Energy. It can lift a mediocre record up, and even bring a well-crafted one down. It’s often the reason listeners keep finding reasons to put certain albums on week after week, or the motivation to send that CD is to the used section of your local record store. In the case of The Suzan, energy is the force that will keep your ears turned to their perplexingly pleasant, Peter Bjorn-produced, debut LP – Golden Week for the Poco Poco Beat – for years to come.

From the first manically danceable synthesizer plinks on opening track “Home,” this all girl, Japanese four-piece will have you both scratching your head and dancing like a fool at the very same time. The music is responsible for the good vibes, but the head scratching comes as at the hands of lead singer Saori Suzuki. Her heavily accented croon is hard to understand, but just because listeners won’t be able to comprehend every word she’s saying on tracks like “Nice Codes” doesn’t mean the album isn’t worth a listen. In fact, Suzuki’s broken English is one of the most charming aspects of each second of Golden Week’s nearly 40 minutes of unabashed, progressive pop music.

She’s vocally fearless on “Rondo,” which finds her “la-la-la-ing” like an enchanting gypsy woman, and she tries her hand at leading a riot on “London Tonight.” The two-minute track is a flaming ball of energy, and while you can only understand what she’s saying during the cut’s two-word chorus, her band – which includes Saori’s sister, Rie, on keys – lay down a pit worthy song that the Go-Go’s only wish they could’ve written.

Elsewhere, The Suzan present carnival-esque instrumentals (“Secret”), 50’s and 60’s pop (“Ha, Ha, Ha,” “Come, Come”), and completely let loose on “Devils” and album highlight “Uh Ah.” The three-and-a-half minute track finds the band completely coming together for a driving, forceful exploration of throbbing bass and ear-busting drums. Suzuki really doesn’t even say any real words outside of “Back to the nature, whoa-whoa-oh,” but she doesn’t have to. Her scatting is tantalizing, and even though everyone knows good music can come from any part of the world, this record wholly proves it.