Often times you can recognize a band’s early recordings within the first few second of listening. A lack of tonal clarity, straining to hear some of the instruments and hearing a member swear after striking a mistaken note all stick out as obvious signs that you’re listening to a bandcamp debut of a local project. Mermaid in China have, thankfully, ignored this option and instead worked to release a professional-quality debut that transmits their dance-infused indie pop compositions through synthesized tones, hypnotic rhythms and dynamic vocal arrangements.

“The Vast Divide” opens the self-titled release with an ambient space that is quickly filled with by swirling electronic melodies, a grooving bass line and contagious rhythms that need to be danced to. The second track, “Gentle,” combines acoustic and electronic instrumentation with a crisp vocal stylings like something out of a Broken Bells record. Each track from here on out has something unique to offer: be it the driving rhythm section grounding ambient flights in “The Average Man,” the anthemic chorus that dances through the catchy “Tame the Wild,” or the arrangement of that  “A Stroll Through Calloway Bay” which sounds like it could be a B-side from Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds .

The release as a whole doesn’t sound so much like a cohesive album as it does a sample platter of singles that showcase the range of sounds that Mermaid in China are capable of producing. If you’d like a taste of these sounds for yourself, head over to Slabtown on Thursday, October 2nd to catch them perform alongside Clawfoot Slumber, Mega Tera and Liquid Light.

– Ben Toledo