The debut effort from the Brit-trio Transister, (pronounced "sister"--you see, the singer is a girl), is well worth owning. About half of the songs owe a pretty big nod to Garbage--Keely coats her bitter diatribes with the same kind of saccharin sweet lilt that made Poe's "Angry Johnny" such a treat.

Though the lyrics remain a tad gloomy throughout, the music (even on the darker Garbagesque songs) is always engaging and keeps the whole effort from ever becoming depressing.

The record's strength is it's variety--offering glimpses and tastes of several likable decades and genres. Just a sample, (if you'll indulge me my bad habit of comparison once again), is a tune that captures the otherworldly David Lynch-like blues, with an unaffected chanteuse vocal that reminds one of Portishead.

Toward the end of the album is a shameless Homage to the shimmering gothic anthems of the Cocteau Twins--which doesn't make it any less likable. Suffice it to say there's a little something for the whole addams family on this one, including one for you fans of Bananarama. Step aside El Nino, here comes the "Cruel Summer."