Frog Eyes

Easily one of the finest post-punk releases of the year, The Folded Palm has brilliantly taken a page from the Captain Beefheart songbook and blended it ably with a bit of artsy spazzcore. The result? A neurotic A-bomb of an album that's at once theatrically tuneful and strangely anarchic. If only the entire disc were as inspired as the opening three-song intro. But once Frog Eyes hits the four-minute mark, Carey Mercers' psychotic vocals chill out considerably, and the remaining tracks even manage to mutate into something resembling orthodox song structure. Fans of Xiu Xiu will no doubt feel the love, as will most any post-rock enthusiast looking for smart music with a bit more kick than your average Shipping News school of slowcore.