Dum Dum Girls
Only in Dreams
Sub Pop Records
Street: 09.27
Dum Dum Girls = No Joy + Best Coast + The Raveonettes + The Shangri Las
The second-full length from LA’s Dum Dum Girls finds the band with a less muddled and noisy sound than what was on their first album.  Where vocal tracks and instruments sometimes felt claustrophobic on last year’s I Will Be, Only in Dreams leaves enough space between the various elements to allow Dee Dee’s songwriting to stand out. Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes helped produce the album, and although his influence isn’t immediately noticeable, after a few spins, the timeless quality of his work begins to seep through. Although Dum Dum Girls haven’t abandoned their fuzzy pop altogether, this more polished version is, without question, also more memorable. Only in Dreams starts with the upbeat, surf rock-influenced “Always Looking” before diving into the whimsical “Bedroom Eyes” and bouncing into “Just a Creep,” which resonates with the feeling of a spaghetti western. “Coming Down” creeps into the territory of ballad, but its inclusion doesn’t make this album lose its teeth. Initially, the sonic rollercoaster was a bit jarring, but after a few spins, I fell in love with this album. Only in Dreams is as beautiful as it is tough, and as infectious as your first romance. –Jeanette D. Moses

Edie Sedgwick
Love Gets Lovelier Every Day
Dischord
Edie Sedgwick = Gogol Bordello
The name Edie Sedgwick is most commonly recognized as Andy Warhol’s most famous muse, who overdosed and died in 1971. The band, Edie Sedgwick, however, has taken it upon themselves to write music that captures the same essence as the original Edie, which is to say, that the band started by solely writing about celebrities. With three records under their belt, they have decided to branch out and write songs about whatever they damn well please, instead of just celeb gossip. The band is comprised of El Guapo bassist Justin Moyer and ex-Panoply Academy Glee Club drummer Ryan Hicks. Critically, I can say a few things. The music is maddeningly repetitive, it’s not interesting to listen to, and it lacks depth. On “Natural Born Killers,” they sing “I don’t wanna go out with you/Cuz I don’t wanna walk about with you.” Has there ever been a more forced rhyme? I feel like my little brother could have recorded this song on Garageband. “Shine a Light” gives me just a taste of a good melody and semi-intelligible lyrics, but overall, the album is making my ears bleed. Almost every track is a mixture of speaking, rudimentary beats and random, misplaced accents. If you’re into record levels of distortion, mind-dulling lyrics and elementary rhythms, you’ll like it—but it’s not my cup of tea. Edie Sedgwick was beautiful, and this is tarnishing her reputation. –Kylie Cox

Entrench
Inevitable Decay
Abyss
Street: 09.20
Entrench = Sodom + Death Angel (early) + Nuclear Assault + Destruction (early)
Don your denim patch-plastered jacket, bust out your bullet belt and revel in what may be the least talked-about but best damn thrash record your ears will be bombarded with on Entrench’s debut album, Inevitable Decay. After six years of demos, this Swedish trio of mad thrashers are here to beat your ass the way thrash metal should. The problem with many of the modern thrash acts pushing out retro material these days, aside from regurgitated riffs and lack of the real thrash angst, is their modern production. Entrench not only nail the classic production of albums from the ’83 to ’85 era, they ooze old-school attitude like a pus-ridden sore on a hardworking thrash guitar player’s finger. Stylistically, the band does a good job of crossing over the core of their sound, which is early European thrash with some doses of American rawness. It isn’t just riffs you’re going to remember from Inevitable Decay; the tracks stand hard and fast with new classics. “Debt of Sorrow” is filled with mosh-pit fervor and a core swirling, dizzyingly fast thrash riff with a throat-scraper of a vocal delivery, and “Crossing the River,” starts with speedy punches and rounds into some brutal thrash-groove breakdowns. All this is plenty to get the old school and new school to wet their skintight black jeans. –Bryer Wharton

Faith
Subject to Change plus First Demo
Dischord
Street: 09.26
Faith = Artificial Peace + Ceremony + Urban Waste
Besides being part of the seminal Dischord scene (and a sharing a bloodline with ’core luminary Ian MacKaye), Faith’s real impact lay in the melodic hardcore (don’t punch me if I say “emo-core”) that rose from its ashes, namely Embrace and One Last Wish. Still, short lived and posthumous, Subject to Change isn’t without its own charm. Alec MacKaye’s brittle and impassioned yowling (new-jack Ceremony fans take note), the tinny resonance of twin guitars and the crisp production-(re)mastering combo of Don Zientara and TJ Lipple expose cuts like “Limitations” and “Subject to Change” as exuberant, scrappy quasi-tuneful hardcore classics in their own right. Though the lion’s share of these tracks ended up re-recorded on the (arguably) more) iconic split LP with Void (including some demo tracks tacked on the end), a heartfelt revisiting of an embryonic cult album is a welcome gesture in any scene. –Dylan Chadwick