French Kicks are not a traditional rock 'n' roll band. Although they have elements of snarly garage rock, slick new wave, and giddy classic mod-pop, they remain completely unique. The four of them work together like draughtsmen creating musical architecture -- a note is never wasted, a drop is never spilled. Their songs always seem to be on an angle, hovering just at breaking point. They cut to the quick with lurching riffs and palpitating percussion, but they are also cute and coltish and undeniably catchy. At heart, this is simple pop music, with hooks hookier than velcro and disarmingly pretty three-part harmonies.



The result, "One Time Bells," is a perfect crystallization of French Kicks' taut, clipped, frequently beautiful sound. A highly diverse album, it manages to align all sorts of disparate elements into a streamlined, organic whole -- and all in an economic 38 minutes, 53 seconds. Things that sound irregular or dissonant the first time you hear them gradually come together like a painting or a jigsaw. Because of this, it might take time to get to know French Kicks -- but once you do, their music is likely to become an indelible, compulsive addiction.