PRIMARY COLOURS

Eddy Current Suppression Ring

Punk's not dead -- but it sure has gotten friendly in its old age. Last year saw the rise of a kinder, gentler brand of punk rock, thanks to well-mannered California thrashers No Age and Abe Vigoda reaching unexpected levels of acclaim. Australian troupe Eddy Current Suppression Ring suggests that the good vibes might be a global phenomenon, offering up a vibrant clatter more likely to incite group hugs than mosh pits.

Which isn't to say the Melbourne quartet's sophomore album "Primary Colours" is all puppies and rainbows. Twitchy frontman Brendan Huntley keeps these upbeat rock tunes from becoming too saccharine with a nervy delivery that's part David Byrne, part Iggy Pop.

Guitarist Mikey Young's simple riffs aren't nearly as conflicted -- they come ripping from his amplifier like sunbeams through a smog of distortion. Put the pair together and you've got a combo that evokes a breezier Stooges, the Fall with less squall or, perhaps, a more cordial version of irascible Washington punk forgottens the Monorchid.

The band's anthemic "Which Way to Go" makes for the album's undisputed highlight, but you'll have to visit YouTube to enjoy the song's equally excellent music video -- it depicts an impromptu beach bash on some idyllic Australian coastline with bikinis and volleyball and babies and Frisbees. Could this really be the most righteous rock-and-roll moment of 2008? Yup. Three decades after anarchy in the U.K., welcome to punk euphoria Down Under.

-- Chris Richards

DOWNLOAD THESE: "Which Way to Go," "Memory Lane," "I Don't Wanna Play No More"