*** The Glands

DOUBLE THRILLER

(Bar/None)

Word has it that this Athens outfit used the same mixing console Michael Jackson employed to make Thriller, but who cares if the story's true? In a just world, these 15 tracks would have more commercial cachet than the Moonwalk. This is one of those discs that comes out of nowhere, grabs you where you live, and makes you wonder where this band have been hiding their stash all these years. You can play spot-that-influence -- I hear Sparklehorse and Guided by Voices, as well as elements of '66 Beatles (melody) and '66 Stones (attitude) -- or you can just sit back and soak in the narcotic haze of "Pretty Merrina," the splintery sneer of "No. Zero," and nod your head because it all feels so right. Just about everything here -- from the reverbed vocal on "Skin" ("You're always talkin' 'bout your skin/Somebody should tell you it's thinner than you're thinking") to the sticky tar-and-turnpike mood piece "Welcome to New Jersey" -- makes for immediately gratifying pop.

-- Jonathan Perry