What Tyrants

What Tyrants are Minneapolis-based trash pop slackers with good hearts. Their sophomore (and final) album, Lo-fi High, finds the trio churning out a new collection of fuzz-laden post-punk, neatly packaged into catchy sonic freakouts. This time around, however, the band’s sunny-side-up sarcasm found on their debut effort (No Luck) has been replaced by gloomy cynicism. One aspect from the group's prior output remains: ambitious rock'n'roll energy. Guitar and vocals trade off snarling riffs, while the drums and bass propel the music forward with an unwavering intensity. What Tyrants play with a reckless abandon, calculated in a way that has them teetering on the edge of implosion, but always in sync. The resulting ten tracks feel as if they were produced in a bunker beneath their garage, waiting on the apocalypse. There is still an inherent resiliency to the record - a reminder to not psych yourself out. So if you're feeling like life's got the best of you, hit plan on the record, turn up the volume, and tune into the noise.