There's something to be said for a band that knows when to quit. With 12 songs clocking in at a taut 32 minutes, Portland, OR, quartet Pangs operate with the efficiency of indie-pop marines, striking hard and fast with smart, surgical strikes of hooky goodness that don't stick around to mingle. The speedy pace (powered by Justin Johnson's crisp, peppy drumming), clean production and uncluttered arrangements of piquant little rockers like "Career Suicide" and "What Will Become of Us Tomorrow" are offset somewhat by singer Matt Mair Lowery, who often sounds as if he could have used a few more weeks to grow into his voice. Lowery's singing, while far from awful, sounds affected and strained, especially on opener "Sad Pastime" and the off-kilter closer "When We Were Friends". His vocals have more personality than technical chops -- he knows what he should be doing, but doesn't always do it particularly well. Matters aren't helped much by the fact that they're mixed a little high, putting them front-and-center. Still, there are plenty of times where he gets it right: "Palms God Gave" is total doo-wop, sock-hop, malt-shoppe pop/rock splendor with a little country shuffle, while "Spines (x & y)" is a short indie-acoustic sketch of a song that shows promise. Stalemates & Sad Pastimes mixes Koufax-style chamber-rock with a little of Hawksley Workman's cabaret showmanship. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's curiously compelling stuff.