When Built By Snow contacted us via MySpace to share their love of The Beatles and Weezer, we were admittedly intrigued by what these local lads are capable of. It’s not everyday we get a message from an act about having the same two favorite bands as us. Noise, Built By Snow’s debut EP, appeared in our mail in due time and we discovered a talented act with catchy tunes that land somewhere between The Rentals and Ozma with a dash of Weezer mixed in.

EP opener “Underneath” boasts crisp guitar melodies, and combined with the chant of “we’re alright, we’re alright..we’re underneath”, the song creates an atmosphere of youthful exuberance, setting the tone for what’s to follow. “Radio” kicks off like Bloc Party’s “Helicopter” before showing signs of The Rentals with appropriate Moog flourishes, and there’s a hint of Gabe Hascall (The Impossibles) in the vocals. Defeated lyrics of “I’ll leave it up to my radio, to tell me who to be” thankfully turn to repeated, anthemic cries of “Fuck radio and rock n’ roll” by the end of the song.

“Drag Way” and “Juliana” wear the Weezer influences on their sleeves, the former marked (again) by Moog panache and a wonderful “can’t let go, oh-oh-oh-oh-woh-woh” climax to the chorus. Both songs seem a perfect fit for 101X FM. Chirping Moog maintains the verses on “Audiometry” before delightful drums pace memorable, layered vocals while “Sleeping Machines” might be our favorite track on the EP, combining gritty guitars with another anthemic verse -- “We are kids with no dreams, we are sleeping machines.” The EP wraps in fine fashion with the energetic “Laika.”

All in all, Built By Snow expertly generates synthesizer accentuated melodies but like a pancake with too much syrup, the sugary pop could cause a tummy ache an earache. The pros outweigh the cons however and word out on the street is that band is already working on a second release, although possibly an EP as well. We hope it’s a full-length and we hope to see it in our mailbox.

Catch Built By Snow at a pop-fest of sorts at Emo’s Lounge on Wednesday to get your year started right with the venue’s mammoth Free Week. Details on this show’s full line-up after the jump.

[Hundred Year Storm MySpace]
[Fulton Read MySpace]
[Golden Bear MySpace]
[Jets Under Fire MySpace]
[Built By Snow MySpace]