In a few short years, the Brooklyn trio known as Breaking Laces has quietly built a potent body of recorded work and carved out a formidable reputation as a powerful live act. In the process, they've amassed a large and fiercely devoted grass-roots fan base that's been solidified by the group's tireless roadwork. These achievements are all the more impressive in light of the fact that they've been accomplished on the band's own terms, with an absence of outside hype and an old-school emphasis on honest musicianship and irresistibly melodic, emotionally engaging songwriting.

"The idea was to take simple acoustic pop songs and make them bigger than life," says singer/guitarist/songwriter Willem Hartong, whose effortlessly indelible tunes combine widescreen songcraft with personally-charged lyrical intimacy. That's certainly the case with Breaking Laces' new album When You Find Out, which finds Hartong and bandmates Rob Chojnacki (bass) and Seth Masarsky (drums) achieving a forceful creative breakthrough.

The 12-song set consolidates and focuses the salient qualities of the band's prior work, while venturing into some exciting new musical territory. Such instantly memorable tunes as "What We Need," "Here to Stay," "Laser Beams" and "Carry On" match Hartong's heart-on-sleeve insights with exquisitely infectious melodies and confident, expressive performances that drive the songs' lyrical sentiments home with maximum impact.