The unlikeliest achievement of the new wave of postpunk is that it’s made spastic yelps cool. Not “cool” as in trendy, though it is. I mean “cool” as an overall mood. With a band like the Rapture, for instance, vocal hysteria is just another formal element; it’s meant to be a sonic effect, not something that conveys a sense of jittery tension. Judging by their self-titled debut album on Sire, the Futureheads seem to come by their anxiety honestly. They’re prone to the young-adult habit of approaching fellow humans like emotional puzzles: “This is a brand-new problem / A problem without any clues” are the first lines on “Decent Days and Nights.” Their tangles of taut, hyper art pop could’ve been neurotically introspective–not unlike their prime influence, XTC–but the Futureheads’ music springs outward, if only because they probably realized it’s a better way to meet girls. Remarkably, they excavate a kind of beauty from such spaz pop: singer-guitarists Ross Millard and Barry Hyde play with a Paul Wellerish warmth, and the quartet’s sweet, doo-wop-flavored harmonies smooth out the jaggedness of the songs. They can whip out punky put-downs when the need arises, as on “Stupid and Shallow” (about someone who is) or “Robot” (about wanting to be one). But their best track is “First Day,” a song about a new job–a topic way too uncool for most postpunks to broach. Shout Out Louds and High Speed Scene open. Tue 3/1, 8 PM, Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, 773-489-3160 or 312-559-1212, $12.