The Futureheads

On their eponymous debut, the Futureheads played like there was no tomorrow. The four-piece threw everything it had into its recordings. The result reflected the dangers of indie mod excess: artsy punk with a clever sense of humor and elaborate four-part harmonies run amok. News and Tributes, the band's sophomore turn, feels like a response to that indulgence. With a newfound restraint, the Sunderland, U.K., quartet infuses a textured complexity into its sound, turning poignant lyrics into anthems where anthems just shouldn't be (call it the U2 effect). The Futureheads are still struggling to justify why you should slap their poster rather than Franz Ferdinand's on your wall, but at least they've made it clear that they intend to have a future in post-punk, new new wave, art rock or whatever you want to call it.