Blood On The Wall

Do you nurse a hankering for vintage college rock and the burgeoning days of the "alternative nation"? Well then, look no further than Blood on the Wall; the blistering power trio will have you scouring YouTube for snippets of 120 Minutes. Of course, like most underground bands growing up in 9/11-era New York, B.O.T.W.'s double helix contains a healthy chunk of early-'80s disco scuzz and punk funk. This is especially true of their 2004 self-titled debut for Brooklyn's Social Registry imprint (also home to Gang Gang Dance). But when all is said and done, screaming siblings Brad and Courtney Shanks and drummer Miggy Littleton are all about big, sloppy walls of fuzz and slacker ear candy up the wazoo. What separates B.O.T.W. from fellow retro-hipsters like Interpol and the Killers is a love for naked aggression and deafening volume. Simply crank "Mary Susan" off the group's sophomore disc, Awesomer: it's the sound of three punks pouring turpentine over their Pixies and Sonic Youth records, setting them ablaze and prancing about the fire with vengeful glee. Few modern indie bands are capable of such irreverent hero worship, and that's simply awesomer.