For too many years, British pop rock has swindled American listeners with promises of twangy guitars, hip vernacular and some truly awkward Hugh Grant-charm (see: Travis, Coldplay and the last three Oasis albums). Fortunately, on their third release, the Brighton quartet British Sea Power has deviated from this stock English export to give listeners something with a little bit more substance. Do You Like Rock Music? is not just a witty title, but a fitting one considering that this record is the closest attempt to conventional rock music the band has tried thus far. But this is not to say that the band has wholly reinvented itself by any means.

In keeping with the band�s eccentric tradition of obscure cultural references, Rock Music? is no different, citing such topics as the great skua seabird, the Nobel-winning physicist Niels Bohr and the 1953 Essex flood that lost the original records of Canvey Island F.C. Unfortunately, not many listeners will appreciate these edifying particularities without immediate access to Wikipedia available.  

Unconventional lyrics aside, Yan and company seem to have found a comfortable medium between aesthetic rock and post-punk hooks that would make Rock Music? a real gem if it were not smothered under layers of reverb and decay. In some songs, these elements add great depth to already concrete song structures, but, in other cases � as in the album�s glimmering anthem of hope, �Waving Flags� � they simply drone on in a predictable cyclone of miniature choral climaxes and reverb-drenched guitars that are reminiscent of the Arcade Fire and Interpol. To make matters worse, the lyrical particularities praised above are sporadically called into question with nonsensical one-liners like �You are astronomical friends of alcohol/ So welcome in.�  

But even with its atmospheric faults and occasional daft one-liners, Rock Music? still warrants some deserved attention and time. The album flirts with brilliance early on in the rockier �Lights Out for Darkier Skies,� which opens up with a warm guitar lead peaking just above an overdriven bass line. The lead then takes a backseat when it is tastefully saturated in airy synth chords before returning to the appealing overall melody of the song.    

The post-punk �A Trip Out� is also notable with its choppy guitar work and Yan�s dirty yet eloquent vocal styling. Even the droopy ballad, �No Need to Cry,� has its underlying moments with rich harmonies and spacious rhythms interwoven to give it a strange sense of conviction.

Do You Like Rock Music? is a collection of dismal songs that have the potential to be great but often fall a little bit short. It�s not to say that these lads aren�t trying � after a few listens, you can sense sincerity in the songs � but British Sea Power needs to stop alluding to their post-punk predecessors like Joy Division and The Cure, abandon this angelic nostalgia and leave those aesthetics to Win Butler.    

3 stars out of 5