This summer when choosing a selection of music for the road, Eastern Conference Champions’ new album, “Ameritown,” should be anything but the last one picked.

In the music universe, where predictability and formulaic songs are often the “champions” of the radio, Eastern Conference Champions are one of those bands that fight the conformity, and offer something unique and different for music lovers.

Classifying their sound would be both impossible and unfair to the unique tempos and beats that constantly change throughout the whole album. “The Box” starts the album off with the steady sound of snares and the soft voice of Josh Ostrander. Although most songs follow this pattern, songs such as “Some Sorta Light” and “Yuppie Hipster F***” have their own unique tempo and instrumental influences. “Nice Clean Shirt” is more upbeat than even “The Box” and has more of a menacing sound to it, as opposed to the light sound of “To the Wind,” while “Gucci No. 3” brings home the hard heavy driving piano melody we all love to get lost to.

The end of the album certainly concludes on a slower and more serious note than the beginning, with the sound of “Hollywood” tying the entire album together, bringing closure to both the fast and slow tempos with a haunting electric keyboard melody, that eventually fades into silence, then back into a slow rhythmic sound of acoustic guitar with lyrics seemingly suspended in air: “this is it/it’s a long ride I know” bringing about past memories and feelings of relationships lost.

Overall, the album is a testament to memories and experiences, presented in a form as unique as the band’s name. Between the soft whispers of acoustics and the hard hitting screams of the piano, Eastern Conference Champions have created one of those albums that you may not hear blasted on the radio, but luckily you can just pop it in the CD player.

Grade: A- Album: Eastern Conference Champions – “Ameritown”