The Vaxjo-based quintet
Surrounded -- Sweden's answer to
the Flaming Lips -- creates lush, modern rock on its artfully crafted debut album,
Safety in Numbers. Launched with "Linear Elevator," a mournful but captivating instrumental stomp, the disc soon drifts into the abundant soundscape of "Exit Serenade." Here,
Emil Petersson's synths and
Marcus Knutsson's guitar swoon in tandem around
Marten Rydell's thought-provoking lyrics about flattering clowns and bigoted clones. While traces of
Tom Waits and
Built to Spill invade "Diesel Palace," that song's redundancies pale in comparison to melodically superior, entrancing tracks like the lilting "Pro-Files" and the soothingly orchestrated "Blood Orange Wheels." If
Rydell's song-poems like "Dear Nimby Waltz" seem to be more about mood than message, one suspects that's
Surrounded's point. This is an album that gives a little more away with each listen. And with adventurous songcraft like this, it's doubtful that disciples of
Mercury Rev and
Sparklehorse will mind dissecting pieces of this triumphant entry.