Screaming, whispering, heavy breathing.

You may remember Death Grips from this video, which admittedly, is kind of funny. I mean, why is he in a car? What-goes-what-goes-what-goes-what-goes-what-goes-what-goes-what? These guys are like no one else, and their latest effort, "Government Plates," continues the mayhem with a higher level of production quality.  There are drum machines, way-distorted basslines, breaking glass, laser-beam-like synths, with some screaming mixed in. There are also f-bombs aplenty. It's jarring and unsettling, and that's the point. (And PS, it's a free download, available through the Third Worlds label.)

If you read my last post, you heard all about the awesome fury of Titus Andronicus. Discovering those dudes led me down a rabbit hole, which led directly to Andrew Cedermark, their former guitarist. His brand of lo-fi confessional indie rock is a whole lot more mellow than Titus Andronicus but equally emotionally charged. On "Heaps of Trash," one of my favorite tracks from this album, his songwriting takes surprising turns, at times sounding a little like southern rock and, at others, like something much more pared-down and quiet, all the while moving through unexpected chord progressions and somehow making it all make sense.

"Feast of Love" from Pity Sex is a fantastic album that is, in most ways, kind of a bummer. The vocals, which switch off between male and female (Brennan Greaves and Bitty Drake) are way down in the mix, competing with fuzzed-out guitars and 90s-cliche drum fills. The lyrics, when you can make them out, tell of love made and lost, and get their point across in a surprisingly succinct yet visceral way. It's a little like listening to the retelling of a one-night-stand, from meet-up to hook-up to walk of shame.

Slacker rock, contrary to its name, is hard to pull off, because sounding effortless actually takes effort. (I know. Weird.) The artists that have succeeded in this arena—Beck and Pavement, most notably—are not, how you say, frontin'. They legitimately  have actual chops. And likewise, Parquet Courts might sound kind of lo-fi and de-tuned, and their lyrics might be kind of silly, but behind the silliness is smarts and a strong pop sensibility. One of the highlights here, "Stoned and Starving," feels almost like we have Velvet Underground back in our mist, putting you in a very particular places and state of mind the way Lou could always do.