In these dark days of rock music, it is refreshing to see a new band that considers themselves “rock” and not pop-punk, screamo or one of the many other new genres that have sprung up to hide the fact that most new bands suck. British Sea Power, although far from being above the influence of more diluted strains of recent rock, try to present themselves as a genuine rock band in the age of imposters. Their recently released third studio album “Do You like Rock Music?” is a damn decent appeal to the new-wave tradition of the late ’70s, and a solid addition in the fight against crappy music.

The band hails from Brighton, England, and consists of Scott Wilkinson on vocals and rhythm guitar, brother Neil on bass, Martin Noble on lead, and Matthew Wood on drums. Although “Do You Like Rock Music?” is their third album, it is the first one to receive much attention here in the states, surely a good sign for a band on the rise. Their sound draws many comparisons to groups like Joy Division and The Cure, but they deserve more credit than a mere new-wave band that arrived 30 years too late. Instrumentally, the band is tight without over-embellishing, the flowing, affected guitar propelling most of the tracks. This heroic, often epic sound occasionally sacrifices rhythm and drive for angular guitar, although the band still knows how to use a more heavy-handed approach when necessary to keep the momentum of the album on the move.

It is the songwriting that stands out on this disc. Often employing a light-verse heavy-chorus dynamic inherited via Nirvana via The Pixies, the tracks never get lost in their own adventurousness. Songwriting duty is divided amongst the whole band, and this variety of writers is evident in all the different kinds of songs. Whether it’s the soft “Open the Door,” reminiscent of The Cure at their most gentle and using a SONAR ping as a piece of percussion, or “Atom” which builds from a reverb-heavy whisper of an intro to a chord-thrasher more fitting of The Strokes, “Do You Like Rock Music?” has it all. The band stays true to its martial namesake, and tracks like “Waving Flags” have a militaristic feel, tempered by Wilkinson’s soft voice, more akin to Nick Drake than a drill sergeant.

If there’s one area where the band strays from their morose new-wave lineage, it’s in lyrical content, so often phoned-in by new bands. As opposed to covering the well-worn ground of themes like rejection, depression and death, BSP gravitates towards esoteric references to history and culture, especially towards references of English military history. Field Marshal Montgomery, Stuka dive bombers and the Hitler Youth are all subjects of songs. This is not to say that songs have no emotional genesis; often the stranger references are made in a song with more abstract implications (and, in fact, I would be lying if I said that every song is readily understandable). Wilkinson bemoans this loss of nuance when he sings the lines, “I’ll be the first to admit this is a bright but haunted age.” Hopefully, British Sea Power will help in the fight to bring music back to an age of substance.