Young Machetes
If you think the cover art is scary, wait until you get a load of the music. The fifth album by the Blood Brothers steps up the intensity of its predecessor, 2004'sCrimes, with even more rapid-fire rhythms, thrashing guitars, and acerbic screaming. Imagine the Mars Volta undergoing electroshock treatment or Blonde Redhead at war with an army of feral cats. WithYoung Machetes, the Seattle punk group comes out swinging on "Set Fire to the Face on Fire," a song that does not fail to live up to its evocative title, and follows through with more rumbling, tightly wound free poetry on tracks like "We Ride Skeletal Lightning" and, yes, "You're the Dream Unicorn!"  Unlistenable noise to 99.781921 percent of the record-buying public. Album of the year material for the rest.– Aidin Vaziri