It will come as no surprise that Keepaway, a promising electronic-fused indie trio, hail from Brooklyn. Their Baby Style EP has all the hipster sentimentalities we’ve come to expect from New York’s most musically prolific borough. But that’s not to say that Keepaway aren’t doing something unique—they are. Baby Style is ripe with flashes of harmonic inspiration. The tinny guitar licks and synth-squelch pads and keys compliment a driving rhythm section, and though the vocals more than obviously follow the footsteps imprinted in indie music by bands like Animal Collective and Sunset Rubdown, Keepaway are able to use the borrowed style to good effect. Interwoven melodies are alternately smooth and warbling, often within the span of a single song. The computer blips and drum machine beats Keepaway employ here are more accessible than those of some of their Brooklyn contemporaries. They’re a band to keep an eye on.

The EP starts off with Keepaway’s strongest track, “Yellow Wings,” which builds slowly upon sampled vocals and percussive cracks, with downbeat bass drum and marching band snare in tow. Reverb-saturated guitars bend and drone and the EP’s catchiest vocals fill in the remaining space. It’s a song to put on road trip playlists, a song to show your friends, and it will get stuck in your head. The mesmerizing melodies continue into “Family of the Son,” another song with military-style snare rolls throughout, and a wash of flanging creates an atmosphere that lets sweet guitar strums bounce in and out of the foreground. The slow groove of “5 Rings” relies heavily on fuzzy synth and bass with guitars and vocals recalling The Moon and Antarctica-era Modest Mouse in the latter half of the song. Keepaway’s layered harmonies are head-spinning on nearly every track.

As impressive as Baby Style begins, there is room for growth. Though it’s catchy enough, “I Think About You All the Time” is a bit hollow; its springy video game tones are interesting for the first few listens, but the song’s predictable harmonies, doubled melodies, and on/off handclaps wear on the nerves with each successive play. “Evil Lady,” the only track which doesn’t stand out, is the EP’s closer, attempting to mesh dub-style rhythms and late ‘50s strumming patterns with an electronic backbeat. The overcooked vocals lack their usual enthusiasm as they plod through the up-tempo/down-tempo rhythm changes in the EP’s final minutes, ending in an unexpectedly foot-tapping, ambient fadeout.

Keepaway consciously takes what their indie predecessors and contemporaries are doing and run with it, but while this may attract the type of attention they’re seeking at first, it could also come to be a major setback. Getting away from the Animal Collective comparisons will be a steep challenge for them as even the strikingly familiar tone of voice whirling within Baby Style’s five songs wins them some fans. But they have a solid sense of musicianship to back up their style, and the fact that their tour dates take them through SXSW is a good indication that they’ll rise above the heap with their heads and laptops intact.

Track List:
1. Yellow Wings
2. Family Of The Sun
3. I Think About You All The Time
4. 5 Rings
5. Evil Lady