[Fans of Broken Social Scene, Minus the Bear, and Smashing Pumpkins (no joke) take note]

At first listen, this record is easy to shrug off as something from the background of a Verizon commercial. The poppy melodies are infectious and hypnotically repetitive. Add the voice of singer Brian Aubert, who seems to channel Billy Corgan circa "1979," and you have what is at face value another ordinary indie album for the kids to cross their arms and bop their heads to—and another "find" for an eager creative director to use as a soundtrack for consumerism. But despite its commercial appeal (or maybe subliminally because of it), Carnavas, the first full-length album from LA-based Silversun Pickups, is worth taking seriously. What really that sets this album apart from other similar indie-on-the-cusp-of-post-rock bands is the warm, vibrant guitar that runs through each song on the album, laid over the usually distorted driving bass. Tracks like "Well Thought Out Twinkles," "Checkered Floor," and "Waste It On" are rife with funky time signatures and the occasional electronic bleep—the nuances that, when combined with the guitar and hard-to-understand vocals, make the Silversun Pickups' sound something different. Without the guitars, this album would be about as stimulating as a Death Cab for Cutie album. Thank God for the guitars.