It's difficult to discuss The Strange Death of Liberal England without at least mentioning Arcade Fire. The U.K. five-piece were clearly heavily smitten with both the Funeral and Neon Bible albums, and Drown Your Heart Again, their debut, pulsates with the giddy impetuosity and expansive delirium that are the Montreal band's musical touchstones. The skittering opener "Flickering Light" jitterbugs as if overcome with existential woe at the passage of time ("Remember wasting everything!") while the defining tenor of "Like A Curtain Falling" can only be described as fervent melancholy. Thankfully, though The Strange Death… may take inspiration from Arcade Fire's arch alchemy, they are no mere imitators: Hyper-kinetic guitars flirt with the idea of spontaneous combustion on the magnificent "Rising Sea" and "Come On You Young Philosophers," while singer Adam Woolway's tremulous vocal vibrates with the thrill of possibilities. It's as if Tindersticks' Stuart Staples eschewed his trademark jaded croon and become seized with "Carpe Diem!" intensity. It may be heavily precedented, but Drown Your Heart Again is a profound, complex, hugely impressive debut.