Flechette
Self-titled
Sound Era
Street: 06.28
Flechette = Fugazi + Mineral + Drive Like Jehu
Upon first listen of Flechette’s self-titled debut EP, you’d think that you were transported back in time 17 years to when some post-hardcore bands were slowly evolving into what eventually would be called emo. Not the shit-commercial version of what emo is today or what it became around 2000, but the awesome, sincere version of the genre, when music was still heavy progressive but had clear, more emotional vocals and lyrics. Flechette catches this old-school vibe perfectly while also adding a few more modern elements and heavier time structures. Imagine stealing a vile of chromosomes from each member of Jawbox, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Quicksand, then sneaking into a lab and doing some amateur genetic engineering, and you would have yourself a band named Flechette. –Jon Robertson

Frank Alpine
Self-titled
Wierd
Street: 10.25
Frank Alpine = Ladytron x (Soft Cell + Visage)
The droning, noisy minimalism of this album isn’t the only thing that makes it seem like a leftover of heady, early 1980s no-wave experimentalism. Taking a name from a character in Bernard Malamud’s 1957 novel The Assistant and opening with a track called “No Exit” that is clearly about the iconic existentialist play are gambits I’d expect from overeducated New Romantics wearing too much makeup. Alpine’s alter ego, Rich Moreno (New Collapse, The Boy Scouts of Annihilation) channels The Normal on “Heart is Grey” (complete with sly British spelling), recalls a creepier version of the Hawaiian Pups on “Night Sky” and “Dark Places” and finally goes all depressed-yet-hyper à la the Buzzcocks on “My Feelings.” This album is a must for any serious post-punk or old new-waver looking for something new and challenging, yet oddly recognizable. –Madelyn Boudreaux

Girl In A Coma
Exits & All the Rest
Street: 11.01
Blackheart Records
Girl In A Coma = Cold War Kids + Joan Jett + The Black Keys
I was sold on this album as soon as I heard the lyrics, “Do you ever start to wonder what it’s like to be alone?” Call me emotional. It’s not too surprising that I was convinced so quickly, though. These women are no rookies to the music game. Girls In A Coma have already toured with Morrissey, played SXSW multiple times, and are debuting their fourth album, which has lots of things to be proud of. Alternating between the soft melodies of Nina Diaz, the rhythmic guitar lines, and the thoughtfully dissonant harmonies, I couldn’t find anything to complain about. When Nina breathes softly into the mic, you feel like you could reach out and touch her. There is also a subtle, yet noteworthy, element of pure girl power when she screams, “How long until I know you don’t care for us?” on the first track, “Adjust,” but for some reason, it doesn’t come off as abrasive¬—it comes off as real. Her odd, grunting noises and glottal attacks are vaguely reminiscent of the queen of indie-girl rock, Regina Spektor—a compliment if there ever was one. Overall, Exits & All the Rest does just what every person needs. It will take you from the beginning of your teenage, lusty romance, carry you through the breakup and lead you all the way to stabbing them right in the heart. –Kylie Cox

Hella
Tripper
Sargent House
Street: 08.30
Hella = Melt Banana + Zach Hill
The fact that guitarist Spencer Seim’s contributions on Tripper are worth mentioning speaks volumes about him. I say that as a person who has witnessed the Olympic-level drumming genius that is Zach Hill some time ago at Urban Lounge. Hill might be the fastest, most articulate drummer on earth, and his father must have had Red Bull in his sperm. Seim makes each track feel like a journey, when it could easily feel like a traffic jam with so much noise. On “Long Hair,” his melodically riveting riffing complements Hill’s explosive drumming perfectly. “Kid Life Crisis” switches things up for a minute, with a low bit rate intro, before blasting into their what-the-Hella kind of chaos––and yes, Hella turns “chaos” into a complimentary adjective. Tripper is the perfect album to throw on when you’re trying to annoy your pious dick of a roommate while he’s studying. Or, you can just throw your headphones in. Either way, it’s really, really good. –Andrew Roy

The Jesus Lizard
Club
Music Video Distributors
Street: 08.23
The Jesus Lizard = Scratch Acid + Cows + Butthole Surfers
Menacing noise rock brutality defined The Jesus Lizard as they defied genres throughout the ‘90s. Though they sat comfortably beneath the commercial radar, the group spawned numerous copycats, a turgid reputation and a whole lotta moaning when they bowed into obscurity a few years later. In their usual backward tradition, aging hasn’t stunted them, but given them an amphetamine charge, and their first performance in over a decade (captured at Nashville’s Exit/In) proves the band’s longevity and nihilistic potency. Fistfuls of Touch and Go material, sonic violence, sweat, blood, missing teeth and David Yow’s wiry commentary (mostly about dead celebrities and the $120K paycheck he gets afterwards) shows the band back and relevant, revisiting their destructive prime and still blazing past their young-buck contemporaries with a sardonic psyche-jazz weirdness betraying their age. Visually and musically, its immediacy and palpable rage proves essential for fans past and present. –Dylan Chadwick