★★★★☆

Most of us, at one time or another, have wanted to take off across some dusty plain with nothing but a faithful old heeler on the passenger seat, one sunburned arm hanging out the driver’s window and maybe a couple of cartons of brews in the back.

Melbourne quintet Rolling Blackouts might have made just the EP for such a trip: Talk Tight is a five-track effort of guitar pop with so many links to the McLennan-Forster songbook of 1988 that it could almost be a period piece.

A compliment so heady shouldn’t be handed out willy-nilly, of course, but in this case it’s deserved; the young band’s jangly guitar sound is some seriously top-drawer Australiana. It’s pretty laid-back for the most part, though, so it’s a ride we’re all welcome on. Opener ‘Wither With You’ gets the motor started and wheels rolling with plenty of guitar hooks, before ‘Wide Eyes’ cleans out the cobwebs of its fuzzy opening with an all-guns-blazing alt-country climax. ‘Heard You’re Moving’ is a straightforward and charming guitar-pop number that cleverly takes a minute before the vocals kick in, while ‘Clean Slate’ gets all garage-jam massive before breaking back down, and ‘Tender Is The Neck’ closes the deal with unexpectied sentimentality.

If you like your indie rock freewheeling and chock-full of charm, these boys have you covered.

Talk TightbyRolling Blackoutsis out on Ivy League Records.

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