After a couple singles and an earlier EP, Minneapolis’ High Speed Showshoes sound like they’ve arrived at an ideal mix of soulful, exploratory, Americana-tinged indie rock with their latest, Wasting. As with most contemporary indie, their sound bears elements of windswept folk and down-home roots, but lacquered over with lush production and electrified with occasional dynamics that provide a delicious jolt of energy. But the five+ songs on this stellar EP are best characterized by the music’s soul and swagger. The songs, musicians, production, and vocals in particular ooze effortless control over a sound that’s nearly impossible not to enjoy.

Title track and leadoff number “Wasting” wastes no time endearing itself to listeners with a faux-lo-fi intro. Crumbling acoustic guitars and mutter-sung vocals give way to a crisp rhythm section reiterating the song-long hook, which bubbles atop a simple progression leaning almost entirely on tones and mood. After a tempo-shifted return to the lo-fi intro, the momentum builds and flourish returns with a luscious plunge back into the song’s aural glow. It’s a four-minute plucking of heartstrings that never misses a note.

“On a Plane” perpetuates the magic: simple progressions serve as the foundation for exceptional melodies and a deliciously sultry mood. The vocals here take on Jim James-esque cosmic drawl. The drums rollick their way through sweeping fades, while additional vocal accompaniment and unexpected instrumentation percolate throughout to sweeten the melodies. EP centerpiece “My Best Friend” pushes the tempo into Hippo Campus territory while also raising the dynamics into a crowd-pleasing romp of major scale synths and wall-of-sound guitar chords.

Each song is a vibe, and each displays a mastery of creating a mood. The performances are precise enough to suggest these players could easily accomplish more challenging parts – adding passing chords to progressions, incorporating melodies and fills as transitions. But the wisdom to keep their theory in their pockets and let vibes dictate the craft is keen. These songs succeed because of, not despite, their simplicity. It's an approach that allows their complimentary elements to best support one another, rather than each competing for the spotlight. Only once on this album do they deviate from this winning formula, when closer “Half of Heaven” indulges in a doubletime bridge to justify an uncharacteristically boastful guitar solo. Yet even then, it’s as if the band is in on the joke: before the section even approaches a resolution, they pull the rug out from under it and the songs jolts back into the soft-spoken, intricate simplicity that defines the band’s ethos.

It’s one of many moments on Wasting that confirm High Speed Snowshoes know exactly what they’re doing: making undeniably good music with broad appeal.