Your appreciation of falsetto is the primary determinant in whether or not you'll dig Perth quartet The Chemist. Singer Ben Witt - lead guitarist in Bob Evans' band - possesses one of those enviably wide vocal ranges. Throughout their debut EP, The Wolves' Howls Shatter The Old Glass Moon, Witt's delivery tilts toward the upper register. You'll either love it or hate it. I fall into the first camp; Witt's voice is extraordinary, and should be celebrated. Wisely, his vocals ride high atop The Chemist's pleasant take on bar-room rock'n'roll, sans pomposity.

Don't let their allegiances with Perth pop's big names colour your judgment here. Just because the EP was produced by Eskimo Joe's Joel Quartermain and 'Stars' was originally recorded with Luke Steele doesn't mean you should tar them with the same brush. They have more in common with Lovers-era Sleepy Jackson than Empire Of The Sun's glossy pop or Eskimo Joe's aspirant stadium-rock. That Quartermain and Steele have lent their time to The Chemist should hint at their potential for greatness, not just their capacity to appeal to triple j's programming team. That potential is spoken for on Wolves: though these five songs travel divergent paths, they each arrive at the same accomplished destination.

Witt's falsetto flows freely throughout disc opener 'End Of July', and there's a hint of his favoured live vocal looping towards the end of the track. 'Things Have Changed' is characterised by ambient accordion, interjections of mournful harmonica and curious turns of phrase ("If you want a fire, you gotta burn some wood/The blind man forgives what the deaf man should"). Its old-time vibe is underscored by a waltz tempo and Witt's clean guitar. At song's end, the singer erupts into an unrelated tale of a 1980s-era Sydney funeral parlour owner backed by James Ireland’s sparkling piano. That two-minute oddity – uncredited in the liner notes, but both puzzling and compelling – leads into 'Don't Look Down', the EP's most readily appealing track.

On Wolves, you'll find a rare confluence for a debut release: across five songs, both musical ambition and ability is fully realised.

by Andrew McMillen