Locksley - Don't Make Me Wait

Locksley aren't engineering anything new with Don't Make Me Wait, but that doesn't mean the youthful New York City quartet isn't careening around the decades between the '60s and the present to deliver one of the catchiest records of the modern garage rock revival. Hell, the record almost subverts the intentions of like-minded artists (Maximo Park and The Strokes both come to mind) through its impeccable songcraft and insouciant melodies, and it's too fun and sing-songy to really strike as something too serious or pretentious. Despite the band's fashionista schtick of matching suits and skinny ties, Locksley's debut long-player isn't ultra-polished or primed for Top 40 airplay. Don't be surprised if they're this year's Killers though, as they've already made a round of the United States with the Brightside crew and The Rapture, and are getting regular play on MTV. "She Does" would today be a staple of '60s rock had it sprung up alongside The Rolling Stones; vocalist Jess Laz yelps and yowls with the natural gumption of Roger Daltrey. Other tracks lean more towards the pop side, full of candeyed harmonies and abundant vigor. Some new series on that shitebag of a network called MTV requested that Locksley pen something to be its theme song--I'll be kicking myself for the support of blatant capitalism on the part of a band, but "Why Not Me" is indelibly catchy. I'm aiming to not burn myself out on it just yet, as it'll surely be co-opted by Myspace pages galore in the coming months. So it goes, I guess. This really is a damn excellent debut. And yeah, everyone who gets into it now will probably despise it by year's end from excessive play in all the "wrong" places, but for now Don't Make Me Wait is poised to make this band--let's not hope they're soon broken by the brunt of the indie elite's heavily-spiked club. [www.bandoflocksley.com]