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Stream Leroy Francis’s Deliriously Fun S.O.R.E. EP

Australian garage rocker Leroy Francis has just six solo songs to his name, and they’re all on his fantastic new S.O.R.E. EP, out today. The title’s short for Songs On Repeat Every Day, and that’s nearly how often I’ve played them since first hearing the euphorically unhinged “Carry Me” back in September. Even in quieter moments, S.O.R.E. shares that first single’s irresistible mix of glam mystique and lo-fi personality. Francis’s music can sound like warped memories of college rock past and present: a Spin Doctors-worthy chord progression skipping along under the scuzz of opener “Going Steady,” a little bit of windswept U2 loftiness half-submerged by bleating bass on “Comatose,” an interlude titled “For What’s to Come” that sounds like a demo tape Mac DeMarco just found in his car.

It’s a delicate thing to balance real pop melodies against so much fuzz, and to pull it off Francis enlisted the help of producer Dean Tuza and Beach House engineer David Tolomai (a fact that can make the woozy, very Beach House-y current of “Intoxicated Dreams” feel less than coincidental). The crown jewel is “Going Steady,” an enraptured stoner’s love letter to coital anticipation. “I’m a loser but we’ll laugh a lot,” Francis promises. “I’ve been dreaming of your legs and arms / Where they go and when we’re gonna meet.” It’s one of my favorite songs this year.

Stream Leroy Francis’s S.O.R.E. EP below.