Secret Primper is a new project from Dave Deggeller, who formerly made headlines with his group Dyn@mutt. Headlines...that I never saw, apparently, 'cause Deggeller's name is new to me. No matter; with Alliteration and You, he and drummers Matt Plock and Doug Dillman (each plays on different tracks -- we're not getting into any "dual percussionist" antics here) have crafted a great slab o' indie rock that comes across like a head-on collision 'tween Elvis Costello and early Guided by Voices. Deggeller has the whiny charisma of Costello or Sean Croghan (ex-Crackerbash -- remember them?) and delivers his witty lyrics with equal parts pout and sneer. His guitar work is quite impressive as well; he bashes out power chords one minute and lurches into angular, twangy riffs the next.

Alliteration is quite a lo-fi affair -- while Degeller's voice and guitar are prominent in the mix, the drums, for the most part, sound like someone beating the hell out of a couple of cardboard boxes, and the bass, when it's there at all, is all but inaudible. However, Deggeller's songs are more than enough to compensate for this failing, as they are consistently catchy and addictive. His lyrics are also excellent -- they're intelligent and erudite but never trip over themselves while attempting to show off their cleverness. In the chorus to the disc's opener, "Blamed on Altitude", Deggeller sings, "So sleep with arms wide open and fingers glued to future lines unbroken, connecting me to you. This solemn pledge is unspoken, this favor is due." He has a very interesting, conversational lyrical style, stringing together non-sequiturs and then throwing in a personal comment when you least expect it. From "Safteylocked": "Would you still climb the roof on a dare? / Can you find F-sharp out of thin air? / Do you know that I still care?" Most of the time, the particulars of his lyrics are lost in his nasal whine, but perusal of the lyric sheet reveals many keepers, like the first line from "Least but not Last": "Scan the room for a noble cause / You're a flightless bird with assassin's claws...I'm the crumb that will break your fast / I'm the truth that's least but not last."

The disc winds down with "E.B.Y.T. (Nashville Mix)", which is actually, believe it or not, a twangy, tongue-in-cheek take on the Police's "Every Breath You Take" that is at once uproariously funny and sweetly poignant. It's a great way to end a disc chock full of little songwriting epiphanies; from the killer choruses to "A Beggar's Quandary" or "Least but Not Last" or the lyrical excellence that lies behind practically every song on this disc, Alliteration and You is a keeper. While Deggeller's voice may not be the most immediately accessible thing you've ever heard, and his songs sometimes take a little work to get to the bottom of, rest assured that any effort you put forth in getting into this record will be duly repaid, as these songs are multifaceted indie rock gems that reveal a different surface every time you listen to them.