Jazz Mind

ESMB is a Baltimore duo that distills the finer characteristics of noisy, trailblazing post-punkers like Swell Maps, the darkness of early goth, and the playfulness of art-punk into something at once simple and visceral. There's also a strong streak of humor—vocalist and percussionist Ed Schrader is no stranger to the performance realm, having dabbled in Web radio, stage work, stand-up comedy, and even music and literary criticism. On blistering tunes like the infectious, outstanding “When I’m in a Car” (featuring guitar by No Age’s Randy Randall), Schrader hammers a floor tom as if in a maniacal trance, while Devlin Rice plucks out distorted, mean bass lines. Schrader screeches inane lyrics with such ferocity that songs like “Gas Station Attendant” are both harrowing and hilarious. “How does a man become a dog? How does a dog get around?” he shouts on the dirgey “Do the Maneuver.” In between stabs of fuzzy bass on “Sermon,” Schrader commands “This is my sermon!” over and over, while the experimental duo Matmos pumps up the noise quotient with electronic screeches on the militaristic, brooding “Right,” where Schrader’s baritone bark is rabid. Warning: we can’t stop listening.