I strongly believe that together with The Drones, Dan Kelly, The Devastations and The Darling Downs (or the D4 as I affectionately call them), The Sand Pebbles are kings of this alternative music scene for mine, and just continue to impress me with their cut through ability in terms of the structures, ideas and musical brains they possess, and hence clearly utilise to their full, spectacular potential.

The Sand Pebbles have produced albums in the past which have completely captivated me, and this new disc, Atlantis Regrets Nothing, is another masterpiece in my own bleary eyes, with the album delivering on all fronts - from the soundscape they create, the imagery they portray, the fucking amazing song writing, the psychedelic moments, the pop/rock moments, the production etc etc. The list can continue to grow really…but don't listen to me, listen to their array of admirers ranging from the self proclaimed 'king of pop' Dave Graney, Conway Savage, Kim Salmon and the abundance of music journalists from not only Australia, but around the world who can't get enough of these buggers and their special Oz rock sound.

Following on from their two previous albums, Eastern Terrace (2002) and Ghost Transmissions (2004), The Sand Pebbles vocalist/song-writer Andrew Tanner has continued to expand upon his vocal range with this latest bunch of tunes. I can pick up on a weird kind of Bono meets The Beta Band kind of thing going on … and I really like what I hear, as together, The Sand Pebbles, in my opinion have created one of the albums of the year to date.

Atlantis Regrets Nothing explodes out of the surround sound with openers, 'A Thousand Flowers', with its highlighted Rhodes focus, bended string sounds and casio solo dominating the flow of the tune. 'Kitten Heels' is frenetic pop at its best, short and sharp, and to the point, and I salute The Sand Pebbles for it – a stroll down psych/pop avenue with this one.

'Natalie' is the co-written number between the band and Dave Graney and it is as smooth as silk with its driving bass from Chris Hollow complementing the harmonies and Kid A-esque musical progressions from this impressive array of musicians, who really are quite prolific with the strength of the songs that they create. The atmospheric interlude of 'Water's Too Warm (Carry On)' breaks Atlantis' stride early – but in a good way, as it gives the listener the opportunity to detune, and escape further into the spaced out world of The Sand Pebbles, as they delve into Richard Strauss territory with their use of strings on the score.

One of the real highlights of Atlantis Regrets Nothing is 'Altered Images' (a crowd favourite of mine for a while) when I first heard it trialled out, back at the Tote in Collingwood in early 2005. 'Altered Images' explores the darker side of the moon with its menacing bass and the electricity of the Crazy Horse-esque guitars, which combine neatly with Tanner's swayed vocal to create something beautiful.

The first single to be potentially lifted from Atlantis Regrets Nothing is aptly titled 'Genius' with Tanner spreading the word; "You have this gift for standing there doin' nothing/Some people think it's cause you hit the nail on the head/It's a little secret that we keep between us/Call you genius when you're dead".

I get this distinct feeling in my bones that WE will all be calling these guys the aforementioned G word when they're dead, but hey why wait for that, start calling them on it now – Melbourne's own, The Sand Pebbles, a class act this one.

- Nick Argyriou