I can’t fathom coming up with a debut album as perfect as Silent Alarm. Granted, the strength of their singles and the Little Thoughts EP surely gave the album a strong foundation to build up upon.

Whatever the case, Silent Alarm is a perfect album. Great mixing, crisp production that still allows plenty of range, and a brutal rhythm section with Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes. Don’t get me wrong, Kele Okereke and Russell Lisack know all the guitar tricks and are deft at pedal combination, and the guitar work in Silent Alarm is beautiful. But Tong and Moakes are unstoppable, especially on what became my fave song of the album.

Luno pierces through you. It’s relentless and fierce, never letting you go. “And your nose is bleeding, and your nose is bleeding, you’ve been lying to me” lands like a haymaker, flooring you with Tong’s precise drum rolls.

I often mention that I like “silence” in songs, and what I mean is that moment when you can distinguish every instrument without a saturation. Again, in the “and your nose is bleeding” refrain, each guitar riffing on different channels, while drum and bass build a bridge together for Kele Okereke’s vocals to soar.

If you haven’t listened to Silent Alarm, give it a spin. It’s a superb album. If you’ve never heard it, start with Helicopter, their most popular single from the album, then go for Luno, and finally chase it all off with the tremendous Positive Tension, another album highlight on a debut full of them.

-Sam J. Valdés López