Harlem

Sounding like a ’60s frat party in those final moments before the cops get called, Austin’s Harlem (which comes via Tucson, to make it extra confusing) turns three-chord rave-ups and prettified harmonies into a thrilling, threatening mess. The band’s literally winking 2008 debut, Free Drugs;-), caught the attention of Matador, which reissued it before snapping the band up for a multi-album deal that begins with April’s new Hippies. Like its predecessor, the album is a gloriously louche, lo-fi affair of unapologetically half-in-the-bag confessions, surrealist goofs, and jams more blown-out than kicked-out, driven by noisy jangles and a big backbeat.

Updated 07/28/2010