rock-tinged synth pop as fellow countrymen Cut Copy. And similar to another famous group from their part of the world, INXS, the band's core consists of a trio of brothers. Maybe it's the shared blood, but the product of this familial merging is music that bounces along with a tightly wound center of gravity, surrounded by webs of synthesizers spiraling out to draw you into its rhythmic core. The lead single off the new LP, "If So," is nigh irresistible in its embodiment of the greatest of the group's strengths.

When It Was Now sounds like an album made by a band well into a catalog of work through its adherence to a distinctive style without resorting to xeroxing their sound from one song after another. We're not certain what Atlas Genius' staying power will end up being, but for a band so early in their existence, much less their career, we're hoping their trajectory steadily angles upward.

Atlas Genius plays March 4 and 5 at House Of Blues, 329 N Dearborn, 6 p.m., sold out, all ages