Architecture in Helsinki has a band name that suggests they're from Finland, but they're really from Australia.

Listening to their newest release, Places Like This, one may think that the band could originate from nearly anywhere in the world. Brazil, Jamaica, Atlantis, Pangaea, Halloween Town: geographical influences are tough to pin down when the music is so different in range.

With no real focus and clocking in at fewer than 32 minutes for all 10 tracks, this cannot really be called an "album." With frenetic stop-start cadences and schizophrenic vocals that, at times, channel the likes of Isaac Brock, Fred Schneider, David Byrne and maybe even Sam Kinison, there's a lot going on just a half hour.

Places Like This lacks the lyrical or musical depth to leave a lasting impact, but it's hard to dock the band too many points when they're so obviously (and so invitingly) having a good time. That's not to say that musical and lyrical content aren't important, but the genuine lighthearted joviality found on Places Like This surely must count for something. The most childlike aspect of the album, though, is neither the Mad Libs lyrics nor the cacophony of ubiquitous steel drums; it's the innocent curiosity that serves as the only explanation for such varied instrumentation, featuring the aforementioned steel drums in addition to cowbells, horns, congas and, naturally, some synths.

When the band members were younger, they must have been the kind of kids that made sure to use every single crayon in the box in every picture they drew. Places Like This mixes the cerise with the cerulean with the Caribbean green with the cornflower, and the result is a pastiche of experimentation and exuberance, if only a bit frenzied. And Architecture in Helsinki definitely doesn't color inside of the lines.

Grade: C+