Despite being touted as geniuses by Coldplay, U2, Radiohead and those kinds of guys, this UK band has not seen major U.S. success since its 1990 inception. Or should I say “definitively UK band,” a designation that might help explain anything not immediately made clear by the bullet review of this one, which would basically read “put Eels and Wire in a sewing circle to come up with something that might play OK in arenas.” Saying this stuff is understated would be an understatement — it’s highly intelligent, quirky of course, very English, its lyrical poetry heartfelt but detached enough that it’s just really cool. Like late-’80s Wire, it has a quiet celebration or forgiveness of Britishness, as outlined in “Lippy Kids,” which mocks the prejudice against hoodied teenagers over a beat that successfully combines, come to think of it, the three big-hitter bands mentioned above. Opening tune “The Birds,” a sedate jangler sung in a hypnotizing antiphonal style, is absolutely transportive, sending the listener right into the quiet, bookish head of a Britisher who’s, whatever, doing some grocery shopping. “Jesus is a Rochdale Girl” is basic Eels but with an unexpectedly pretty synth-doodle thrown in whack-a-mole style. Someone remind me to mention this in the “Best Albums of 2011” list. A

—Eric W. Saeger