Acute

An alternative band in the old-fashioned sense of the word -- and by old-fashioned, that means, say, circa 1994 -- Los Angeles quartet Acute start from a base of catchy, poppy tunes seemingly influenced by the more overtly clever end of mainstream pop, everyone from the Beatles and 10cc to XTC and the Flaming Lips. Acute then layer their songs with an ear-pleasing variety of hooks, unexpected melodic twists, weird noises, and interesting arrangements to create a varied but instantly memorable sound. Acute formed in 2005 as an outgrowth and artistic expansion of leader Isaac Le...