California punk quartet bury the needle on their mighty sophomore LP for . The group made an auspicious debut in 2014 powering through ten songs in 18 minutes on the brief but entertaining . The thrashy, no-frills garage punk they put to tape was a pretty direct representation of the frenetic live set they'd spent the previous five years honing in West Coast basements and clubs. Their aptly titled follow-up, 2016's , is a fearsome collection with a generally darker tone and some subversive studio polish that helps it leap out of the speakers without compromising their minimalist approach. In other words, remain a thrashy, no-frills garage punk outfit, but tweaked for maximum volume and power. Recorded and produced by ( , ), has a visceral, overdriven feel that works best on streamlined songs like the creepy maritime punk opener "Anchor to Ankles" and the repetitive thump of "Credentials." Elsewhere, they embrace a newfound moodiness on the dark and dynamic standout "Ox Blood." Singer has a good command of his rock "n" roll phrasing, alternating between a rhythmic and raw -like swagger and a more detached post-punk bellow. There are times when his ragged rawk tenor comes a little too close to aping garage revivalist forebears like , but then again aren't necessarily trying to rewrite rock's rulebook, but simply add their own chapter. There's plenty here to enjoy at a high volume, and at twice the length of their debut, practically comes off as a double album. ~ Timothy Monger