"A Detail of Soldiers" has one of those great rock introductions: A few seconds of white noise, followed by a lone thumping bass drum and finally, a Radiohead-esque distorted guitar lick. The song is "Soldados," and not only does it have a great opening, the song itself is a great opening to a great new band.

Though the songs aren't always interesting melodically, "A Detail of Soldiers" is an impressive sonic achievement. While atmospherics swirl unobtrusively through the ballad "New Romans," a pop piano line in "Some Things Never Stop," gives way to full-blown rock 'n' roll, coated in plaintive minor chords.

And speaking of rock 'n' roll, it should be noted that the Alarmists wear their influences proudly on their sleeves. Their press materials specifically note Wilco, Radiohead and David Bowie as inspiration for this debut, and those sounds are certainly present here, but not distracting.

The Alarmists are all about rocking with dulled edges, and this is a good thing. "Coming To Meet Me" has verses that veer slowly towards modern rock posturing, before soaring into a glorious pop chorus. Helping this happen is vocalist and guitarist Eric Lovold, whose voice sweetens the often bittersweet sentiments in these songs. "Call it a lie, or call it obscene/because it's something you've never seen/give me a key for this lock/because some things never stop," Lovold sings on "Some Things Never Stop." Those lines are a pre-chorus to another blissed-out refrain, complete with falsetto "ooh"s in the background.

This is essentially straightforward modern rock for modern rock radio listeners, but there are also many nicely subtle touches that make "A Detail of Soldiers" a uniquely focused, tight record. This is a solid debut EP and it hints of great LPs to come.

www.myspace.com/thealarmists