Founded in Leeds in 1985, The Wedding Present in 2012 still plays with a firm commitment to tough-sounding pop music (with only leader David Gedge standing as an original member). The guitars and drums are pure brawn, while Gedge finds indelible melodies to skirt as he rants like an angry patron at the last bar on Earth. "You're Dead" starts the march toward oblivion, with a dynamic that winds from angry to remorseful, all without losing its grip. Gedge's time with Cinerama and work with producer Steve Albini may now be in the past, but the lessons are in full effect. These recordings are raw and naked, but not without an occasional female voice emerging from the mix. Gedge pines for the love and mystery of his adolescence, recognizing that those mysteries give pop music its sense of wonder. Echoes of future American indie bands and future European groups can be heard in the aggression. The Wedding Present retains certain English flavors, but in tracks such as "Meet Cute," "Back a Bit . . . Stop," and "Deer Caught in the Headlights," the band creates its own peculiar sound and style.