On Triple Beams

Detroit's Tyvek is a band that sticks to the groove that inspired it and somehow digs deeper into that genre's groove than one might have imagined possible. Gritty, dirty, real punk rock seems like a limited realm in which to dwell, but this band of sweaty, garage-dwelling dudes (well, so we imagine) has put out a third full-length of deceptively sneaky tunes that'll take your breath away. Tyvek knows how to knock the heck out of a simple, repetitive riff until it cries uncle, using everything from dissonant, cranky guitars and pummeled snares to ferociously honking saxophones. Taking some kind of leap from 2010's Nothing Fits, On Triple Beams feels more whole, more visceral, even more like they mean it, man. Tunes like "Say Yeah" and "Midwest Basements" hit their mark with remarkably memorable, foaming-at-the-mouth intensity. The band's sharp and pointed lyricism is at its most barbed on "City of a Dream," a song about Detroit's alleged "revival." They've been there before, and this short burst of cynicism makes it clear they won't get fooled again—though there's a whiff of hope buried in the reverb and muck.