Thunderbitch
Thunderbitch/self-released
If you think Brittany Howard is too confined as the frontwoman of Alabama Shakes, look no further than her new side project, Thunderbitch. To say she is unhinged here—and good God is it glorious—is an understatement. Guttural roars tear out of her lungs like cannon fire on many tracks, with “Closer” being a prime example, and the album is chock-full of raw, absolutely filthy rock ‘n’ roll (think Jerry Lee Lewis by way of The White Stripes). Blistering surf punk numbers like “Wild Child” set the album ablaze with frenetic energy, and even on the comparatively mid-tempo rocker “Very Best Friend,” Howard belts out the lyrics with all the force of a hurricane. Thunderbitch is a raucous ode to the proverbial life of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, complete with a love song to the ultimate rock star stage prop of years ago, “Leather Jacket.”
Atlas Genius
Inanimate Objects/Warner Music
On the heels of the band’s 2013 breakthrough debut, When It Was Now, the Australia-based duo Atlas Genius’ sophomore album is surprisingly more subdued and shows a different side of the band. Easygoing numbers like “Where I Belong” include acoustic interludes amid the warm keys and synths, while “Balladino” aptly sums up much of the album’s conflict: “We’re losing height but holding on/We’re coming in low and way too fast.” Moments of the engaging dance pop that populated the band’s debut are here, like the positively bubbly “The City We Grow,” but even danceable tracks like “The Stone Mill” are laced with despair, “And is it what we waited for?/We could never figure it out.” Keith Jeffery gives a subtle vocal performance, rarely raising his voice or letting his emotions get the better of him, but he does so without sounding numb or boring, which is no small feat.
Foals
What Went Down/Warner Music
On the Foals’ fourth album, the UK indie rockers are getting down with a darkly beautiful side, whether it’s singer Yannis Philippakis mumbling melodiously or finding catharsis in his banshee screams. Moody titles like “Lonely Hunter” define this as a heavier record than previous releases, and “Albatross” features throbbing dance beats and primal percussion throughout as the song builds to an unimaginable crescendo marked by a high-climbing guitar solo. The subdued electric guitar and keys ballad “London Thunder” is as picturesque in its descriptions of skylines as it is about the darkest night of the soul. Moments of lighter pop fare appear on “Birch Tree,” for example, but the tension between the exquisite and the excruciating gives What Went Down some serious teeth.