With the current state of the music industry, where any band with serious intentions can easily get their music heard, it is relieving to hear a band that possess a nostalgic quality. While Dept of Energy rarely experiment on their new album, Faster succeeds in reminding us that sometimes, it’s nice to hear something that is simple, fun and catchy, and as such, requires no serious listening. Unfortunately, while nice at first, the album quickly loses its attractiveness and after a few listens degrades into a stale collection of mediocre indie pop.

A trio of technically talented musicians (particularly drummer Cassady Laton) that are still able to infuse feeling and emotion into their songs, Dept of Energy were formed in the ashes of singer and lyricist Robb Benson's and Laton's former band, Dear John Letters. Following a failed attempt to reunite the band, Benson and Laton grabbed keyboardist Ty Ballie and formed Dept of Energy. Faster, the band's second full length, fuses intelligent lyrics penned by Benson with catchy pop melodies and indie rock drumming. Rock jams such as "House With Holes" recall the magnificent sounds of indie rock legends Build to Spill while songs like "Solid" manage to juggle these big guitar sounds with pop melodies akin to Missouri's Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Faster begins with the upbeat pop tune “Tuning Out”. Beginning an album with your best song may or may not be in a bands best interest. While it certainly hooks listeners initially, it leaves the album top heavy. Faster never gets this good again, although a couple of the closing songs come close.

Returning to my original point, there is nothing on Faster that you haven't heard before. Yet its infectious melodies manage to keep your attention, at least on the first listen through. I found that the album grew more and more stale with each passing listen for this review. It became harder to pay close attention to the album.

Even though its ten songs clock in at a perfect time for an indie pop album at roughly thirty-six minutes, I found myself skipping tracks here and there. Particularly, the chorus of “Play Fighting” resulted in a skip without hesitation, which is a shame because the rest of the song is quite good and contains a short jam band-esque guitar solo towards the end of the track.

Similarly, the chorus of following song “The Nice Sleep” would also cause the track to be skippable if not for Laton's simple yet head-nod-inducing drumming which compensates for a vocal melody uncharacteristic of Benson, as the rest of the album is ripe with catchy hooks.

Speaking of catchy, the album attempts a comeback with standout “Josephine”, and slowly trickles down throughout the final three songs on the album. While most of the previous songs showcased Benson's skill at writing guitar hooks, “Josephine” and to an extent, “House With Holes”, put the primary focus on Ballie's organ. From here onward however, the album returns to a state of mediocrity, resulting in a disappointing finish.

Track List
1. The Nice Sleep (2:38)
2. Empty Enemies (3:30)
3. Tuning Out (3:28)
4. Solid (2:37)
5. Houses With Holes (4:42)
6. Josephine (3:47)
7. Mind Over Matter (3:45)
8. The Shift (4:16)
9. Play Fighting (3:10)
10. Faster (4:02)