Formed in Kansas City, The Republic Tigers is the result of a long intermittent partnership between frontman Kenn Jankowski and guitarist Adam McGill. Jankowski came from a band called The Golden Republic, which split in December of 2006. McGill and Jankowski decided to form a band after recording tracks for a tentative project. After adding some band members (Justin Tricomi on drums, Ryan Pinkston on guitars and keys, and Marc Pepperman on bass and accordion), The Republic Tigers were ready to roll.

The band recorded some material and two singles (“Buildings & Mountains” and “Made Concrete”) found their way onto Kansas City radio. By December of 2007, the group had signed with the upstart Chop Shop Records and released a self-titled EP (available on iTunes). Their debut album, Keep Color, was released May 6th, 2008.

This unveiling record reveals a band with an indie rock meets late-80s pop vibe. Best of all, the quintet is proud of it. The sound conjures everything from Enya-esque background fuzz to a touch of Travis. Heavy on the tune and refreshingly low on the posturing, The Republic Tigers seem geared to pounce on the music scene.

The opening notes of “Buildings & Mountains” are deceptive, as the plain guitar, bass, and drums give way to a much more intricate bit of song-craft as the tune progresses. The anthemic build of the melody and the swirling electronic harmony filling space in the surroundings creates one of the album’s best tracks.

The production is silky and delicate, giving each song strength and complexity without being overly inflexible. The Republic Tigers have taken their time with Keep Color, that’s for sure, and the shifts in pace on songs like “Weatherbeaten” show a group fully absorbed in the method of musical construction.

Music jumps victoriously from minor to major chords, too. The robust enterprise of “The Nerve” shows a lot of guts for a pop-rock song and Jankowski’s vocal timing does a lot more than fill space. And “Give Arm to Its Socket” not only has a blazing hot title, it also has the audacity to change time from verse to verse and deliver an intricate but ultimately natural rhythm.

Keep Color is the ideal songwriter’s album, an extraordinarily bright recording that puts the writing on the wall for other indie pop-rock groups. The band’s use of keyboards and conjuring of some of Underworld’s bigger moments should fix them nicely in the music world for quite some time. No bunkum here.

To get a glimpse of the band’s live performance, check out David Letterman on May 22.