L.A.-via-Toronto-via-New Jersey artist Jordan Benjamin’s border-crossing background finds its sonic analogue in the genre-hopping music he creates as grandson. As demonstrated by his 2018 breakout single, “Blood // Water”, Benjamin makes alt-rock for the post-EDM age, fusing the distorted guitars and festering angst of the former with the siren-like blare and dramatic drops of the latter. His 2020 full-length debut, Death of an Optimist, continues the sensory assault with industrialised strikes like “We Did It!!!” But when grandson dials down the volume, he ramps up the intensity, transforming Rage Against the Machine’s rap-metal manifesto “Maria” into a doom-folk dirge.