The Chalets -- <i>Check In</i>

There is something irresistible about a Pop/Rock band featuring guy/girl counterpoint vocals. How far would the B52s have gotten with just Fred Schneider's histrionic yelp? Who would have noticed an Exene-less X? How about a Thompson only child? Ireland's Chalets understand the dynamic all too well and trade on it to maximum effect on their debut, Check In. Layering bouncy guitar Pop with synth-strewn New Wave and the eccentric and sprightly harmony-and-call-and-response vocals of Chris and Pee Pee, the Chalets vibrate madly with the hyperactive sound of the B52s ("Love Punch," "Theme from Chalets"), the Human League ("Two Chord Song," "Gogo Don't Go") and a cross-pollinated mutation of the Breeders and the New Pornographers ("No Style") on a heart-needle full of adrenaline and a triple espresso colonic. The Chalets are quirky masters of smart, sexy Pop music who sound so accomplished -- in a beach party on the International Space Station sort of way -- that it's hard to believe that Check In is their first disc. (Brian Baker) Grade: B+