Youth Group

Despite being label-mates with fellow Aussies the Vines, Youth Group sound absolutely nothing like them, so get that out of your head straight away. Gentle where the Vines are harsh and refined instead of raw, Youth Group sound like the older, wiser brothers to that young band, rather than contemporaries. Pleasantly easy to listen to without being easy-listening, The Night Is Ours does a lot for the frankly terrible genre of melody-driven rock by not taking its lyrics and chord progressions from the U2 manual of songwriting. While "Friedrichstrasse" oozes the atmosphere of British and American post-punk bands like Interpol, the highlight of the album is the airy "In My Dreams," and not just for the spectacular line "sometimes you come dressed like Allen Ginsberg." Hiding hauntingly delicate refrains inside radio-friendly indie rock isn't easy, and they pull it off with style. On a side note, the singer looks like an Aussie surf version of Robert Smith, which is phenomenal.