They're supposed to spend years in obscurity, quietly toiling away and picking up three new fans each gig they play, eventually releasing an EP that no one buys (but receives good press), and finally, after three years of hard work, they get to open for a mid-level band on a national tour.

But not Dead Letter Circus. Oh no, that's just too easy. They built up their hype before they had played a single show, based mainly around their MySpace profile and a single demo song called "Tremors" (the first thing they ever wrote, as the story goes).

Apparently, that shit quality MP3 alone was enough to convince The Butterfly Effect, Brisbane's undispited alt-prog kings, of their worth, and Dead Letter Circus' first ever concert was opening for TBE in their home town of Brisbane.

My first exposure to the band was a couple of months after that, after they had started working on their self-titled debut EP. I heard that they were opening for Heavy Weight Champ and Fort on their co-headlining tour, and as I usually do with support bands, I checked out their MySpace profile to see if I should bother turning up early.

They had three songs on their MySpace profile, the afore-mentioned "Tremors", and two new songs: "The Mile" and "Lines", both of which are present on this EP.

"The Mile" hit me like a gunshot with its delay-soaked guitar, million-miles-an-hour drumming, and the inhuman vocals of Kim Benzie. It was a raw explosion of power and emotion not regularly seen in any band, let alone relative unknowns.

I moved onto "Lines", which is comparatively slower and more considered in its approach, but is just as impressive. It builds from meek beginnings, slowly spiralling upwards with soft, delayed guitar and subdued vocals, before finally breaking the shackles for a chorus which has to be among the most vocally impressive passages of music ever recorded by an Australian band.

I knew exactly why The Butterfly Effect were hooked. It took me one listen of each song to become a full-on, card-carrying member of the metaphorical Dead Letter Circus fan club.

So here we are months later, and their debut EP has finally been released. In addition to "The Mile" and "Lines", there are four more songs: "Disconnect And Apply", "Are We Closer", "Still Life Awake" and "Alien". Each one is like sugar for the ears, sickly sweet and impossible to resist with pleasing guitar tones, head-bobbing bass and a voice that will melt your face. This is the absolute dictionary definition of easy listening.

If you're a fan of the new school of Australian alternative rock - bands like Karnivool, Cog and The Butterfly Effect - you probably already know about Dead Letter Circus. But if you don't, get on board, because their trajectory is pointing them far above any of those bands. After one gig they opened for the kings, and after one EP they're the big new things in Australian rock.