Artist: Discover America Album: Psychology Label: Tooth & Nail Records Rating: 7 out of 10

For his first full-length release since the demise of emo-inflected indie-rockers twothirtyeight, frontman Chris Staples pulls a Trent Reznor. Discover America is as much of a “real” band as Nine Inch Nails’ studio incarnation ­ which is to say, not so much. Like Reznor, Staples plays nearly every instrument himself here; but unlike the NIN singer’s angry industrial-rock records, Psychology is by-and-large a mellow, reflective affair. Album-opener and first single “Call It in the Air” sets the bar so high, the set’s next nine tracks can’t possibly live up. It’s all thumping, trip-hoppy beats, acoustic strumming, and cool keyboards, driven home by a soaring yet melancholy chorus. In a just music world, the song would be a smash, but in these days of Clear Channel-crafted playlists, it will likely remain a secret gem treasured by true music fans. Only two other tracks approach the grandeur of “Call”: the spare “Green Eyes” and second-single-in-waiting “The Halves That Make Us Whole.” The former features nakedly-emotional vocals supported by a spare combination of accordion-like keyboards and a double-time drum loop, while the latter recalls Fastball’s “The Way” with its tremoloed electric arpeggios, clicky drum beat, and stick-in-your-brain hook. Not everything here is so forward-thinking. The minor-key chorus and jagged electric guitars of “Tight Rope Walker” are overly-reminiscent of Staples’ former band, while “Stark Honesty” comes across as Weezer-lite with its trippy organs and swinging drum-beat. Even though some of the music here is undeniably-derivative, Discover’s lyrics are spot-on throughout. The understated, folky “From the 100th Floor” tells a simple small-town-boy-in-the-big-city story that avoids the pitfalls of corniness intrinsic in its subject matter. “From way up on the 100th floor, the people look like nothing more than ants just bumping into one another,” Staples sings. “If you grew up way too slow in a small town under snow then you get a little nervous around people that you never met.” The stadium-rocking “Shiny Teeth” succeeds wonderfully by contrasting a buoyant musical backing with bleak lyrics: “Let the mouth of hell bare its shiny teeth./ Let the flames reach high and singe my tired feet./ Remove the plank./ Yeah, expose the mystery./ At last come down, scoop up your baby bird.” For Discover America’s next record, Staples would be wise to completely leave his indie-rock past behind and focus on the unique folk-hop sound explored on half of these tracks. Then the previously-unchallenged Beck would have some real competition in the funkiest-singer-songwriting-white-boy genre he pioneered. As it stands, Psychology is still a solid album worth a look. - Todd Thatcher