Lafayette-based Valcour Records broke from their usual Cajun and zydeco fare late last year to sign a local band less than a year old. The Givers describe themselves as “Afro-beat, dancy pants, indie pop love music,” and that’s pretty accurate, actually. Combining funk, calypso and the poppiest of pop rock, the band creates a lush, layered atmosphere, filled with choruses that stick in your head for days. Tif Lamson’s voice is sweet and smoky, and like the rest of the band, she sounds at once youthful and older than her years, producing music much tighter and practiced than you’d ever expect from their age.

The only complaint I have is how short the CD is, but here, quality is given precedence over quantity. Every song feels perfected without being polished into lifelessness, no doubt from playing constantly since the band’s inception. Still, I could do without the remix of “Up Up Up,” and the EP doesn’t do their show justice. Live, they’re a fantastic, colorful, sweaty explosion. They’re the only band I’ve seen lately that looks like it’s having the time of its life the whole show. Look for the Givers’ full-length album this summer.