Covering the bases, hitting the right notes, dropping the right names and nodding to the right influences; these are some of the underappreciated, perhaps unnoticed skills that bring many more bands much more success than inspiration, genius and freshness combined. A Classic Education’s debut Call It Blazing could be lazily labelled as providing a fair serving of the former with a tragic lack of the latter; and admittedly, for a great part of its running time you really are hearing the band present you with a sonic sleeve on which to wear their very right and proper influences.

The summer shimmer of lo-fi opener ‘Work It Out’ declares Galaxie 500 in the strongest terms before ‘Baby It’s Fine’ lets us know that The Shins have arrived in some style. More sober offerings like ‘Grave Bird’ and ‘Spin Me Round’ vividly recall the warmth of Brisbane’s most lauded legends, The Go-Betweens while throwaway pop jolts like ‘Billy’s Gang Dream’ serve up Frank Black (lite) at his jerkiest and most ‘50s-infused.

Amid this roll-call of indie pop finery lie suggestions of something far more interesting than mere imitation. Frontman Jonathan Clancy’s lyrics are obsessed with Italy – the Canadian’s adopted home – and more specifically with Italian youth, set against classic escapist imagery: “Fiction’s got no place in this foreign land/Getting all eccentric, got no other plans” he plaintively intones on the dreamy ‘Forever Boy’; “You said just settle down/Just don’t leave this town” he notes on album highlight ‘Gone To Sea’. Clancy seems to be describing the eternal argument between generations and highlighting the silliness of both sides; although of course the kids in sunglasses and leather jackets will always look cooler, so that’s the side we naturally take.

‘Terrible Day’ musters a dash more originality and a frisson of excitement with its twinkling keys and faux-naïve sentiment (“Don’t you worry about a terrible day in your heart”) while closer ‘Night Owl’ offers a potential forward direction for the band should they wish to take one: it sounds a lot more like ‘A Classic Education’ than one of their myriad heroes and its slow, rumbling roar hopefully indicates a turn toward the path less travelled by their predecessors. Perhaps the band will have a touch more faith in their own abilities next time out and cut the cord to their past for good. Their potential would appreciate it.