Localized Ideal Fathers

Punk is good. Punk with a sense of humor is better. And punk that's funny and smart in that sly, subversively sarcastic kind of way… that's the best. And that's exactly what Ideal Fathers deliver on their self-titled debut EP (the release of which will be celebrated Saturday, May 16, at the Larimer Lounge). The Denver band kicks off the four-song CD with a "A Complete Waste Of Time Travel"—which, besides having the best title from a local band in recent memory, is a ragged post-punk anthem that tips the dancefloor sideways, wobbles it around, dumps hipsters on their asses, and leaves only the strong standing. Throughout the rest of the EP, frontman Jesse Hunsaker spits, shivers, and prods his bandmates into an escalating fit of sardonic, echo-smeared aggression—one that culminates in "Failing At Friendly Is Not An Option," a slab of jackhammer disco that laughs at you, not with you. It's almost a blessing Ideal Fathers is just an EP; a longer disc might be enough to overload and blow out even the most hardcore-hardened fan's capacity for noisy, spastic, smart-ass rock. That said: Bring on the full-length, dudes.

Decider rating: A