On its first full-length release, L.A.-based Foreign Born succeeds in melding pop hooks, haunting vocals, carefully injected dissonance, and chilling lyricism through tunes that call out to contemporaries (The Walkmen, Rogue Wave), and rock luminaries (U2, David Bowie) alike. Where opening track “Union Hall” screams early Arcade Fire with its “ooohs,” “ahhhs,” and hand-clap percussion, slow starters like “Letter of Inclusion” make for album highlights with its epically climactic build. Still, the hands-down star of Foreign Born’s show is lead vocalist Matt Popieluch, whose voice possesses a Bono-esque theatricality that gets treated, looped, and distorted here to pure rock ‘n’ roll perfection. A great start to what promises to be a long-and decorated-musical catalogue.