Noisy rock with hardcore abound make Pennsylvania-based Pissed Jeans fourth outing (second by noise-master Alex Newport) a gem worth waiting four years for.
Like the first time you heard Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” (or The White Stripes), you feel the build, lean in, and get ready for the blues explosion.
New Orleans’ school chums Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer hop from Cure-inspired dance (“Boys Don’t Cry,” not the somber sobbers) to Passion Pit falsetto yippies.
Ex-Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty (here playing guitar and singing) and Blowoff’s Rich Morel (here playing keys and singing) offer up a small, diverse, often darkly reverbed collection of mature cool.
A solid handful of releases to their credit, “In the Branches” is one of many classy tunes that show emo and hardcore tendencies, matured by time and talent.