Parenthetical Girls have a pretty slick sound these days. If you know nothing of the Portland four-piece, you might mistake them, upon a quick half-listen, as a vacuous corporate-indie nonentity. And frankly the intro to “A Note to Self” isn’t doing them any favors in that department. If not for the underlying synth feedback the first 15 seconds could almost be the soundtrack to a new Prius commercial. That is, until Zac Pennington’s unhinged, braying vocals enter the picture. Channeling equal parts Morrissey and Sparks’ Russell Mael, his weird presence lends a funhouse darkness to the blandly sunny background bounce. And the meandering yet concise verse melody is immediately memorable. It grabs you quickly. That’s a good thing because soon enough, as the truncated bridge unexpectedly turns in on itself and the synth countermelodies create a strange sci-fi mariachi ambiance in the choruses, it becomes apparent that these guys aren’t mere cookie-cutter pop panderers, but are closer in spirit to the world-class sheen-pop purveyors in Phoenix. They certainly share the French lotharios’ penchant for producing catchy, potentially highly commercial material that is nonetheless brimming with unfettered creativity and brilliant, unusual sonic touches.