

For album number two, Vivian Girls keep their punk pure and their pop slyly submerged in a hypnotizing squall. The mood gets dark on the fuzz-pop elegy "Before I Start to Cry” and the apocalyptic "Survival," which hits the panic button in a chaotic clash of drums and guitar. Their sound thickens up too, as "Tension" and "You're My Guy" brood in jagged post-punk, and "Out for the Sun" builds up with a sinuous guitar that eventually gets pummeled into oblivion.