Freak*On*Ica

On its major-label debut, this New York quartet tones down its sweaty sex-boy image for an even more brutal urban-noise apocalypse. Post-punk guitars and industrial-strength electronica rhythms duel throughout a funky dystopia that’s GVSB’s most mesmerizing collection yet, while singer Scott McCloud spews his evocatively dissolute lyrics with a growl that fits the album’s sci-fi deca-dance perfectly. It’s catchy, too: If the brooding “Roxy” isn’t the alt-rock hit of the summer, there’s no justice.