The Noise FM

What the hell do “accessible” and “radio-friendly” mean, anyway? In the critical lexicon, the first term is used to mark a transition in the sound of a willfully obscure band, and the second is used to lambaste popular music. Enclave, the new EP from the Noise FM (to be unleashed at a joint release party with fellow Lawrence act Cowboy Indian Bear), invites these base descriptions, but the band coats its tracks with immediacy, clarity and sharpness. Enclave may be accessible and radio-friendly, but it’s also a crisp document of excellent songcraft. The songs are bright, cheery and full of odd textures, such as the industrial drumming on opener “The Vault,” the spacey sounds on “Time Will Tell” and the glitch beat that kicks off “I Can’t Stop.” More important, the music is slinky and danceable, full of harmonized choruses, hand claps (“Who We Are”) and surprisingly wicked guitar solos. The production is incredibly clean — almost to a fault — with sterile, airy breaks in songs such as “In Your Orbit.” Nevertheless, it’s 22 minutes of beveled power pop.