Titus Andronicus

The youthful angst throughout this debut could only come from the suburbs. The Airing of Grievances sounds like the product of guys who cut their teeth at rough and sweaty basement shows in their Jersey hometown, rather than big city clubs, and they've channeled this punk energy into lavish arrangements that bring fellow Garden Stater Bruce Springsteen to mind. The lo-fi vocals may be hit and miss -- at times, singer Patrick Stickles sounds like a poor man's Conor Oberst -- but they're made up for with layers of urgent, squealing guitars, relentless drumming and gloomy shoegazer noise.