As the lead track from their second full-length (Jinx is due out July 23rd on Slumberland), Weekend’s “Mirror” sets the stage for a another round atmospheric post-punk and shattering screech delivered in equal measure. On record, song is never sacrificed for the sake of the noise heathens for this is a band who knows their craft and knows their place.

——

Conventional wisdom dictates covering a classic is never easy. Geoff Barrow and BEAK> do not care for your conventional wisdom. Their take on Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” for a limited ed., Record Store Day single, dismisses with much of  the original’s conflict and pain and instead opts for a minimal and grinding, motorik vibe. Conventional wisdom would have said such a Pink Floyd song would never stand up to such a thing, too.

——

Margaret Chardiet of Pharmakon is one of the rare female voices in the underground noise scene where the dominant force is boys and their tortured, electronic toys. “Crawling on Bruised Knees,” from the soon to be released, album Abandon (5.14 on Sacred Bones) features Chardiet’s voice, all twisted and tortured with a particularly unkind filter, paired with the marching beat of a robot invasion. Imagine how much cooler all of those Transformers movies would have been had the boys let their girls play with their toys, too.

——

By combining the sharp rhythms of post-punk with an equally sharp tongue, recent Matador signess, Savages, have positioned themselves as an act to watch as we move through 2013. Throughout their first preview track,”She Will,” lead vocalist Jehnny Beth growls and howls like an agitated Siouxsie Sioux and her bandmates (Ayse Hassan on bass, Fay Milton on drums, Gemma Thompson on guitar) are ready to mark every vocal twitch with one of their own. For a young band, this type of control is impressive, to say the least.