P.K. 14's 21st-century post-punk contains more mood and tension than an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. It's all about groove for the celebrated Beijing band. Trebly, Factory Records-style basslines and punchy, syncopated drums are wound as tightly as can be, while guitars slash here, there, and everywhere. At times, they're meaty and garage-bred; at others, they dissolve into sad, lonesome jangle. Inspired by American protest music, singer Yang Haisong delivers sharp, sociopolitical critique in a nasally intonation that at its most frazzled gives Pere Ubu's David Thomas a run for his money.