Photo: Caroline Desilets

Opening with a jangly guitar riff and an effect that sounds an awful lot like a sampled car alarm, Plants and Animals’ “Lightshow” is an unlikely nominee for “biggest rock anthem of the year,” but it’s clear that the band is swinging for the fences on this one.

Clocking in at a lean three and a half minutes, “Lightshow” is neither stripped-down or overblown — instead, it’s a perfect example of rock ‘n’ roll precision. “Usually, the way [singer/guitarist] Warren [Spicer] plays his guitar will have some kind of energy that I’ll push with the drums,” says drummer Matthew Woodley. “In this case, it was kind of choppy and bold strumming, so I went for the big beat feel.” The result features a propulsive, John Bonham-style stomp and soaring vocals, along with what Woodley describes as “a buzzsaw of a solo.” “Lightshow” is that sort of big-time, anthemic rock song that says what it has to say in a half-dozen ways, and as hard as it may try, never goes out of style.

Plans and Animals new album The End of That arrives February 28 on Secret City Records.