TRI-STATE - “Tri-State” EP (tristatetheband.bandcamp.com)

EZRA FURMAN – The Year Of No Returning (Bar/None)

Chicago folk-rocker Ezra Furman (late of Ezra Furman & The Harpoons) released this solo debut on vinyl in 2012; Bar/None, in anticipation of Furman’s next and highly-anticipated album (coming in October,) helped The Year Of No Return reach a wider audience by releasing on CD and digitally last Spring. Breaking up with a band is no less traumatic than breaking up with a girlfriend, and Furman finds himself in magnum mope mode on several tracks here; but when he picks up the tempo and applies his keen wit and quirky vocals (somewhere between Harry Nilsson and the Violent Femmes’ Gordan Gano,) he delivers on the protest-rock that the album’s liner-notes manifesto promises. “American Soil” is the real keeper here, but “That’s When It Hit Me” and the anti-folkish “Cruel Cruel World” deserve your attention too. I’ve heard the next album and it’s ouder/faster/quirkier/more fun so expect Furman to be Pitchfork-bait before the end of the year; check this out now so you can scoff at all of your hipster friends in November when they ask if you’ve ever heard of this guy.

EDELWEISS – “Honduras” EP (edelweissofficial.bandcamp.com)

The precocious Pennsylvania group Edelweiss started impressing 21+ crowds at bars and clubs before they were old enough to get drivers licenses, but somehow, the only label deal they’ve landed is in Japan and this amazingly good EP has gone virtually unnoticed since its release in early August. Let’s correct that right now: Edelweiss takes challenging math-rock time signatures and overlays them with gorgeous melodies, jaw-dropping technique (on guitars, keyboards, bass, and drums,)delicately delivered choir-boy vocals, and washes of mind-expanding white-noise. There’s a hazy shoegazey vibe to it all, yet delivered with danceable propulsive rhythm. The four and a half minute “Withering Heights” is guaranteed to blow your mind, with several different tempos, melody lines, and some awesome rock breakdowns that somehow still sound like a cohesive whole. Kids this young should not know every trick in the book. Then again, maybe they’re just writing a new one. (Jim Testa)

DEAD MECHANICAL - OK Night (Firestarter Records/ Toxic Pop Records)

Although they have been around since 2006, Baltimore's Dead Mechanical are a brand new act to my ears. Ok Night is a solid collection of incessantly catchy and crunchy guitar rock with just enough punk attitude to tip it in the favor of those who enjoy rough edges to their harmonious hooks. Cases in point include "Scoop Me Up" and "My Young Family"; both efforts are high energy blasts of passionate vocals and soaring choruses delivered in a style that is sure to make Bob Mould smile. "Bad Math" and "Vagrants" rattle with with nervous energy and lyrics that grab the listener. When vocalist/guitarist Lucas yelps "now you want those feelings back" on "Into a Wall", there is an unashamed sense of vulnerability and intensity reminiscent of Mission of Burma, a band who is again clearly channeled on "Last Summer". A multitude of legendary indie and post-punk acts can be cited here as influences, ranging from Sebadoh to Seaweed, but Dead Mechanical is not attempting to raise the ghosts of the past; instead, they are crafting their own unique path on Ok Night. The noisiest track of the bunch is also my favorite, the blaring, jarring "Off a Bridge", proving that these guys can brush aside precisely crafted melodies and throw old fashioned punk in the face of the listener. This is a record one will undoubtedly listen to on repeat in a single sitting. The songs are well designed, played with honesty, and reflect a band that will hopefully move beyond local bars and east coast only tours. (Rich Quinlan)

THE BROOKLYN WHAT – Hot Wine (thebrooklynwhat.bandcamp.com)

With the Brooklyn What off on their first national tour, this seems as good a time as any to catch up with their excellent (but sadly overlooked) 2013 release, Hot Wine. This is a live band, to be sure, bubbling over with sweaty party fever, but this album proves that the songs are solid as well. I don’t like to thrown around comparisons to the Replacements but it works here because from song to song, the BW will suggest the ‘Mats from any point in their career, from basement show hardcore (“Wildman,” “Too Loose”) to hooky pop tunes with inspired lyrics (“Catastrophe Kids,” the brilliant “Punk Rock Loneliness,” “Saturday Night”) to Kiss-inspired cock-rock playfulness (pretty much everything else that isn’t a ballad, like the surprisingly touching title track.) Garrulous frontman Jamie Frey gets all the attention, but kudos to guitarists John Severin and Evan O’Donnell for a panoply of Stinson-worthy riffs, and a rhythm section that never quite falls apart no matter how crazy things get. These guys have become one of my favorite live bands in NYC so if you’re in the area, check ‘em out, but download this mother anyway the next time you want to break a lease or just throw one helluva party.

BRIGHT PRIMATE – Night Animals (II Pause, www.iimusic.net)