I Bleed

Not quite either garage rock or hardcore punk, the Labor Party's I Bleed is high-octane rock & roll that isn't tied to any particular scene. There are occasional flashes of other current bands on I Bleed: "Bridge Out of Memphis" flirts with Black Keys-style modern blues, and opening track "Beat, Bored, Broken and Burnt" uses that lo-fi megaphone-style vocal trick the Strokes used to do all the time. Overall, however, the Phoenix trio led by guitarist and singer Frank Labor and his wife, bassist Sharon Labor stick to three-chord basics, with lyrics about dead-end jobs, social frustration and, on the title track, the restorative power of rock & roll. So really, not much on I Bleed can be considered new, but the Labor Party are so thoroughly committed to the rock & roll rush that the 24-minute album flies by without giving the listener time to think too much about questions of novelty.