Expecting to find only students on spring break and old people, Isaac Brock, frontman of Modest Mouse, struck gold in Florida.

Many Modest Mouse fans enjoyed Ugly Casanova’s Sharpen Your Teeth (Brock’s side project) enough to explore the background of the band members, one of whom was John Orth, Holopaw’s frontman.

At the time Sharpen Your Teeth was released, Holopaw was still hiding in the obscurity of mainland Florida. Prior to the release of Sharpen Your Teeth, Brock, who was living in Gainsville, stumbled upon a band that knocked him off his feet.

What really grabbed Brock was “the singing and the lyrics. With a quivering, liquid voice and lyrics that make you feel like you’re standing there and smelling the air of all four seasons.”

Brock immediately befriended the members of the band and with his new discovery intended to create his own record label. Due to time constraints, however, he was forced to simply hook Holopaw up with the Sub Pop label, which is home to Hot Hot Heat, Iron & Wine (with whom Holopaw is currently touring), Ugly Casanova, and The Shins.

Instead of playing a show for the Sub Pop staffers in a large venue, Holopaw did quite the opposite — the group had a show at a house on a small lake in rural Florida. Amidst the fireflies, the mosquitoes and the sound of frogs, Holopaw played for their friends and the people from Sub Pop.

As Brock said of the event, “it’s impossible to tell where the sound from the woods ends and the music begins. The whole feeling is so complete and well thought-out. And my only complaint? Why couldn’t other people make music such a complete experience?”

As can be assumed from the band’s place of residence, its sound is organic and somewhat countrified. It may seem strange to call it organic, though, given the production of Brian Deck, who also produced the Secret Machine’s September 000 and Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica. There is an electronic twinge in the background on most of the songs, but it’s almost imperceptible when paired up with a pedal steel.

Just as Orth creates some of the greatest moments on Sharpen Your Teeth, Brock creates some of the greatest moments on Holopaw’s self-titled debut, singing in one song and playing the mandolin in another.

This album is best described as Sharpen Your Teeth without the Modest Mouse. Many of the album’s tracks are a result of the band attempting to reach out in different directions; one track includes a strong trumpet lead while others feature a soft cello accompaniment.

While listening to Orth’s voice, which is somewhere between Conor Oberst’s and Isaac Brock’s in his quieter moments, a remarkable calm comes creeping in.

Brock explains Holopaw’s sound best: “I don’t believe that many people actually sing these days … Bjork sings, Chan Marshall of Cat Power sings, that Thom Yorke fellow from Radiohead sings, and, yes, you saw it coming, John Orth from Holopaw also sings; the sky is the perfect color that it only becomes for a few minutes, every once in a while.”

“You’re heartbroken, you’re in love, the world’s not complicated.”

Grade: A/B