Trapped Under Ice
Big Kiss Goodnight
Good Fight Music
Street: 10.11
Trapped Under Ice = Crown of Thornz + Next Step Up + Linkin Park (yeah, I said it)
I’ve wanted to hate them for a while … between the German fan-beating incident, naming themselves after a Metallica song and having awful fans … but I can’t. B-more’s Trapped Under Ice has consistently separated themselves from the mouth-breathing horde of troglodyte generi-mosh, writing excellent standout tracks that incorporate subtle pop dynamics. Like Secrets of the World, Big Kiss Goodnight exudes as much passion, introspection and mental vexation as it does camo and wife-beater urban tuffness, but opts for a mid-paced groove. “Jail” has a leaden mosh bit, “Time Waits” boasts an infectious staccato romp, “Outcast” and “Victimized” showcase superb riffin’ (slagging it as nü-metal ain’t inaccurate) and even if those clean vocals resemble Linkin Park (izzat auto-tune on “Dead Inside?”), that beefy call-and-response aesthetic is damn catchy. Hot Topic types might dig it, core kids will roll their eyes, and though FM radio is dying … Ozzfest isn’t. –Dylan Chadwick

Twin Sister
In Heaven
Domino
Street: 09.27
Twin Sister = Blondie + Class Actress
The love affair with Long Island’s Twin Sister started in 2010 after releasing their first two EP’s Vampires with Dreaming Kids and Color Your Life. We were introduced to Andrea Estella’s odd, chirpy vocals and Twin Sister’s brand of imperfect pop songs. In 2011, they signed to Domino for the release of their debut full-length. In Heaven is aptly titled; these songs are perfectly polished and the imperfections have been ironed out. The Casio-beat driven “Daniel” kicks off the album, breaking into the shuffling drone of “Stop,” which is laced with 80s atmospheric fairy dust. By the time you read this, the sunny and danceable Blondie-esque “Bad Street” will be pinned as the song of summer. “Gene Caimpi” is a French-flavored gem with a slight twang, while “Eastern Green” effortlessly rounds off the record, painting a perfect dreamscape. Believers and non-believers of Twin Sister will be begging their way into this heaven. –Courtney Blair

Warbringer
Worlds Torn Asunder
Century Media
Street: 09.27
Warbringer = Vio-lence + Death Angel + Exodus
Warbringer’s always instilled an irrepressible giddiness in me. Call it my biased bent towards bullet-belted metallers playing anything moshable and primal, but when it comes to iGeneration jeans-tucked-into-Reebok thrash, these Ventura nutjobs lead the pack, and Worlds Torn Asunder proves it. Maybe it’s Dan Seagrave’s artwork. Maybe it’s Steve Evett’s beefy production, lending John Kevill’s slobbery bark the rabid edge it’s never had. Maybe it’s the leadoff cut “Living Weapon”—four minutes of war-time audial savagery abuzz with machine gun riffing, air-raid siren solos, and psychotic lyrical fare spat forth with all the subtlety of a meat hook in your pimply forehead … but it’s exceptionally memorable. “Wake Up … Destroy!” and “Demonic Ecstasy” prove capable of reducing brains and necks to quivering mushes of Bay Area bongloads and teutonic clashing, and somewhere in hell’s inner sanctum, Paul Baaloff is stomping poseurs into the devil’s nutsack while listening to this record on repeat. Come stagedive at The Complex (11.01). –Dylan Chadwick

Warm Ghost             
Narrows
Partisan Records
Street: 09.27
Warm Ghost = Hi, I’m Robert Smith for Cymbalta
Brooklyn-based Paul Duncan and Oliver Chapoy make for an interesting musical partnership. Named after a Fritsch specter sculpture and possessing a sound that is at times dark, moody and consistently atmospheric, they have fashioned an intelligent full-length of mostly coherent songs that sound like early Cure—elevated with modern synths—but performed by a more optimistic vocalist. Like their acclaimed Uncut Diamonds EP from this year, opener “G.T.W.S.” contains a melody and “I Will Return” is somewhat upbeat, even when the album as a whole is decidedly not. “Myths on Rotting Ships” is gorgeous and wouldn’t sound out of place on any early 4AD release, and the same could be said of “Mariana,” whose 80s drum pattern is nicely complemented by Chapoy’s keyboards and Duncan’s expressive vocals. “Splay of Road” is much better than its depressive title would suggest, while ethereal closer “An Absolute Light” is actually highlighted by Duncan’s buried and whispered vocal performance, and, while not quite optimistic, is light-hearted nonetheless. –Dean O Hillis