Tokyo Police Club - Champ

If Tokyo Police Club were to encapsulate their sound in one of those little plastic baggies they let you carry on to airplanes, they would add a few teaspoons of sugar, the essence of youth, and a mixtape of Britpop and freewheeling indie rock. On their sophomore release, the four Canadians manage to out-fun 2008’s Elephant Shell with whirling guitars, whimsical keys, and quirky lines like “We stay up as late as we like/ like K-Ci and JoJo/ like Sonny and Cher/ you’re Tina, but I’m not Ike.” Dave Monks sings about classic Disney in “Bambi,” as drummer Greg Alsop brings the band’s signature throttling percussion back to every song except the deceptively titled “Breakneck Speed.” The guys like to goof around; their inspiration for “Wake Up (Boots of Danger)” were the ridiculous results they found on an internet dictionary when they translated phrases from English to Japanese and back again. On album opener, “Favourite Food,” Monks croons, “your coffee’s cold, your coffee’s icy,” dragging out the last syllable like a little boy whining to his mother. Like the coffee, Champ kicks you until you get up, but it’s a far more pleasurable wake-up call.

(It's out June 8th on Mom + Pop Records, btw. Get on it, kids.)