Amped up to the max this is a pretty punishing, though very rewarding, listening experience. Regurgitating pretty much all things punk and/or post-punk from the last five decades Portland's Hunches give us 12 tracks that put to excellent use all the best bits of Sonic Youth, Superchunk, Wire, The Sonics etc. (basically if you can name it then there's probably an element of it in there).

Only the band's third album in seven years it's a solidly crafted and well produced affair that instantly hooks into your aural nerves and will have you pushing the repeat button before track two ('Ate My Teeth') has finished trying to shift your speakers into the flat downstairs via the floor. The sort of album that dials going up to '11' were invented for.

The excellently pseudonymed Frank Conversation, Starving Gay, Ben Done and Dawn Breaking have most definitely "arrived" with this release and if any further evidence were needed than the aforementioned second song then look no further than 'Street Sweeper', 'Pinwheel Spins' or 'Deaf Ambitions'. Hell, just keep playing the dozen of 'em until you realise you've been sacked. Then play 'em some more.