Put the Kids to Bed (Independent)

Die-hard Stooges fans will be forgiven for assuming that Kill City Kids is a greasy, uglier-than-Detroit proto-punk unit whose only mission in life is to search and destroy. Wrong on both counts: the three-piece instead sounds like it was assembled while synth-shopping with Ladytron and Holy Fuck.

The four tracks here boast plenty of variety, with “Now That’s the Christmas Spirit” swinging from pleasantly proggy to Middle East exotic, and “The Ballad” beginning in scratchy ’30s-jazz territory before morphing into a space-station lullaby with a gothic undertow. And if you think all that sounds cool, check out the band’s claymation videos on YouTube.

Never mind putting the kids to bed—they’re going to have more fun staying up and partying with Kill City Kids.