Northern Exposure: Library Voices, 'Party Like It's 2012' -- Free MP3

Some Doomsday-watchers suggest 2012 is the year it all comes to an end -- if that's the case, then Regina indie-pop collective Library Voices wants to go out with a bang, judging by the giddily upbeat track 'Party Like It's 2012,' from their irresistible new debut full-length 'Denim on Denim.'

The eight-piece crew surely have enough members to get a good party going, and their big sound, full of layered harmonies and hummable melodies, is certainly something to celebrate -- the young band's already been the subject of a lot of buzz, touted in the press and the blogosphere as a rising act to follow.

After a spate of bad luck last year -- the band famously took to YouTube to plead for the return of their instruments after they were robbed while on tour in Vancouver, and lost two band members to the daily grind -- Library Voices seem poised for a breakthrough with their assured debut, which brims with infectious AM radio-style classic-pop tunes that marry the best of old and new.

'Party Like It's 2012' plays on its futuristic title with shiny synths set to an insistent backbeat -- it's a bubbly pop confection that immediately charms its way into listeners' heads as it barrels along breathlessly until wrapping up in a compact but satisfying three minutes.

The band has often been compared to the New Pornographers for their boy-girl harmonies, emphasis on classic melodies and use of analog synths -- while it's inevitable for a young group to be contrasted with their forebears, there is something to the correlation: the organ-like synth that forms the backbone of 'Party Like It's 2012' certainly evokes some of the New Pornos' catchiest melodies.

Vocalist Carl Johnson's assertive delivery drives home the tongue-in-cheek lyrics ("Do the oblivion shuffle / Do the redemption twist... Let's hear it for the Rapture!"), and his bandmates use their numbers to good effect on the big group choruses before an exuberant percussive breakdown kicks in just before the two-minute mark.

It's the rare indie-rock track that doesn't take itself too seriously -- Library Voices are clearly all about having fun playing music together, and it shows. Well-crafted yet entertaining tunes like 'Party Like It's 2012' serve as quite the introduction to a new act we'll likely be hearing a lot more of in the future. If they keep this up, perhaps we'll even see them join the ranks of the other great Canuck indie collectives they're already being stacked up against.