Chicago's Lifeguard are young and loud. There's nothing wasted here in their first release for Matador Records, and Crowd Can Talk/Dressed in Trenches is likely going to thrill anyone who got excited about last year's label debut from tour-mates Horsegirl. There may be a similar attitude, but the sound of Lifeguard stands on its own.
"New Age (I've Got A)" bursts with a Polvo-ish sense of loose purpose, while "I Know I Know" marries the chop of Gang of Four sides with the insouciance of early Pavement. The riffs here hit their marks, and nothing feels wasted. "17-18 Lovesong" has a math-rock sense of rhythm, and an Eighties hardcore fire, while "Tell Me When" adds in dashes of noise-rock to the trio's sonic attack. There's a bit of early JAMC here, certainly some Sonic Youth, but also the sound of a band young enough to still be thrilled by all the stuff they are clearly drawing copious amounts of inspiration from. Lifeguard are happy letting these monster riffs crash into each other, and things are tight in the sense that nothing gets too long-winded.
Crowd Can Talk was recorded in 2022 and Dressed in Trenches is a 2023 offering, but together they stake a claim that Lifeguard is 2023's most exciting new American band. The loose, chaotic force of these recordings suggests a band capable of making a masterpiece in the very near future, and a young enough group that said recording will be as wonderfully abrasive and as full of fire as possible. I can't wait.
Crowd Can Talk/Dressed in Trenches it out on Friday via Matador.
[Photo: Matador Records]