Worship is a rare gem hailing from Reading, UK, in that, having released just a few singles and even fewer tidbits of information, they’ve already garnered tens of thousands of fans. The synth rock quartet has rapidly generated buzz since forming in 2010, and it isn’t difficult to see why. It’s a testament to the music quality on singles like “Collateral,” which hearkens the moodier days of Kid A, laden with tense electronics, topped by melodic tenor vocals and alt-rock.

Their moody, keyboard-driven synth rock echoes Foals and Radiohead—with lead singer Tim Alexander seemingly channeling Thom Yorke every sad, cool note for note. But Worship’s somber rock isn’t bleak. It’s more of a wistful melancholy—the kind that commiserates and comforts in the aftermath of a break-up. Lovelorn track “House Of Glass” gracefully weaves haunting vocals with fluttering percussion and a distorted bass lines. Simple, elegant beats and keyboard tinkering shadow and pace Alexander’s gentle lilts, as guitar riffs and synth lines swoop in and out, on “In Our Blood.”

The band–Alexander, Jordan Fish (bass, programming), James Johnson (guitar), and Tom Mayo (drums)—smartly divided their first year between playing live gigs, including at the famed Glastonbury Festival, and stealing away to a residential studio in Norway to write and record. The result: lush, brooding melodies on superior demos that belie Worship’s brief time together and demonstrate just how much promise this foursome possesses.

Photo by Samuel Christopher