Saloon

Though nominally a metal album, The Ongoing Concept’s debut, Saloon, covers so much musical terrain that it ultimately defies classification. The Idaho quartet's music is a sustained eruption of clashing elements that somehow hold together, veering maniacally from classic hard rock to screamo to honky-tonk country at breakneck speed. Bandmates (and brothers) Dawson, Kyle, and Parker Scholz (augmented by bassist TJ Nichols) violate musical boundaries with abandon as they scorch and seethe their way through crazed Wild West–themed rockers (“Let’s Deal the Cards Again”), twisted boogie tunes (“Failures & Fakes”), and blazing metalcore tirades (“Like Autumn”). Tracks like “Sidelines” (a soulful piano ballad that segues into a pummeling assault) and “Cover Girl” (matching banjo licks with gnarly guitars and raw vocals) are dazzling in their audacity. “Goodbye, So Long My Love” closes the album with a weirdly effective fusion of jazzy rhythms, strings, and freakout screams. Romantic recriminations and defiant statements with a spiritual tinge provide the dominant lyric content here.