Loose Control

By the time Plane Mistaken for Stars ended their run after 2006's Mercy, nearly all the emo influences audible on their early sides were gone, and guitarist Chuck French and bassist Neil Keener's have effectively crushed the last bits into dust with their new band, Git Some. On their second album, Loose Control, Git Some are one badass rock & roll juggernaut, rolling like a truck driver wired on Mini-Thins and Mountain Dew, and not about to slow down his 18-wheeler for anything stupid enough to cross his path. Fusing the leaden thunder and doom-struck imagery of heavy metal with the velocity of punk rock and the "WTF?" chaos of noise rock, Loose Control is the work of some sort of hellish boogie band, just tight enough to strike with the unity of a closed fist and boasting a manic power that makes these guys sound like they're striking at once but from four different directions. While this album barrels through 13 songs in 33 minutes, much of the time, this sounds like one single, vengeful thought that refuses to end, a demolition derby with the cars going 75 miles an hour. Subtlety and songcraft are not Git Some's long suits, but Loose Control makes it pretty clear that's not where their interests lie — Git Some want to mess you up, and when French and Keener bring the noise, drummer Andrew Lindstrom lays down the thunder, and vocalist Luke Fairchild opens up his iron larynx, they make music that sounds like rock & roll's answer to a crowbar striking the back of your skull. Sure it ain't pretty, but Git Some aren't going to conquer the world on their looks — it's their sound that will lay you out, and you'll be grinning all the way to the emergency room.