Old Wounds

Consummate art-punks, Young Widows combine the creepy intensity of the Birthday Party, the conceptual brutality of early Swans, and the avant-dischord of early-'90s "scum rock" (the Jesus Lizard et al.) with a post-Black Dice/Liars try-anything approach. Their second album, OLD WOUNDS, explodes with overloaded bass lines, assaultive vocals, and beyond-distorted guitars, but there's an underlying sense of control here (more obvious on some tracks than on others) that makes the crucial difference between static and statement.