In emo-adjacent circles, few names carry as much weight as “Kinsella.” Mike, Tim, and Nate Kinsella have had a hand in about a half dozen seminal projects— among them, Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Owls, Owen, and American Football. Their output has spanned the gamut from chaotic noise rock to gentle indie balladry and almost everything in between.

But despite this variety, none of the Kinsellas’ projects have shown much interest in standard pop music. That is, until Lies, the new project from Mike and Nate. While there’s plenty of Mike Kinsella-ness here to keep fans of Owen and American Football happy, there’s also plenty of nods to new wave, synthpop, and Top 40 that makes for an oddly captivating listen.

I’ll admit I knew nothing about this record when I added it to an order to get me over the free shipping threshold. But as it turns out, the odd sense of rhythm and melody that have flavored most Kinsella projects is a lovely companion for studio embellishments like dance synths, drum machines, and strings. And while the sonic palette is notably different than anything they’ve done before, their writing sensibilities are the same as they’ve always been—which is to say, great.

No one coming to this record from their other projects are likely to be disappointed, but there may be some folks who find this album more palatable to anything else they’ve done. Maybe they’ll even make their way to AmFoo or Owen through it. Personally, I’ll probably keep getting my Kinsella fix through American Football, but Lies certainly invites repeated listens to unravel all of the layers here.