Psychic Teens : " Nerve"

The Philly post-punks are back with a throbbing boom on their new album. The trade off between the male and female vocals is very effective in their sing song chant that glides along the drone. There is not the same level of conviction coursing through"Hang". The groove to the opener is just too taunt for this one to live up to. The guitar tones on this album are brighter despite the mood being a little more ominous on this album. "Tarnish" has a great guitar sound with the vocals sitting atop them in a manner not unlike some of Iggy Pops more melodic work from the late seventies.The more punchy vision of punk doesn't come into play until midway into the song. The dual vocals wrap around each other.The bass snarls out of the mix bringing the grit of the gutter with it. The guitar carries a hollow surf rock sound.

They take a more upbeat turn in their moodiness that recalls Jesus and the Mary Chain on "Winter Grey". The song's main croon drags across the basement of the baritone register as he states he doesn't need anyone. There is conviction in his indifference. "Fear" uses the kind of melodic attack that the Pixies made famous, but with out the same fetish for mania Frank and the gang had. This is replaced with a more Nick Cave like brooding. The bass keeps the song rumbling along.The bass punches "Scene" along a more morose path that combines elements of Sugar with Fugazi if the two were married through a filter of depression. Lyrically things are pretty detached with an outlook that has little sliver linings to it. While it is not the first time shoe-gaze has been saddled up next to post -punk it is doe very effectively leading into the closing song. There is both the hypnotic atmosphere and the driving bleakness accompanying one of the album's best vocal performances . While this guy doesn't have the greatest set of pipes he certainly known how to work with what he has got. This album is an improvement from what they put together on "Come" and has some really fine moments on it that make me want to round this one up to a 9. I'm unsure how much actual play time this one will get from me, but fans of modern post-punk will want to check this one out for sure, as it threatens to knock A Place to Bury Strangers from their ruling perch.