In 1946, the Third Programme launched in Great Britain blasting classical music to the masses. Sixty years later, it has re-emerged, not as a station on the BBC, but as one of D.C.’s newest purveyors of trippy Brit pop. It is very appropriate that this band, who only recently formed at the beginning of the year, chose a name with such experienced undertones. With but several months under their belts working together, Simon, Fidel, David and Christian demonstrate a mature sound and cohesiveness worthy of their British baggy-scene influences, The Stone Roses.

The 23rd of October marked the release of the band’s first self-titled EP, and a CD release party at the Black Cat’s back stage. While some performers find this intimacy a welcome retreat from their usual gig, the Third Programme belongs elsewhere. They are almost ahead of themselves, with energy requiring a much bigger audience and venue to fully appreciate their talent. The acoustics in the small venue accentuated the exuberant guitar riffs of David Barker, but didn’t quite do justice to the band as a whole. Fidel, who sounds very much like Keith Murray of We Are Scientists, was drowned out by the volume of the base. While we couldn’t distinguish many of the lyrics, the set nonetheless kept the thin Monday night crowd tapping along and us wishing they had been scheduled upstairs on the main stage instead.

Their set included three catchy tracks off the band’s self-titled EP: “Atmosphere,” “Imaginary,” and “The Message.” Each song differs just enough from the next to add variety to their sound while maintaining a thread of unity. The Third Programme knows who they are and aren’t wasting any time with a scattered album of experimental tracks. Their five song EP is a solid start to a band with hopefully only good things awaiting them in the future.