The Chicago suburbs have already given us a ton of great music in 2018. Such is the case with Brookfield’s So It Goes., an indie punk quartet with a rejuvenating concentration on wild energy over the aesthetically-driven sound of most contemporary indie outside of the realm of emo. The band’s debut EP, Sex Machines Without Sex, consists of four technically entrancing bangers, written with an ear for pop sensibilities, but performed with a palpable youthful energy.

Right off the bat, “The Two Hit Story (Zach’s Not a Pussy),” blows the rest of this EP out of the water, and is still my favorite song of 2018. The whole song is based around an incredibly infectious noodling, that instantly lodges itself in the subconscious. After a couple of repetitions of this riff, and a short, esoteric spoken word piece, the band explodes into a sparklepunk barn burner, similar to bands like Mom Jeans. and Glocca Morra.

The latter three singles from Sex Machines Without Sex take on more of a Sonic Youth flair. “Gummi Shark” and “Gia’s Pangaea,” in particular, attain this sense of easy-going apprehension by setting vocalist, Abraham Strittar’s spastic aggression against mid-tempo instrumentals, interlaced with hypnotic bass grooves, weird, unconventional chords, and twinkly arpeggios. The latter, “Gia’s Pangaea,” utilizes more spoken word passages to emulate what sounds like a more upbeat version of Slint. It’s repeatedly explosive instrumentally, and utterly unhinged vocally.

Sex Machines Without Sex, goes out strong with “New York Puzzle Piece” a punky indie rock jam in the vein of The Strokes or early Arctic Monkeys. The band brings in some hand claps and tambourine to really drive home the spunky, peppy vibe of their finale.