The Antikaroshi – Per/Son/Alien

Recorded in 4 days, Per/Son/Alien offers up an immediate slab of accomplished rock deeply rooted in post-rock and indebted to the legacy of Dischord and Touch & Go. A three-piece from Germany – Dirch, Andre and Christoph aka Thea, Ntik, and Aroshi – do not suffer for their minimal line-up, in truth their sound is so fulfilling with gutsy guitars, big drums, and washes of synthesizers that you’d be none the wiser.

Retep growls out the speakers with its flippy two-note riffary prepping the listener for a chin-stroking affair, and the album does put a cross in the math rock box if that gets your vote. Battles tinged Jacek i Placek even displays an ill-advised foray into vocoder territory, worthy of a nod for diversity however much it sits uncomfortably with this listener. Ironically the finest moment, Bernays, sees the band tempering their showy qualities and letting go with a carefree punch-the-air epic that justifies their much cited comparisons to Fugazi. Never an unwelcome touchstone. [Alan Souter]