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Voxtrot’s eponymous 2006 EP may be the best indie-rock debut since, oh, the Pixies’ Come On Pilgrim. Each of the five songs on Voxtrot is nigh on perfect — a crystalline distillation of the band’s love of ’80s British pop. That’s not to say that the Austin quintet’s disc is a dull re-creation of the past. Besides the occasional signposts — a Morrissey vocal tremble here, Sarah Records’ serrated jangle there, Cure-like post-punk punch over there — these tracks feel vibrant and new, chock-full of wicked hooks and leader Ramesh Srivastava’s literate lyrics. The latter might be what keeps Voxtrot in the game for the “Long Haul,” as Srivastava proves equally adept at detailing bitter resignation and heady poetics.
