’ve always wondered what would happen if you replaced Paul Banks’ haunting delivery with that of a tortured Canadian woman. Thanks to The Organ, I don’t have to waste my time thinking about it any longer. Vancouver, B.C.’s The Organ have delivered a female answer to the brooding rock that Interpol grabbed so handily from the likes of Joy Division, The Cure, and The Smiths before them. Luckily, like Interpol, The Organ are more than capable of doing the music justice.

Grab That Gun opens on a mission, giving the listener its very best right from the start. That’s a risky move, as the rest of the record has a hard time living up to the pace set by “Brother,” but on the other hand, it sets an excellent example of what The Organ are capable of creating. The bass and guitar interplay will likely draw many comparisons to poppier fare by Joy Division and The Cure, but the vocals separate The Organ from too much name-checking.

In fact, despite Katie Sketch’s melodramatics (at times), her yearning howl is easily the most original thing here. The lyrics? Not quite. See “There Is Nothing I Can Do,” an entire song devoted to the fine art of cutting. Sample verse: “My neck hurts / ’Cause I’ve been cuttin’ moons / My hands hurt / Cause I cut them from you.” It’s hard to say whether it’s a good thing or not that the song is actually one of the catchiest on the record, with an Interpolian guitar strum playing in the background during the verse, and another catchy guitar melody in between the verses as well. It probably doesn’t hurt that the awkward subject is only broached for two and a half minutes.

“Basement Band” is another highlight, if only because it seems like the perfect suburban goth anthem. Again, questionable lyrics abound: “We should go down to the mall / Look at people judge them all / Judge them before they judge us / And leave them feeling bad.” I can just picture a room full of zipper-laden black shirt/pant teenagers swaying back and forth to this stuff. I’m not sure why that’s altogether endearing, but it’s to The Organ’s credit that they pull it off with gusto.

They also do it with, you guessed it, the organ. It’s a gimmick worth noting and immediately ignoring. It doesn’t get in the way, or sound out of place, until the last track, a thirty-seven second instrumental throwaway.

But despite questionable closers and even more questionable lyrics, The Organ is off to a solid start with this debut album. Sure, they’ve seemed to settle on mall-goth as a consistent vibe, what with the cutting and the songs about going to the mall, but they do have a great knack for a catchy melody. If they can do a bit of growing up between now and their next LP, they’ll really be something to watch out for.