With its self-titled, this Brooklyn four-piece has created a balm for our souls, a buffer from the hubris of a world gone to sh*t. In just nine songs, you will find catharsis and relief. You will believe there is still something to believe in.

The healing begins appropriately with “Off to the Races,” an analysis of real-life and metaphorical pain set against a comforting pop hook. Indeed, when singer Jon Chinn sings of notes and chords on “You Haven’t the Guts,” it’s obvious he knows of their curative properties. The centerpiece to the record and the band’s calling card, “Manager” tells of failure and salvation over a criss-crossing of riffs and plaintive guitar lines with office speak allegory. Here, Chinn summarizes our universal want when he admits, “I just want to go home.”

Mastered by Bob Weston (Shellac, Volcano Suns), Manager might remind you of luminaries like Guided By Voices (most of the band shares an Ohio lineage), Bob Mould, and pre-Deschanel Death Cab for Cutie, but there’s no denying that th