Here’s how well the music industry works these days: If I hadn’t traveled down to Argentina, I probably wouldn’t have discovered a Canadian band that is currently dancing my pants off.

Creature is a Montreal dance-rock band, formed in 2004 by Kim Ho (guitars and vocals), Lisa Ivy (aka CowBella, keyboards and vocals) and Sid Z (drums). Gina Simmons (bass) joined the band this spring, around the time they released its debut album, No Sleep At All. Four years is indeed a long time from formation to fruition, but the quartet worked its collective cowbell off. Paying their dues by playing in small clubs to even smaller crowds, their fan base steadily grew. Now Creature is primed to unleash itself upon the world.

With one foot grooving to a beat and the other stomping along to punk, Creature has been compared to the holy trinity of such straddling: The B-52s, Talking Heads, and Blondie. That musical religion has more recently begat such dance-rock disciples as The Rapture, Metric, and LCD Soundsystem; more names that have been bandied about by critics drawing “sounds-like” conclusions. One listen and you’ll suss out some other interesting influences, too.

The video that caught my eye (and ear) while glued to BitBox in Buenos Aires was “Pop Culture.” The song owes an obvious debt to The B-52s’ “Rock Lobster,” and also suggests that Franz Ferdinand might be on the shortlist of Creature’s comforts (or, at the very least, The Knack). “Pop Culture” is worth the watch:

The lead track to No Sleep At All, “Who’s Hot, Who’s Not” is a tip of the hat to old-school rap. Creature’s “love song” starts with a De La Soul-style rhyme, then travels further back with The Sugarhill Gang-inspired verses. It’s all puncutated by a chiming, U2-style guitar line. Hear here:

Want to hear more? Hook up with Creature via MySpace or Facebook. Or head directly for your wallet (and the dancefloor), thanks to the two you’ve heard here.

No Sleep At All is currently available only on import CD at Bonsound, though you can download the album in high-quality (224kbps) MP3 format via Sugartune.