A December to Remember: Atlas Genius, Sheppard, Holiday Friends

[PHOENIX RISING] An Australian quartet borne aloft on the kicky and oddly enduring thrills of 2011 single “Trojans”—a lightly electrified, quietly insistent, slow-burning trifle referencing the wooden-horse metaphor rather than condoms or USC football— Atlas Genius finally released a proper EP this summer prior to a stateside jaunt supporting Silversun Pickups. But, much as the three songs (plus a charmingly throwaway acoustic rendition of what we'll call their hit) of Through the Glass make for a pleasant enough introduction, the muted delights are so utterly derivative that one imagines their signal audience on this headlining tour could only be indie-dance completists.