Music chatters tend to toss the term “supergroup” around frequently without much thought. Monsters of Folk, The Dead Weather, Broken Bells — all technically supergroups, but not all technically super. Wild Flag, indie rock’s latest almighty union of already-established musicians, is absolutely super. Part Sleater-Kinney and part Helium with a dash of The Minders, Wild Flag is a full-grown supergroup you can stand behind.

From the opening stomps of lead single “Romance,” these four brunettes prove themselves as a force, not just a quirky one-off get-together of contemporary alt-rockers. Carrie Brownstein (now lampooning the “hip” Pacific Northwest on IFC’s Portlandia) sings with a hint of sultriness on top of “Romance”’s frisky fretwork. Liquid harmonies on “Glass Tambourine” perk up in a quiet bridge to send the song to bed with a full tummy. The distorted-guitar lovemaking of the frantic “Boom” and album-ender “Black Tiles” is plentiful enough to keep the kids jumping around at the show, but it really means something, man. The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle called this album “timeless” on Twitter, and he might not be mistaken.

Wild Flag is a charming, rewarding listen. Whether it’s Brownstein’s animal howl or guitarist Mary Timony’s soft breaths, the songs chirp with languid carefulness also heard in Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (which drummer Janet Weiss used to hit the toms for). They operate like a band that’s played together for years.

Wild Flag has plenty of 12-fret exploration, elegant melodies, and downright dancey percussion to keep you satisfied for the rest of the year, and then some.

(Merge Records, PO Box 1235, Chapel Hill, NC 27514)