Fits’ debut album impressively squeezes in 12 songs worth of poignant power-pop in just over 20 minutes. The Brooklyn-based project is fronted by Nicholas Cummins, who unpacks grief and circumstance with good-natured humor and naked vulnerability. Many of these songs were initially conceived of as voice memos, bare and looping, and they largely adhere to that shape: circuitous and careening and powerful in their brevity, like a sharp inhalation before impact. But they’re beefed up by the rest of the band — which includes Big Ups’ Joe Galarraga, gobbinjr’s Emma Witmer, and Fern Mayo’s Brian Orante — who provide a muscular fizz to Cummins’ songs, turning them into shields to be wielded against the world’s bullshit. Early singles “Ice Cream On A Nice Day,” “Running Out,” and “Hot Topic” exhibit the band’s full-speed-ahead momentum, but it’s the slower tracks that might make a lump form in your throat. On the blistering “The Ground” and the haunting “Drop Thistle,” that bubbly exterior drops out for the crunch of deadened leaves and old memories. And on the mournful “How Did U,” Cummins adopts a darkened pallor to deliver the cutting line: “Sometimes it’s easier to replay a song than miss someone.” Stream All Belief Is Paradise below.

Tour dates:
11/14 Montreal, QC @ La Vitrola *
11/15 Portland ME @ Apohadion Theatre *
11/16 Boston, MA @ The ER *
11/17 Brooklyn, NY @ Alphaville *
* w/ Yucky Duster

All Belief Is Paradise is out 11/17 via Father/Daughter Records. Pre-order it here.