On Happy Noose's self-titled debut, the charged punk instrumentation in concert with frontman Ryan Scott's deep, morose vocals went a long way toward connecting musical dots in the listeners' minds: clearly, Happy Noose are a band that takes its cues from early '80s UK New Wave, early Goth like Bauhaus, and other contemporary poets of melancholy punk.

Even though you'd get partial points for making those connections - and it certainly helps that the songs had names like "Empire Fades," "Enter the Valley," and "Robbed" - further inspection and the release of their following albums has helped to clear the air about just what kind of band Happy Noose is.

Their forthcoming releases, the Amagosa and Haunted EPs, find the Olympia band embracing the darker, more romantic side of their sound, even as their hooks become bigger, catchier and more anthemic. Where their earlier output was spunky in that youthful punk sort of way, Amagosa signals the natural maturation of a still relatively new band circling and landing on its voice.

Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Happy Noose in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

HAPPY NOOSE, w/ Romantic Feelings, Handwritings, 10 p.m., Wednesday, June 26, Le Voyer, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.5710