The Canadians have done it again. From the fledging Equator Records comes the second release (Islands' Return To The Sea launched first in early April), Montreal's The Lovely Feathers with their debut, Hind Hind Legs.

The album is an upbeat mix of "post-punk infused eccentric pop," as the band describes themselves, and from the start, they stick to that statement. Hind Hind Legs opens with "Pope John Paul;" the strangeness of its title accounted for with a refrain of "Pope John Paul, where're you from? / Krakow, Poland, Krakow, Poland!" in this guitar-driven eulogy. It's only odder from there, though odd in an absolutely endearing way (sort of like the conglomeration of characters fused together in the cover art, along with a wayward deer for good measure).

The almost Franz Ferdinand-sounding "In The Valley" continues along in the same vein with its jangly guitar, and "I Really Like You" is one of the standouts of the album. It's about as low-key a number as the band can manage on the persistently energetic Hind Hind Legs, though contrasted by its first few seconds of hysterical shrieking immediately countered by profuse apologies and singer Mark Kupfert cramming an astounding amount of words into a single line, in falsetto, natch.

It's one of the few sparse moments that the album pauses to take a bit of a breather, before continuing their absolutely insane sugar high in "Frantic," featuring frenetic drumming. However, the lyrics are lacking something and seem to rely mostly on delivery instead of actual content.

The high point for me is "Wrong Choice," which is almost classic Weezer with its instantly catchy chorus. It's indie at its finest, and the most cohesive track on the album, highlighting the band working their distinctive sound perfectly.

Also worth a mention are "Rod Stewart" and "Photo Corners," the first of which pays a nod to one of the singer's most notorious hits with its chorus "If it's just my body you want / my body you want / then come on and tell me." It's just a fun burst of short and sweet rock in its two minute run time. "Photo Corners" enjoys a few seconds as a folky acoustic track before building up to feature another one of their sing-along choruses and poppy synths.

The Lovely Feathers are easily comparable to acts like Hot Hot Heat, the Kaiser Chiefs, The Unicorns or the aforementioned Franz Ferdinand at times, but they've managed to carve out their own singular sound, though it would benefit from some refinement on later albums. But for the most part, Hind Hind Legs is pure enjoyment and guarantees you're sure to be bouncing right along with them.