Protagonists, the third record from Manchester post-punkers IST IST wastes no time. “Stamp You Out” opens with a fuzzed bass hammering hard on a single note like a call to arms. Urgent drums and chiming guitars answer the call with a rush, joined shortly after by lead singer Adam Houghton’s unbothered baritone. It’s immediately captivating, and they know better than to squander that attention.

As the outfit’s third record, Protagonists is in an interesting position. Loads of acts can make a promising debut. Fulfilling that promise on the sophomore record is a much bigger challenge. The third record though is often a matter of identity preservation. The pressure is lower—who’s ever heard of a third-album slump?—but without a strong sense of their own voice, they run the risk of fading into the miasma of sameyness and soundalikes.

This is especially true in a genre as rigid as post punk, whose influential records are practically sacred texts. Stray too far from the light (or lack thereof) and the scene will reject you. Follow the conventions too closely and you won’t give anyone a reason to not just listen to Joy Division instead (especially considering how much Houghton sounds like Ian Curtis).

On Protagonists, the band walks that line perfectly. All the staples of post punk are well represented: urgent tempos, prominent bass lines, stabby guitars, dark atmospheres…but if IST IST feels restricted by the strict sonic palette of their scene, they don’t let on. Protagonists feels vibrant and potent. It’s hardly monochromatic, offering a number of shifts in energy and mood, such as the Interpol-y “Something Has To Give,” the piano-led ballad “Artefacts,” the bouncy, synth-addled “Nothing More Nothing Less,” and the billowing dreaminess of “Mary in the Black and White Room.”

There are several obvious touchstones—the aforementioned Interpol, early Cure, Psychedelic Furs, and yes, obviously, Joy Division (did I mention how much Adam sounds like Ian? Because dang), but despite these comparisons, IST IST just sounds like themselves. Their take on the post punk formula feels more organic and authentic than a large bulk of their colleagues. Protagonists has all the makings of a classic, and if time is kind, it will be.

Protagonists is available now through Kind Violence Records.

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