Get your blood boiling

"First there came the screams... "\nNot a bad intro for a horror novel, but it also captures the first thing that anyone new to The Blood Brothers will have to deal with: Can you get to like the high, screeching vocals of Jordan Billie and Johnny Whitney or not? Because, make no mistake, the two produce shrieks akin to AC/DC's Brian Johnson being fed into a chipper-shredder. However, just as the Jesus & Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine buried pop goodies under walls of feedback and white noise, Billie and Whitney's voices provide the challenge one must face in order to better appreciate the band's treasures.\nAnd there are treasures indeed. Five albums in, and the Brothers continue to turn out smart, hooky, multi-faceted punk metal that is oh-so-very pissed off. For its part, Young Machetes manages to straddle a fine line between the relentless sound of 2003's Burn Piano Island Burn and the (relatively) softer, more deliberate style of 2004's Crimes -- the result being somewhat schizophrenic, but often exhilarating. Thus, the album flies from punishing hardcore head-bangers (opening tracks "Set Fire to the Face on Fire" and "We Ride Skeletal Lightning," for example) to swinging, big-bass tunes just slightly reminiscent of Spoon's indie-funk ("Lazer Life," "1, 2, 3, 4 Guitars," "Lift the Veil, Kiss the Tank") to songs that incorporate these elements plus more (the sudden turn into piano and Dresden Dolls-esque drama-queen vocals in "Camoflage, Camoflage"; the nearly-disco post-punk of "Spit Shine Your Black Clouds").\nIf you've looked at the grade though, you've probably worked out that there are, nevertheless, a couple of weaknesses to the Brothers' approach. For one thing, just as white noise can be monotonous, so too can their signature vocals -- once listeners get used to Billie and Whitney's caterwauling, they can get a bit bored with it (to their credit, The Brothers change things up frequently enough to keep this from becoming a big problem). Another is the inherent difficulty with producing "relentless," "punishing" music: It wears the listener out. And while there are some people who could listen to Young Machetes over and over again for days and still feel vibrant, chances are that they represent psychological anomalies. For the rest of us, as good as Young Machetes is, it's like a big shot of caffeine which powers you up in the short term, but leaves you drained later -- and after a couple of listens, the album risks gathering dust on the shelf.\nBut upon re-discovering it, you'll be in for a treat all over again.