Killer Workout - Four: Three (self-released)

Seattle’s Killer Workout understands the advantage of brevity: get in, get busy, get out. Four: Three clocks in at three songs in eleven minutes of new wavy pop glory. Dual keyboards provide both bright stabs and lush texture over a jangly guitar/bass/drum core, hitting the proto-synth pop sweet spot of New Musik or Missing Persons. Frontman Anthony Darnell sings like a man who pretends to have all the answers, but is perfectly aware he doesn’t, giving “Too Late” and “Loser” a relatable tension. The band hits the EP’s apotheosis on middle cut “Figure It Out,” which would be a new wave classic if it had come out thirty-five years ago. Given how short the disk is, it barely does more than whet the appetite, but there’s something to be said for leaving ‘em wanting more, and on Four: Three Killer Workout says it.