When dealing with Canasta, it pays to have a taste for the unpredictable. The Chicago indie outfit is as likely to compose a bright, upbeat ditty as they are a country-tinged narrative or a moody epic with soaring vocals. But at heart they're a pop band, albeit an ambitious one. Every song is infused with instantly hummable melodies atop lushly layered arrangements that make expert use of a unique six-person.

All of this comes together on the group's first full-length album, We Were Set Up. It assembles eleven new songs on top of two re-recorded favorites from their acclaimed Find the Time EP. It's a record that, for the first time, truly captures Canasta's dynamic musical palette, in a way that has won the band comparisons to the Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, the Decemberists, the Sea and Cake, and Wilco. In keeping with the band's collaborative spirit, We Were Set Up also features contributions from vocalist Edith Frost and members of the Coctails, Freakwater, and Archer Prewitt's band, among others.