Asleep in the Sea

Local indie-artsters Asleep in the Sea's new untitled six-song EP would make a succulent cake -- mouth-wateringly catchy choruses ("Butterflies"), a creamy filling of graduate-level wit ("U R What U Eat"), all spread over with post-mod art rock frosting ("Heartback") and sprinkled with hooky harmonies ("Punk Girl") for good measure. The release delivers a honed continuation of the sound the band began cooking up on 2004's Yay! O.K. Yeah? With more nursery-rhyme keyboards, densely intricate three-part harmonies and slick production, the EP finds the group more mature, developing its original blend of happy, brainy rock in all new ways. While most bands fail to capture their sound in the studio, AITS manages to harness its gleeful abandon on tape, and delivers up a tasty helping of must-have ear candy.