No matter how quickly and loudly purists are to declare the death of rock, amplified sounds never truly go out of fashion, and there will always be kids banging away in some room. Best Friends are one such group of young guns. After forming in 2011 out of boredom, these school chums released an EP and a clutch of singles before finally recording their full-length debut, the recently released Hot. Reckless. Totally Insane (FatCat Records).

Best Friends are self-declared garage-pop, which can be taken in a wide variety of ways, particularly when you put it through the British translation filter. Named after the hype lines of ’80s skateboard flick Thrashin’, HRTI emerges from the post–Arctic Monkeys Sheffield, so there’s guitars, hooks, and energy to spare. Whether or not they’d claim their neighbors as an influence, you can hear the kinship, but with Best Friends, the hooks are far more subtle. For some, that would mean unmemorable songs, but Best Friends don’t live and die by the chorus. Sure, it’s impossible not to sing, “Rip it up and start again! There’s more of us than there is of them!” on “Orange Juice,” an obvious ode to the Scottish legends, but that’s not the goal.

Musically, the band’s attack of two guitars, drums, and bass is pretty straightforward, but that’s not always the case. Just when it seems like a song is going in one direction, an abstract guitar will quietly emerge in the background or the melody will seemingly fall apart only to regroup and come back as if nothing ever happened. The playing is loose, but confidant. It’s like they don’t mind getting a little fancy, but that’s never the goal. You can take the songs on HRTI strictly at face value or dig slightly deeper. While the record may not totally live up to the title, Best Friends have crafted a great debut that makes them a band to keep an eye on.