Heartbreakology (Alarum)

Hermetic’s Heartbreakology just might be one of the ugliest pop records you’ll hear all summer, and that’s a good thing for anyone with a taste for grungy, ’90s-indebted musical messiness.

Baritone guitarist–vocalist Eric Axen and drummer-vocalist Bart Newman first exhibited their fondness for the era of flannel shirts and mushroom cuts on 2012’s Civilized City LP, and their tastes don’t seem to have changed in the past year. Once again, they keep the arrangements aggressive and minimal, as fuzzy low-end licks do battle with bashing drums and urgently strained vocals. “Company You Keep” is particularly raw and raunchy, with a tone so sludgy it’s sometimes difficult to make out the notes.

These arrangements are effectively rough around the edges, but the best moments come when Hermetic injects summery pop sweetness into its raucous riffage. The aforementioned “Company You Keep” pairs its speaker-blown surge with carefree whistling (think Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” as played by the Inbreds and run through a garburator), while the excellent opening cut, “Man of Letters”, softens its alt-rock attack with sugar-spiked vocal harmonies; the lyrics about lazing around in bed help to emphasize the slacker aesthetic.

Hummable hooks take a back seat on the closing combo of “For Sammy (Instrumental)” and “Conspicuous Production”, and the quality consequently dips. Still, the first few cuts are catchy enough to make it worth your while to pick up a copy of Heartbreakology—ideally on cassette, for the true ’90s indie experience.