Styles: existential punk, post-punk, haikus

Wow. There's a lot of music with a punk/post-punk genus being made right now, but it's hard to find many bands that offer as distinctive a voice as Protomartyr do on their new CD. Most of this comes from lead vocalist Joe Casey, whose deep baritone and enthralling lyricism command attention like little else I've heard. Seriously. The lyric sheet could be released separately as its own book of poetry. Undoubtedly one of my favorite albums of the year and sure to accumulate an emotional resonance which will help it stay in rotation for years to come. Tremendous. FCC: 9 (slightly questionable). Favorites: 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14

Others: Iceage, New War, Eagulls, Holograms, Joy Division, The Fall

1. (3:39) **** Mid. Tense ambient intro before a wonderful guitar melody, pulsing bass, and pounding drums enter. One of the longer, more developed tracks on the album.
2. (2:18) Mid/Fast. Off-kilter drum beat with pretty funny lyrics about his bandmates.
3. (2:30) **** Noisy intro. Biting, fantastic vocal performance. Piano thuds come in toward the end. Abrupt ending. God I love this band.
4. (2:14) Mid/Fast. Storytelling feel to the lyrics. Singing fall a little flat sometimes.
5. (1:11) ** Brief and noisy with speak-sung vocals and driving drums. Excellent.
6. (3:12) **** Sparse instrumentation and deep lead vocals before breaking into a rhythmic pop song. Really phenomenal.
7. (2:03) ****** Holy shit do I love this song. Dance-punk feel with vitriolic lyrics that call out everyone from "gluten-free fascists" to "terrible bartenders". I've already listened to this song 20+ times. Says "bastard" but we're not in middle school anymore.
8. (2:41) **** Mid. Hypnotic, almost industrial, beat. Sultry bass guitar. One of the best vocal performances on the album. I'm running out of emphatic adjectives.
9. (1:09) FCC questionable "all this shit up to my ears" and "taking a piss". Storming, driving, rocker. Awesome, wordy punk song.
10. (2:38) **** Jittery guitar melody atop perfectly suited bass and drums. Builds into a cathartic burst. Great, emotional vocals.
11. (2:24) ** Loud, with typically poetic lyrics. More of the excellent same.
12. (3:57) **** Super melodic and swaggering. Longest track and definitely a keeper.
13. (1:52) ** Philosophical lyrics about violence but instrumentally upbeat.
14. (2:55) *** Distorted vocal sample transitions into a guitar heavy rocker. Subtle piano elements. Triumphant, massive, last song. Jesus. What an album.