Getting Killed

Anxious, hyperactive rock from New York City. Gloriously messy but also locked in, full of sudden shifts and disorienting sounds. Everyone in this band clearly loves playing music together—the energy of their dynamic is irrepressible. Singer Cameron Winter, who is also rocketing to fame on his solo music, has a surreal and insouciant style that sometimes reminds me of Bob Dylan on "Highway 61 Revisited." Like few other rock lyricists, he puts listeners on the edges of their seats, asking, "What's his next line going to be?" This album is thrilling, worthy of the hype it's gotten. RIYL: Sly and the Family Stone's "There's a Riot Goin' On," Wednesday, Black Midi, The Strokes, Pixies. Favorites: 3, 5, 6, 10, 11. FCC WARNING: 4, 7.

1. (3:44)—Slow, swampy menace like something from "There's a Riot Goin' On" in the verses. Noisy choruses with shouting ("There's a bomb in my car!"). Jpegmafia guests.
2. (3:05)—Mid-tempo, sweetly melodic and unsettling. "You can make the cobras dance but not me!"
3. *(4:08)—Mid-tempo, with a dense and halting multilayered beat. Builds on a tense repetitive groove, like a Califone song.
4. (4:44)—FCC (f***). Fast, switches between '70s hard rock and clean guitar interplay. Samples of a Ukrainian choir.
5. *(5:54)—Slow, patient, taut funk with perfect pacing and slow-burn tension. Sudden stop in the middle, jammy second half.
6. *(3:46)—Medium-fast. Chaotic, driving funk-rock with satirical lyrics: "All people must smile in times of war.... All people must go dancing out on the dancing floors."
7. (3:22)—FCC (ass***e). Medium-slow, with a drunken, maudlin feel and a lovely chord progression.
8. (3:30)—Slow, sweet but deeply sad, pleading and heartbroken. Dramatic build.
9. (3:28)—Medium-fast with a choppy rhythm and handclaps.
10. *(3:17)—Mid-tempo, the main single. Minimal, drumming-focused first half; big, triumphant second half with group singing.
11. *(6:37)—Fast, frantic, dramatic, piano-forward, like a musical theater number on a runaway train. References to Joan of Arc, John Henry ("behind a desk that was a million feet wide"), and Charlemagne ("on the midnight bus").