The National Honor Society - To All The Distance Between Us (2023)

Given that they revel in both the urgent post-punk and swirling dream pop sounds that were coming out of the U.K. in the 1980s and '90s, it may come as a surprise to learn that the National Honor Society hail from Seattle, U.S.A. Appearing in 2020, the band's full-length debut, To All the Glory We Never Had, also included conspicuous Britpop inspirations in its mix, but they shift the balance toward lusher, deeper textures as well as driving rhythms on the follow-up, To All the Distance Between Us, their Bobo Integral label debut. Opener "As She Slips Away" kicks things off with a ringing guitar melody, lilting bass, spirited drum fills, and surging atmosphere before the Society's suitably deep-voiced singer, Coulter Leslie, and multi-tracked vocals become an instrument of their own. While that tune is undeniably catchy, they quickly enter banger territory with the bouncier, racing "Control," a song about trying not to lose it. The track's third-act guitar solo and fade-out dance-pit wall of sound stick the landing. Up next is the more melancholy "In Your Eyes," which merges Smiths jangle with soaring Cocteau Twins shimmer, as the band works their way through an expertly sequenced track list that keeps changing things up without killing the vibe, even when the more '60s-melodied "Jacqueline" appears midway through with one of its stronger earworms, or when they later evoke the Verve on "The Following." To All the Distance Between Us closes with perhaps its most clarified production, on the encore-destined "When the Lights Go Down," which should compel more than a few replays.