If you haven't heard the immediately arresting Somebody Told Me, why in God's name did you crawl out from under your rock to read this review? Clamber back under it and think about what you've done.

For everyone else though, welcome ladies and gentlemen, to the top contender right now for album of the year. The Las Vegas four-piece who formed after a wanted ad in the local paper requested musicians with a love of Oasis have delivered a debut equal parts cock-sure and nervous as hell. Wholly pulled from a decade that we all did our best to forget, the synthesizer is brought to the forefront on more than one occasion, driven along by a bass-line reminiscent of Adam Clayton at his most furious.

Opener Jenny Was a Friend Of Mine is pop perfection. Laden with hooks, both musical and lyrical, the subject matter a simple fight with a girlfriend, seemingly over a perceived indiscretion on his part. Singer Brandon Flower's vocals display the sort of passion and emotion a young Bono would deliver. Perhaps not as trained or even as good a singer as he will one day be, Flowers never the less delivers his lyrics with dedication and a complete lack of self-consciousness, while at the same time being so aware of his surroundings. It's as if he's watching us all out of the corner of his eye when he pauses for breath.

This nervous energy pervades the first half of the record. Every track is, if you'll pardon the pun, an absolute killer. Losing the anxiousness on track 5, All These Things That I've Done has a grand moment mid-way where the music cuts out and we're left with the whole band chanting "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier". Gone is the apprehensiveness of the first half, the rest of the album brimming with confidence and golden pop moments. Of particular note, the synth-driven On Top opts for Gallagher-esque silliness in the lyrics, though by the time the chorus comes bouncing in, both hands are pointing to the sky in victory, singing along with the ridiculous "It's just a shimmy and a shake, a-huh, I can't fake we're on top".

On top indeed. Did I say contender? The competition is over folks. Album of the year.